Nationally-ranked teams Oakleaf (Orange Park) & Gainesville remain unanimous seletions as the top teams in the regional softball rankings
Gainesville – The top two softball teams in the Prep Zone Power Poll remain unanimous.
Oakleaf (Orange Park), nationally-ranked No. 1 by MaxPreps, is still on top of the regional rankings. Gainesville High, ranked 9th in the country, remained second.
The Knights (17-0) are ranked #1 in the Class 8A state rankings, while the Hurricanes (14-1) are No. 1 in Class 7A.
Oakleaf defeated Gainesville, 2-1, on February 19, in the only meeting of the season between the two former district foes.
Belleview moved up one spot from fourth to third despite an open week.
Previous No. 3 South Sumter (Bushnell) dropped one spot after suffering their second loss of the season (at Crystal River, 3-2, in 9 innings). The Raiders (15-2) are ranked second in Class 5A, while the Rattlers (14-3) are ranked sixth in 6A.
Rounding out the top five is Ponte Vedra. The Sharks (14-3) were also off last week but flip-flopped with West Nassau (Callahan), which dropped from fifth to sixth despite an open date. The Warriors (15-4) are ranked 8th in 5A while the Sharks are 8th in Class 6A.
Deltona (14-2) is ranked seventh, followed by Chiefland (16-1), Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (14-5) and Springstead (Spring Hill) (19-1) in the top 10.
Unbeaten Fort White is in the rankings for the first time this season at No. 20. The Indians (15-0) are tied with #8 Chiefland for No. 2 in the 1A state rankings.
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 #6
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 3/26, and total voting points)
1. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (6) (17-0) – 120
2. Gainesville (7A) (14-1) – 114
3. Belleview (6A) (14-3) – 107
4. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (15-2) – 100
5. Ponte Vedra (6A) (14-3) – 90
6. West Nassau (Callahan) (5A) (15-4) – 89
7. Deltona (7A) (14-2) – 77
8. Chiefland (1A) (16-1) – 76
9. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (14-5) – 75
10. Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (19-1) – 65
11. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (6A) (13-4) – 64
12. Forest (Ocala) (8A) (12-8) – 55
13. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (13-4) – 52
14. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (17-3) – 51
15. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (10-4) – 36
16. Eustis (5A) (13-3) – 27
17. Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (14-5) – 26
18. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (10-5) – 10
19. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (14-5) – 9
20. Fort White (1A) (15-0) – 6
Also receiving votes: Mandarin (Jacksonville) (9A) (14-3) – 5; University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (13-5) – 2; Dunnellon (6A) (13-6) – 2; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (12-5) – 1; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (11-3) – 1.
