Officials on Thursday froze region standings with the exception of one game, Region 7-AAA secretary Ed Vosburgh said.
The action was brought about after Wednesday night's deadly band of tornadoes tore through several southern states, including neighboring Alabama and much of Northwest Georgia.
That storm damaged Ringgold High School and chewed up its athletic facilities, including its baseball field.
"The executive committee of the region, polled by phone this morning, decided to freeze standings as of yesterday," Vosburgh said, "with the exception of the game between Heritage and Gilmer County. That game will determine who will go to the playoffs in the fourth playoff spot."
Vosburgh said the teams may play all their scheduled games throughout the rest of their seasons, but those contests will not be counted in the region standings.
The action freezes Cartersville's region record at 18-2, which is shared also by Ringgold and Allatoona.
The Canes had a 20-4 overall record as of Thursday morning and are the region's No. 1 seed while Ringgold, at 21-2, is the No. 2 seed, and Allatoona, 21-3, is the No. 3 seed.
Vosburgh said the move is out of respect for Ringgold, which is currently locked in a three-way tie for first place.
Under tiebreaker rules, Cartersville becomes the region's top seed. The three tied teams have already played each other twice to conclude their regular season competition.
"We felt Ringgold shouldn't have to worry about winning or having to forfeit any of their final games," the Region 7-AAA official said.
Vosburgh noted all three teams tied for first will go to the playoffs.
The three teams have lost only to one another, with Ringgold beating Allatoona twice, Cartersville losing to Allatoona twice and Allatoona losing to Ringgold twice. No other region teams have defeated the trio.
Vosburgh added Gilmer and Heritage County would be allowed to play their game and it would count toward the standings if concluded before the end of the regular season. Heritage and Gilmer both have 13-7 region records.
He noted as many as six schools in the region were closed Thursday and it may be difficult for them to get all of their final regular season games in.
The state playoffs are scheduled to begin May 6. Ringgold, by virtue of being a No. 2 seed, is a host, giving it a week to locate a field for its games.
Head coach Stuart Chester, in a message to the Cartersville baseball family Thursday, said he learned of the destruction at Ringgold late Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with the news giving him pause.
"Baseball is not a game of life but can teach us about life," he said. "Failure is often in this sport and we work hard each day to handle it but not to [accept] it. Last night was very humbling and puts everything in perspective."
The coach urged the Cane family to reach out to its region rival.
"I feel we as a program need to help," he said. "We will be making a donation to Ringgold Baseball as well as donate some baseballs."