Gainesville – Bolles (Jacksonville) is the top ‘Dog in the baseball Prep Zone Power Poll.
Clay (Green Cove Springs) was ranked No. 1, but the Blue Devils (16-4) lost to Bartram Trail (St. Johns), which snapped a seven-game winning streak. They also defeated previous #13 Episcopal (Jacksonville) as part of a 3-1 week and only dropped one spot to second behind the Bulldogs (18-4), who edged Clay, 4-3, on March 18.
Bolles collected four of the first-place votes, while Clay received the other two.
Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) knocked off previous #11 North Marion (Citra) and moved up one spot to fourth. The Crusaders (17-4) have won eight in a row since an 8-2 loss at No. 6 Baker County (Glen St. Mary).
Forest (Ocala) and Fletcher (Neptune Beach) round out the top five at Nos. 4 & 5, respectively.
The Wildcats (18-3) dropped two spots to fourth after a 2-1 loss at Lincoln (Tallahassee), which snapped a nine-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Senators (20-3) moved up one spot to fifth after they defeated #13 Terry Parker (Jacksonville) and #19 Sandalwood (Jacksonville), to win the Gateway Conference tournament in Jacksonville.
Following #6 Baker County in the second five are Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (16-7), Nease (Ponte Vedra Beach) (18-4), Trenton (20-0) and Buchholz (Gainesville) (14-7) to round out the top 10.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, baseball & softball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013 BASEBALL POLL #6
(School, followed by classification, record through April 14, first-place votes and total voting points)
1. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-4) (4) – 116
2. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (16-4) (2) – 114
3. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-4) – 108
4. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (18-3) – 100
5. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (20-3) – 99
6. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (18-3) – 90
7. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (16-7) – 83
8. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (18-4) – 72
9. Trenton (1A) (20-0) – 71
10. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (14-7) – 70
11. North Marion (Citra) (5A) (16-6) – 61
12. Creekside (St. Johns) (5A) (16-6) – 50
13. Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-6) – 43
14. Williston (4A) (15-5) – 36
15. Eustis (5A) (15-6) – 34
16. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (4A) (16-6) – 32
17. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (14-9) – 30
18. Eagle’s View (Jacksonville) (3A) (15-7) – 21
19. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (16-7) – 13
20. Taylor (Pierson) (1A) (17-4) – 6
Also receiving votes: Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (16-5) – 5; Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) (6A) (15-8) – 3; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (16-4) – 1; Belleview (5A) (14-8) – 1; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (14-7) – 1.
