Gainesville – For the third time in four weeks, there’s a new No. 1 in the softball Prep Zone Power Poll.
Ponte Vedra, which went 2-0 last week, edged previous No. 1 PK Yonge (Gainesville) in total voting points, 137-135, to move up one spot to the top of the poll. The Class 5A Sharks (18-0) received four first-place votes, while the 4A Blue Wave, who were idle, received the other three.
Columbia (Lake City), which began the season as the top-ranked team, remained third. The defending 6A state champion Tigers’ (14-1) only loss this season was to Santa Fe (Alachua), which dropped one spot to 18th in this week’s poll.
Class 5A Baker County (Glen St. Mary), which lost to Ponte Vedra in last year’s regional semifinals, remained fourth. The Wildcats (16-1) have won 14 in a row since their only loss of the season to No. 3 Columbia.
Forest (Ocala) and Bradford (Starke) are tied for fifth. The 6A Wildcats (15-1) were off last week, while the 4A Tornadoes (12-3) went 2-0 and moved up one spot from sixth.
The rest of the top 10 remained the same. Hernando (Brooksville) (17-1) is seventh, followed by Nature Coast (Brooksville) (17-2), Creekside (St. Johns) (12-3) and Citrus (Inverness) (15-4).
There were no new additions to this week’s poll as all 20 teams remained in the rankings.
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 – 2014 Softball Poll #4
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, record through March 30 and total voting points)
1. Ponte Vedra (4) (5A) (18-0) – 137
2. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (3) (4A) (14-0) – 135
3. Columbia (6A) (14-1) – 127
4. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (16-1) – 118
5T Forest (Ocala) (6A) (15-1) – 106
5T Bradford (Starke) (4A) (12-3) – 106
7. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (17-1) – 101
8. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (17-2) – 91
9. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (12-3) – 83
10. Citrus (Inverness) (5A) (15-4) – 70
11. Belleview (5A) (13-4) – 63
12. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (14-4) – 61
13. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (14-3) – 60
14. Dixie County (Cross City) (1A) (14-0) – 56
15. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (12-4) – 44
16. Montverde Academy (4A) (12-3) – 27
17. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (8A) (13-4) – 26
18. Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (13-6) – 24
18. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (11-2) – 22
20. West Nassau (Callahan) (4A) (11-4) – 9
Also receiving votes: Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (15-7) – 4; South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (11-5) – 1.
