Oakleaf (Orange Park) & Mandarin (Jacksonville) a unanimous No. 1 & No. 2
GAINESVILLE – There was little movement in the top five of The Prep Zone Power Poll.
Nationally-ranked Oakleaf (Orange Park) remained on top of the all-classification regional rankings following an undefeated week that saw them advance to the Kissimmee Klassic championship game. However, their title game against 8A #4 Bartow was moved to April 17 at Oakleaf due to weather.
The Knights (16-1) were a unanimous No. 1. They defeated 8A #8 Cooper City, 4-2, in the semifinals and crushed St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale), 11-0.
Oakleaf also defeated 7A honorable mention Lake Region (Eagle Lake) to start the tournament and they beat previous receiving votes Clay (Green Cove Springs), 10-6, to begin the week.
Mandarin received all seven 2nd-place votes. The Mustangs (15-1), whose only loss was by one run at Oakleaf in extra innings, went 3-0 last week to remain second.
Last week Bartram Trail (St. Johns) and Trenton were tied for third. This week they are about as close as you can get without being tied.
Class 7A Bartram Trail (15-1) received one more voting point this week than Trenton, 122-121, to take over sole possession of third. The Bears had wins at Fletcher (Neptune Beach), 7-0, and vs. Ponte Vedra, 6-4.
Trenton (14-0) won its only game last week, sweeping the 2-game series against previous No. 16 Bell with a 6-1 win on the road this past Friday. The Class 1A state runners-up improved to 14-0 with the victory.
Rounding out the top five once again is Gainesville. The Class 7A Hurricanes went 2-2 to finish 4th in the Blue Division at the Kissimmee Klassic.
GHS (14-4) defeated 9A honorable mention Alonso (Tampa), 5-2, in their final game of the tournament on Saturday, following a 9-2 loss to 7A #2 Pembroke Pines Charter and a 4-3 win against Lake Region on Friday.
Eustis leads off the second five.
The Panthers (15-1) gave nationally-ranked Winter Springs all they could handle in a 4-3 loss. They are followed by Santa Fe (Alachua), Baker County (Glen St. Mary), Matanzas (Palm Coast), and Spruce Creek (Port Orange) in the top 10.
Creekside (St. Johns) is the newest addition to the rankings at No. 18. The Class 7A Knights (13-3) went 5-0, including a 5-4 win against 8A #9 George Jenkins (Lakeland) in eight innings, and a win against then 4A #2 Westminster Christian (Miami), 8-5, on Saturday.
Previous No. 19 Madison County dropped out. The Class 1A Cowgirls (12-3) went 1-1 last week, falling at 8A Leon (Tallahassee), 5-4, but they are still receiving votes.
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 and it is fueled by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
The Prep Zone Power Poll – 2019 Softball Poll #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through April 6, and total voting points)
1. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (7) (16-1) – 140
2. Mandarin (Jacksonville) (9A) (15-1) – 133
3. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (15-1) – 122
4. Trenton (1A) (14-0) – 121
5. Gainesville (7A) (14-4) – 105
6. Eustis (5A) (15-1) – 101
7. Santa Fe (Alachua) (5A) (15-3) – 89
8. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (15-4) – 87
9. Matanzas (Palm Coast) (7A) (14-2) – 75
10. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (15-3) – 69
11. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (17-1) – 62
12. East Ridge (Clermont) (8A) (10-5) – 54
13. Dunnellon (6A) (13-3) – 48
14. Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville) (4A) (10-5) – 39
15. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (10-5) – 38
16. Keystone Heights (5A) (12-6) – 33
17. West Nassau (Callahan) (5A) (11-8) – 29
18. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (13-3) – 24
19T. Bell (1A) (13-3) – 23
19T. Mount Dora Christian (2A) (16-2) – 23
Also receiving votes: Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (14-4) – 18; Belleview (6A) (14-4) – 13; Madison County (1A) (12-3) – 9; University (Orange City) (9A) (10-7) – 5; Episcopal (Jacksonville) (4A) (7-3) – 3; Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (10-6) – 3; Montverde Academy (4A) (12-5) – 2; Crystal River (6A) (11-4) – 1; Deltona (7A) (10-4) – 1.
