Five high school baseball teams from Marion County are competing in their respective quarterfinals in pursuit of state championships across multiple divisions.
The Florida High School Athletic Association is hosting its high school baseball playoffs this week.
Six local teams will compete in the tournament, which divides schools into different “Classes” from 3A to 6A. The FHSAA classifies high schools on the basis of their enrollment. The larger the school enrollment, the larger the class number.
In Class 6A, Forest High School will face off against George Jenkins High School on Tuesday evening at 7:30 p.m. Forest got into the tournament through an at-large bid. The winner of that matchup will face the winner of a matchup between Wiregrass Ranch High School and Lakeland High School.
In Class 5A, Vanguard High School will face off against Cypress Creek High School on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Vanguard won its first district title in 24 years over Belleview High School to advance into the quarterfinal round. Tuesday’s game will be held at Vanguard, which is located at 7 NW 28th Street in Ocala. The winner of the game will face the winner of a matchup between Wesley Chapel and Pine Ridge.Â
In Class 4A, Dunnellon High School will face off against Merritt Island High School on Wednesday, May 8 at 7 p.m. Dunnellon got an at-large bid to participate in the tournament.
Also in Class 4A, North Marion High School will face off with The Villages Charter School at the same time. NMHS won the District 5 championship over The Villages Charter School last week.
In Class 3A, Trinity Catholic High School will play against Trinity Christian Academy on Wednesday at 7 p.m. Trinity won its District championship, but will play an away game in Jacksonville for the matchup. The winner of that matchup will face off against the winner of a game between Bolles and Episcopal School of Jacksonville.
Leave your words of encouragement for these young athletes and make sure to root for Marion County high schools in this year’s state baseball tournament.