After a grueling regular season schedule, a pair of local teams is ready to make a run in the Class-AA postseason.
    Both Southeast Bulloch and Screven County host a Region 3-AA playoff series beginning today as the two teams hope to advance into the Georgia High School Association state playoffs.
    For Southeast Bulloch (16-5), this year has been a swift turning of the corner.
    In just his second year as head coach of the Yellow Jackets, Brandon Peterson has everything going in the right direction.
    SEB won its first six region games, and even though a loss to Screven last week prevented the Jackets from taking the sub-region crown, the Jackets find themselves in a good position to obtain a state playoff birth.
    “I’m proud of our guys,” said Peterson. “We’ve performed well all year. We just need to keep improving and hopefully the wins will keep coming.”
    The Jackets draw Bleckley County — No. 3 seed out of the ‘A’ sub-region — in a best-of-three series to determine which team will move on to the state tournament.
    The key to SEB’s continued success will be its consistency. All year long, the Jackets have relied on above average efforts from all aspects of their game and have been able to capitalize on the mistakes of opposing teams, as well as great individual efforts from their own players.
    SEB will look to Seth Morgan, Gage Weaver and Eli Page to provide the pitching necessary to advance.
    The Jackets also have a potent top two-thirds of their batting lineup that might not have the most strength, but more than makes up for it in solid hitting and ability in the clutch.
    “The biggest key for us is to just keep playing like we have,” said Peterson. “When we doo all of the little things right, we’re tough to beat. We just need to play our best game. If we do that, I like our chances.”
    SEB and Bleckley begin their series today at noon with a doubleheader in Brooklet. If the two teams split, a decisive third game will be held at SEB Monday.
    Screven County also is in the state playoff hunt, as the Gamecocks (10-10) grabbed the No. 1 spot in Region 3B-AA from SEB with a 10-7 win over the Jackets Tuesday evening.
    The Gamecocks had an inauspicious start to their season, dropping their first five games, but regrouped quickly and caught fire just in time to make a run through region play.
    “I you looked at us
starting 0-5 and told me we would win the sub-region, you could have fooled me,” said Screven coach Billy Pollock. “I think that says a lot about the guys we have on this team. We faced some adversity early, but we improved throughout the year and played well in some important games.”
    Screven will square off against East Laurens — the No. 4 seed out of the ‘A’ sub-division — for the right to advance to the state playoffs.
    The two teams haven’t met this season, but the Gamecocks will bring the same mentality that has brought them this far.

Mike Anthony can be reached at (912) 489-9404.