Gainesville – There was a little bit of a shake-up in the baseball Prep Zone Power Poll heading into postseason play.
Five of the top seven teams in last week’s poll lost their district championship game, but they all qualified for the state playoffs and will travel for the first round of the FHSAA state playoffs.
Top-ranked Bolles (Jacksonville) lost to nemesis Episcopal (Jacksonville) in the Class 4A-District 3 championship game, dropping the top-ranked Bulldogs (22-5) two spots to third in this week’s poll. The Eagles (21-6) moved up five spots to seventh with the win.
That moved Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) to the No. 1 spot following the Class 5A-District 3 championship. The Crusaders (22-4), who have won 12 games in a row, defeated #6 Baker County (Glen St. Mary), 9-5, in the district title game – which kept the Wildcats (20-4) just outside the top five.
Forest (Ocala) won the Class 7A-District 1 title, including a 4-3 win against previous #8 Buchholz in the semifinals. The Wildcats (23-3), winners of nine of their last 10 games, moved up one spot to second.
North Marion (Citra), which moved up five spots and into a tie for fourth with Clay (Green Cove Springs), will host the Blue Devils in the first round of the 5A state playoffs on Thursday. The Colts (20-7) won the Class 5A-District 6 title, while Clay (19-6) lost to Creekside (St. Johns) in the 5A-5 title game.
Fletcher (Neptune Beach), which lost to Fleming Island (Orange Park) in the 7A-2 championship game, is tied for seventh with Episcopal (Jacksonville). Class 4A-District 5 champ Williston (19-5) and 5A-4 Runners-up Nease (Ponte Vedra) (21-5) rounded out the top 10.
Falling out of the top 20 was Spruce Creek (Port Orange), which was nationally-ranked to begin the season. The defending Class 8A champions were one of two defending state champions to not qualify for the postseason – joining defending 1A state champion Union County (Lake Butler), which lost 11-2 to Baldwin in the 1A-7 semifinals.
This year, the FHSAA Baseball Finals will be held at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, May 15-23. This will be the final poll until the season is complete.
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 #8
(School, followed by classification, record through April 30, first-place votes and total voting points)
1. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (22-4) (6) – 139
2. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (23-3) – 132
3. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (22-5) (1) – 119
4T Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (19-6) – 107
4T North Marion (Citra) (5A) (20-7) – 107
6. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (20-4) – 95
7T Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (7A) (23-4) – 94
7T Episcopal (Jacksonville) (4A) (21-6) – 94
9. Williston (4A) (19-5) – 88
10. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (5A) (21-5) – 76
11. Trenton (1A) (23-1) – 74
12. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (22-5) – 61
13. Creekside (St. Johns) (5A) (17-9) – 43
14. Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (16-9) – 27
15. Eustis (5A) (21-8) – 26
16. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (4A) (17-9) – 21
17. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (18-9) – 20
18T Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (16-11) – 19
18T Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) (6A) (17-9) – 19
20. Eagle’s View (Jacksonville) (3A) (15-9) – 16
Also receiving votes: Chiefland (1A) (15-7) – 14; Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (16-10) – 13; P.K. Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (15-12) – 12; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (17-7) – 11; Ponte Vedra (5A) (16-11) – 11; The Villages (1A) (14-11) – 11; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (16-11) – 9; Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (5A) (17-9) – 5; South Lake (Groveland) (6A) (18-5) – 4; Madison County (4A) (14-9) – 2; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (16-9) – 1.
