Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) still No. 1 but St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) closing in
GAINESVILLE – The high school baseball district tournaments are in the books, with FHSAA regional playoffs starting this week.
And while there was some movement involving the top 10 teams in The Prep Zone Power Poll, which ranks the top 20 baseball teams across 26 counties in Florida, the two teams at the top continue to dominate the rankings.
Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) easily captured the District 2-3A title with a 14-0 romp over RV Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville).
The Conquerors (21-6) actually lost three games in a row to RV Oakleaf (Orange Park), RV University Christian (Jacksonville), and No. 9 Creekside (St. Johns). Despite the losses Trinity Christian received five of the eight first-place votes to stay on top of the regional rankings.
St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) remained No. 2 but is closing in on Trinity Christian as they received the other three first-place votes.
The Spartans (20-6) were upset 2-1 by No. 12 St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Augustine) in the District 2-2A championship game. However, SJCD also picked up wins at No. 4 Bolles (Jacksonville), No. 7T Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville), Creekside, and No. 20 Providence (Jacksonville).
Buchholz (Gainesville) moved up to No. 3 after winning the District 3-6A tournament with wins over Nease (Ponte Vedra), Oakleaf, and RV Fleming Island (Orange Park). The Bobcats opened up play on Tuesday night in the 6A regional quarterfinal against New Smyrna Beach.
Bolles (Jacksonville) (20-7) remained No. 4 after easily winning the District 3-3A tourney with an 8-2 win over No. 17T Episcopal (Jacksonville). The two teams will meet again in the 3A-1 region quarterfinal on Wednesday.
Newberry rounds out the top five.
The Panthers (21-5), who are seeking their third trip to the final four in the past three years, slipped past Chiefland 7-6 to win the 1A-7 district tournament. They opened up play in Region 4-1A with a 5-0 win against Williston last night.
The second 10 consists of No. 6 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (18-9) and two teams tied for 7th in Bishop Kenny (19-8) and Lafayette (Mayo), which was 21-2 heading into last night’s 1A regional semifinal at home against Madison County.
Creekside (St. Johns) moved into the top 10, as the 9th-ranked Knights (17-10) edged then-RV Bartram Trail (St. Johns) to take the District 1-7A championship.
Rounding out the top 10 is Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville). The Sharks (18-6) moved up five spots from the previous poll, winning the District 7-4A title.
Nature Coast opens up play in the 4A regional quarterfinals against Satellite on Wednesday.
Lake Minneola (21-5) is the only team new to the rankings, moving in at No. 14.
Dropping out from the previous poll is Keystone Heights (20-8), which is receiving votes.
This is the final all-classification regional rankings until after the FHSAA Baseball state championships in Fort Myers later this month.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball 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 by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2024 BASEBALL POLL #4
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, 2024 record through 5/5, and total voting points)
1. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (5) (21-6) – 157
2. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (2A) (3) (20-6) – 149
3. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (20-8) – 137
4. Bolles (Jacksonville) (3A) (20-7) – 134
5. Newberry (1A) (21-6) – 113
6. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (18-9) – 109
7T. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (4A) (19-8) – 106
7T. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (21-2) – 106
9. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (17-10) – 99
10. Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (4A) (18-6) – 67
11. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (16-9) – 65
12. St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Augustine) (2A) (19-8) – 52
13. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (18-7) – 46
14. Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (21-5) – 42
15. Montverde Academy (3A) (14-9) – 38
16. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (15-12) – 30
17T. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (3A) (19-8) – 28
17T. Mount Dora Christian Academy (2A) (19-8) – 28
19. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (17-8) – 22
20. Providence (Jacksonville)(3A) (13-11) – 21
Also receiving votes: Keystone Heights (3A) (20-8) – 18; Umatilla (3A) (19-8) – 16; North Marion (Citra) (4A) (15-12) – 15; University Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (17-9) – 15; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (3A) (12-11) – 12; Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (18-8) – 11; Fleming Island (Orange Park) (6A) (18-10) – 11; Oakleaf (Orange Park) (6A) (17-9) – 9; Englewood (Jacksonville) (5A) (15-10) – 7; Oak Hall (Gainesville) (2A) (13-5) – 5; Santa Fe (Alachua) (4A) (14-12) – 3; Suwannee (Live Oak) (4A) (16-8-1) – 2; Vanguard (Ocala) (5A) (18-9) – 1.
