When the Alabama High School Athletic Association’s baseball playoffs kick off on Friday, four Baldwin County teams will enter as area champions and three more as runners-up.

Spanish Fort (Class 6A), Gulf Shores (Class 5A), Bayside Academy (Class 4A) and Bayshore Christian (Class 2A) won regular-season area series and staked claim to No. 1 seeds in the state brackets for the rights to host the first-round series. Baldwin County (6A), Elberta (5A) and Orange Beach (4A) also punched postseason tickets and will hit the road as area runners-ups.

The Class 7A playoffs will be determined by this week’s regular-season finales.

The Toros, who went to the state finals last year, finished off its second straight area crown with wins of 13-3 and 13-2 over McGill-Toolen Catholic where senior John Henry Winstead came up big in both games. The recent Lawson State commit produced a 4-hit day in Thursday’s win before his 2-hit effort complemented 5 strikeouts over 3.2 innings in Friday’s clincher.

Also on the Class 6A stage, Baldwin County is heading back to the playoffs with a series win over Robertsdale. The Tigers won Game 1, 6-1, behind 6.2 innings from Jaxen Schuler who scattered 5 hits and 1 earned run. Quincy Walters collected 2 doubles and 2 RBIs where Reid Johnson (2 hits), Eli Woody (1 hit) and Will Allen (1 hit) also delivered single RBIs.

Baldwin County went out and took Game 2, 7-6, to secure its second straight postseason trip despite a 6-0 loss in Game 3.

In Class 5A, Elberta qualified for its fourth consecutive state playoff bracket where the Warriors will be searching for their first opening-round win since 2022. Elberta finished off a regular-season series against B.C. Rain 16-0 last Tuesday to secure its postseason positioning.

The Orange Beach Makos are headed to the playoffs for the first time in Class 4A. Orange Beach last made the postseason in Class 2A in 2022 where the Makos secured a first-round victory.

Last weekend, Orange Beach swept its final series against St. Michael Catholic with wins of 10-0 on Thursday and 14-0 and 6-1 on Friday. Mako skipper Josh Hoyle recently joined the 200-win club for his career after eight seasons at the helm of the Corner Yellow Jackets.

The Bayshore Christian Eagles secured its second straight area crown since being promoted to Class 2A due to the AHSAA’s Competitive Balance Factor but not without some drama.

Bayshore Christian took Game 1 of its series with the St. Luke’s Episcopal Wildcats by a 10-1 win on Friday. However, with a 5-4 loss in Game 2 to open Saturday’s doubleheader, the Eagles were on the verge of taking the No. 2 seed. Instead, Bayshore Christian bounced back with a 7-0 win to enter the Class 2A bracket as an area champion.

Below are full first-round pairings for Baldwin County’s playoff-bound teams. Stay tuned to gulfcoastmedia.com/sports for full coverage of the postseason.

Class 6A

Area 5 RU: Calera (14-11) at Area 2 W: Spanish Fort (21-10), Friday, April 19, 5 and 7:30 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, 2 p.m., if needed)

Area 2 RU: Baldwin County (22-9) at Area 5 W: Helena (20-12), Friday, April 19, 4:30 and 7 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, noon, if needed)

Class 5A

Area 6 RU: Beauregard (12-10) at Area 1 W: Gulf Shores (24-10), Friday, April 19, 5 and 7 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m., if needed)

Area 1 RU: Elberta (11-17) at Area 6 W: Valley (19-4), Friday, April 19, 4:30 and 6:30 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, noon, if needed)

Class 4A

Area 6 RU: Northside (13-12) at Area 1 W: Bayside Academy (19-6), Friday, April 19, 4 and 6:30 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m., if needed)

Area 1 RU: Orange Beach (29-8) at Area 6 W: American Christian (18-15), Friday, April 19, 5 and 7 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, 1 p.m., if needed)

Class 2A

Area 6 RU: Thorsby (20-9) at Area 1 W: Bayshore Christian (12-11), Friday, April 19, 1 and 3:30 p.m. (Game 3, Saturday, April 20, noon, if needed)