Gainesville – They were ranked No. 1 in the country by MaxPreps at one point during the regular season, and despite not winning a state title, finished on top of the final softball Prep Zone Power Poll.
PK Yonge (Gainesville) was one out away from winning its first-ever state softball title. But Class 4A No. 1 West Florida rallied to score five runs in the bottom of the 7th inning for a stunning 6-5 win in the state championship game. However, despite the loss, the 4A state runners-up Blue Wave (24-4) collected four of the seven first-place votes to finish on top of the final rankings.
They edged Ponte Vedra, which received the other three first-place votes and remained second. The Sharks (27-1) were the only unbeaten team to get to the state tournament in Vero Beach. However, four errors led to four runs and a 4-0 loss to eventual state champion American Heritage (Plantation) in the 5A state semifinals.
Another state runner-up, Belleview, climbed into the top five. The Rattlers (26-6) also lost to American Heritage, but it was on a walk-off hit in the bottom of the 7th inning in the 5A title game, and they moved up five spots from eighth to finish third. It was Belleview’s second state championship game in the past three seasons.
Creekside (St. Johns), a 5A semifinalist last season, moved up to Class 6A and advanced all the way to the state semifinals before falling in eight innings to eventual state champion Pembroke Pines Charter, 5-3. The Knights (21-6) were one of seven teams to advance to the FHSAA Softball Finals.
Defending state champion Columbia (Lake City), and previous Prep Zone Power Poll No. 1, dropped four spots to No. 5. The Tigers (28-2) lost to Creekside, 3-0, in the 6A regional final.
Forest (Ocala) dropped two spots to sixth. The Wildcats (26-3) lost to eventual 6A state runners-up Lake Region (Eagle Lake), 2-0, in the regional final. They defeated previous No. 13 Deltona, 3-1, in the regional semifinals.
The only area team to bring home a state title was Chiefland (19-5), which makes its first appearance in this year’s poll with a final ranking of No. 7.
The Indians finished third in 1A-District 7, but they knocked off the top three teams in the state in their final three games en route to the first girls FHSAA state title in school history. It was also the first state championship for the Levy County school since the football team won the 2A state title in 1997.
Hernando (Brooksville) and West Nassau (Callahan) finished eighth and ninth, respectively, after advancing to the third round of the FHSAA state playoffs.
The Leopards (27-3) lost to Belleview, 18-4, in the 5A regional final and dropped three spots to eighth, while the Warriors (23-6) remained No. 10 after falling in the 4A regional finals to eventual state champion West Florida, 2-1.
Rounding out the top 10 is Aucilla Christian (Monticello). The Warriors (19-4), who were trying to win the school’s first-ever state title in any sport during the school’s 44-year history, lost to 2A No. 1 Canterbury School of Florida (St. Petersburg), 1-0, in the state championship game to finish as the 2A state runners-up.
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (23-4), which dropped five spots following a 2-0 loss to No. 2 Ponte Vedra in the 5A regional semifinals, is ranked No. 11, followed by 7A East Ridge (Clermont) (22-5), 1A Dixie County (Cross City) (22-1), 4A Montverde Academy (21-5) and 6A Deltona (20-5) in the top 15.
Class 6A St. Augustine (17-10) is ranked 16th, while 5A Nature Coast (Brooksville) (22-5), 4A South Sumter (Bushnell) (16-9), 1A Bell (18-11), and 5A Eustis (16-9) round out the top 20 teams.
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, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
Prep Zone Power Poll – 2014 Softball Poll #9 – FINAL POLL
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, final record and total voting points)
1. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (4) (4A) (24-4) – 135
2. Ponte Vedra (3) (5A) (27-1) – 131
3. Belleview (5A) (26-6) – 122
4. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (21-6) – 120
5. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (28-2) – 118
6. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (26-3) – 98
7. Chiefland (1A) (19-5) – 96
8. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (27-3) – 84
9. West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (23-6) – 77
10. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (19-4) – 75
11. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (23-4) – 73
12. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (22-5) – 68
13. Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (22-1) – 66
14. Montverde Academy (4A) (21-5) – 43
15. Deltona (6A) (20-5) – 32
16. St. Augustine (6A) (17-10) – 23
17. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (22-5) – 22
18T South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (16-9) – 21
18T Bell (1A) (18-11) – 21
20. Eustis (5A) (16-9) – 19
Also receiving votes: University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (17-11) – 9; Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (18-8) – 5; Bradford (Starke) (4A) (18-8) – 4; Buchholz (Gainesville) (7A) (17-8) – 3; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (17-12) – 2; Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (17-10) – 2; Mount Dora Bible (3A) (18-9) – 1.
