Oakleaf (Orange Park) remains No. 1; South Sumter (Bushnell) moves into the top 10
Gainesville – Nationally-ranked Oakleaf (Orange Park) remained on top of the Prep Zone Power Poll for softball.
The Knights (12-0) moved up to No. 7 in the MaxPreps national rankings following a 3-0 week. Oakleaf was a unanimous selection as the top overall team in the regional rankings by receiving all seven first-place votes.
Unbeaten West Nassau (Callahan) remained second. The Warriors (12-0) have outscored their opponents this season 126-10.
Last week they defeated previous No. 14 Creekside (St. Johns), 4-3 in nine innings, which dropped the Knights (7-4) four spots to No. 18. All four losses by Creekside have been on the road.
Nationally-ranked Gainesville, which is 17th according to MaxPreps, moved up two spots to third following a 2-0 week. The Hurricanes’ (11-1) only loss was to No. 1 Oakleaf, 2-1, on February 19.
Another unbeaten, Deltona, moved up four spots to fourth. The Class 7A Wolves (10-0) went 2-0 including a 2-1 win at previous No. 18 Flagler Palm Coast.
Rounding out the top five is Belleview.
The Rattlers (9-1) went 2-1 last week and dropped one spot following a 4-2 loss to previous No. 16 South Sumter (Bushnell), which moved up seven spots to ninth. The Raiders (11-1) have won six in a row since a 3-2 loss at #11 Eustis in 8 innings on Feb. 18.
Class 9A Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (10-1) is ranked sixth, followed by Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (8-2), Ponte Vedra, South Sumter and Forest (Ocala) in the top 10.
The 10th-ranked Wildcats (7-4) began the season nationally-ranked but lost their fourth game of the season last week against #18 Lake Minneola (9-3). The No. 8 Sharks (12-2) went 4-2 last week with losses to 8A #5 George Jenkins (Lakeland) & Orange Park, which enters the poll for the first time this season at No. 20.
The Raiders (9-3), who are receiving votes in the 6A state rankings, went 3-0 last week and outscored their three opponents, including previous No. 3 Ponte Vedra, by a combined 33-0.
Oakleaf (8A), University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) and Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) are each ranked No. 1 in the state rankings in their respective classes.
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 – 2016 SOFTBALL POLL #3
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 3/6, and total voting points)
1. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (7) (12-0) – 140
2. West Nassau (Callahan) (5A) (12-0) – 131
3. Gainesville (7A) (11-1) – 128
4. Deltona (7A) (10-0) – 114
5. Belleview (6A) (9-1) – 105
6. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (10-1) – 97
7. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (8-2) – 90
8. Ponte Vedra (5A) (12-2) – 81
9. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (11-1) – 78
10. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (7-4) – 73
11. Eustis (5A) (10-1) – 70
12. Chiefland (1A) (10-1) – 59
13. University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (9-0) – 55
14. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (10-3) – 53
15. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (7-2) – 50
16. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (12-1) – 45
17. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (6-1) – 26
18T Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (7-4) – 21
18T Lake Minneola (8A) (9-3) – 21
20. Orange Park (6A) (9-3) – 17
Also receiving votes: Montverde Academy (4A) (10-1) – 5; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (10-3) – 4; Fort White (1A) (12-0) – 4; Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (10-1) – 2; Dunnellon (6A) (10-4) – 1.
