Providence (Jacksonville) remains on top of the regional all-classification rankings but several ranked teams fall
GAINESVILLE – The district semifinals can be both a blessing and a curse for high school baseball teams.
For teams like Vanguard (Ocala), which upset state-ranked Gainesville, 8-3 in eight innings in 7A-District 3, the season continues. Despite a losing record, the Knights (10-16) are headed to the FHSAA regional playoffs because they won their district semifinal game.
But for Gainesville (19-7), which was ranked 13th in the Prep Zone Power Poll last week, the dream season came to a crashing halt.
That was the case for several teams in the regional rankings, including four teams (previous No. 3 St. Johns Creekside, #5 Jacksonville Trinity Christian, #6 Jacksonville Atlantic Coast and #7 Live Oak Suwannee) in the top 10 who had their season come to an end in their respective district tournaments.
Meanwhile, Providence (Jacksonville), which has been the top-ranked team in every power poll so far in the 2017 season, the second season begins this week.
The Stallions (22-5) outscored their two opponents by a combined score of 22-0 to win the Class 4A-District 2 tournament.
They are a unanimous No. 1, receiving all six first-place votes, and will begin the postseason at home against Florida High (Tallahassee). Plus, they will avoid Trinity Christian, which was upset in the district semifinals by Episcopal (Jacksonville).
Bishop Kenny, which won the 5A-District 4 title, remained second.
The Crusaders (24-3) defeated RV Fernandina Beach, 4-3, in the title game. They will play Baker County (Glen St. Mary), which upset Suwannee in the district semifinals.
Sandalwood (Jacksonville) moves up one spot to third.
The Saints (22-4) won the 9A-District 1 title and will host District 2 Runner-up University (Orange City), which is ranked 13th in this week’s regional rankings.
Fletcher (Neptune Beach) moved up four spots from eighth to fourth following a 17-4 win against previous No. 12 Oakleaf (Orange Park) in the 8A-District 2 title game. The Senators (20-7) will have a tough first-round match-up against District 1 regular season champ Chiles (Tallahassee), which lost to Lincoln in their district championship game.
Rounding out the top five is Sprinstead (Spring Hill).
The Eagles (24-3) also moved up four spots from ninth following the 6A-District 6 crown in a 14-2 win against Dunnellon.
Class 1A No. 1 Trenton is ranked sixth, followed by Bolles (Jacksonville), Keystone Heights, South Sumter (Bushnell) and University Christian (Jacksonville) in the top 10.
District champions DeLand and Stanton, who are tied, along with North Marion (Citra) and Ponte Vedra move into the rankings at Nos. 16, 19 & 20, respectively.
This is the last poll until after the state finals in early June.
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.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2017 BASEBALL POLL #7
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, record thru 5/6, and total voting points)
1. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (6) (22-5) – 120
2. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (24-3) – 113
3. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (22-4) – 108
4. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (8A) (20-7) – 96
5. Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (24-3) – 94
6. Trenton (1A) (23-1) – 85
7. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (16-10) – 76
8. Keystone Heights (5A) (21-6) – 62
9. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (22-2) – 60
10. University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (18-8) – 48
11. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (18-7) – 47
12. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (18-8) – 46
13. University (Orange City) (9A) (21-6) – 42
14. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (19-8) – 39
15. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (21-5) – 32
16T. DeLand (9A) (19-9) – 24
16T. Stanton (Jacksonville) (6A) (21-6) – 24
18. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (18-7) – 23
19. North Marion (Citra) (6A) (17-9) – 21
20. Ponte Vedra (6A) (17-10) – 20
Also receiving votes: New Smyrna Beach (7A) (19-8) – 13; Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-5) – 11; Fernandina Beach (5A) (19-7) – 10; Clay (Green Cove Springs) (6A) (16-11) – 9; Forest (Ocala) (8A) (15-11) – 8; Madison County (1A) (16-10) – 8; Belleview (6A) (20-6) – 7; Gainesville (7A) (19-7) – 5; Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (4A) (15-8) – 4; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (18-9) – 3; Williston (1A) (17-8) – 2.
