Gainesville – In a match-up of the top two teams in the baseball Prep Zone Power Poll, the top-ranked team prevailed to hold on to the No. 1 ranking.
Creekside (St. Johns) lost to 8A Sandalwood (Jacksonville), which moved into the poll at No. 16 following two top 20 wins last week. But the 5A Knights (17-1) bounced back from their first defeat of the season last Wednesday with a convincing 8-2 win over No. 2 Clay on Monday night and were a unanimous #1.
The loss dropped the 5A Blue Devils (13-3) from second to third, while previous #4 Spruce Creek (Port Orange) moved up two spots to second. Clay also defeated previous No. 10 Baker County (Glen St. Mary), 3-2, while the 8A Hawks (16-3) went 4-0 at the Central Florida Spring Break Slam at Dr. Phillips (Orlando).
Fleming Island (Orange Park) dropped from third to fourth following a 5-4 loss at West Nassau (Callahan). The Golden Eagles’ (13-2) only other loss was against No. 3 Clay.
Rounding out the top five is Columbia (Lake City), which went 1-0 last week with a win against Class 6A-District 2 foe Orange Park. The Tigers (13-2), who have won seven of their last eight games, remained fifth.
Hernando (Brooksville) (15-2) is ranked sixth, up three spots from ninth, followed by Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (12-4) at No. 7, Forest (Ocala) (13-3), Stanton (Jacksonville) (12-4) and Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (13-6), which moved up two spots to 10th following a 3-1 week and the narrow loss to Clay.
A pair of 7A schools, East Ridge (Clermont) and Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), dropped out of the poll, while 6A Gainesville (11-6) re-entered the poll at No. 19.
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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
Prep Zone Power Poll – 2014 Baseball Poll #3
(School, followed by first-place votes, classification, overall record through 3/31 and total voting points)
1. Creekside (St. Johns) (7) (5A) (17-1) – 140
2. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8A) (16-3) – 129
3. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (13-3) – 125
4. Fleming Island (Orange Park) (7A) (13-2) – 118
5. Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (13-2) – 117
6. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (15-2) – 99
7. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-4) – 95
8. Forest (Ocala) (6A) (13-3) – 85
9. Stanton (Jacksonville) (5A) (12-4) – 83
10. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (13-6)– 70
11. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (4A) (10-5) – 66
12. Providence (Jacksonville) (3A) (12-6) – 58
13. DeLand (8A) (11-5) – 50
14. Ponte Vedra (5A) (12-6) – 49
15. Trenton (1A) (13-2) – 44
16. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (11-5) – 41
17. Williston (1A) (13-3) – 38
18. Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (12-6) – 19
19. Gainesville (6A) (11-6) – 13
20. Seven Rivers Christian (Lecanto) (2A) (13-1) – 12
Also receiving votes: Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (11-5) – 7; Baldwin (4A) (10-3) – 2; Pine Ridge (Deltona) (6A) (8-2) – 1.
