Nationally-ranked Gainesville & Forest (Ocala) remain 1-2 in the new regional rankings
GAINESVILLE – Class 6A continues to dominate the all-classification Prep Zone Power Poll.
Four teams from that classification are in the top 10 of the regional softball rankings, including the top three.
Gainesville High continues to roll. The ‘Canes remained No. 1 following a 4-0 week through this past Tuesday’s game. GHS, which received six of the seven first-place votes, has won 20 in a row, and although we didn’t include the result of last night’s 18-0 win at Palatka in this release, the streak is actually up to 21.
Forest (Ocala) remained second. They’re also ranked 2nd behind GHS in the 6A state rankings. The Wildcats (21-1) and the Lady Hurricanes (23-1) are also nationally-ranked in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings.
Bartram Trail (St. Johns) moved up one spot to third. The Bears (19-4) are ranked in the top 10 of the 6A state poll.
Class 4A Bradford (Starke) is ranked fourth, while 7A Fleming Island (Orange Park) (20-3) rounds out the top five. The #4 Tornadoes (18-3), who are also ranked 4th in the state poll, received the other first-place vote.
Not far behind is Class 5A.
The second 10 of the poll is dominated by teams from that classification led by No. 6 Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (17-2), No. 7 Belleview (18-5) and 8th-ranked Nature Coast (Brooksville) (20-2).
Class 4A South Sumter (Bushnell) (19-3) is ranked ninth, while 6A Creekside (St. Johns) (18-5) rounds out the top 10.
Class 1A Lafayette (Mayo) (16-5), which went 4-0 last week including a 10-0 win over previous No. 19 Santa Fe and a 15-5 win over 1A #5 Trenton, is in the poll at No. 15, while 6A Deltona (15-3) jumps in the rankings at No. 19.
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 – 2015 SOFTBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, overall record through 4/8 & total voting points)
1. Gainesville (6A) (6) (23-1) – 139
2. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (21-2) – 132
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (6A) (19-4) – 125
4. Bradford (Starke) (4A) (1) (18-3) – 118
5. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (20-3) – 109
6. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (17-2) – 106
7. Belleview (5A) (18-5) – 101
8. Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (20-2) – 90
9. South Sumter (Bushnell) (4A) (19-3) – 76
10. Creekside (St. Johns) (6A) (18-5) – 72
11. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (18-5) – 71
12. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (18-5) – 69
13. University (Orange City) (8A) (18-6) – 55
14. Eustis (5A) (16-5) – 39
15. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (16-5) – 35
16. University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (14-5) – 31
17. Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) (6A) (12-3) – 27
18. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (14-8) – 18
19. Deltona (6A) (15-3) – 13
20. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (4A) (11-4) – 12
Also receiving votes: Chiefland (1A) (12-4) – 7; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (13-8) – 6; Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (14-8) – 6; Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (19-4) – 5; Montverde Academy (4A) (13-6) – 3; Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (15-7) – 1; Keystone Heights (4A) (14-9) – 1.
