Gainesville – For the second consecutive week, there’s a new team on top of the softball Prep Zone Power Poll.
Top-ranked North Marion (Citra) lost all four of its games last week at the Doc 4 Life Showdown and tumbled six spots to seventh. The Colts (14-5) had been nationally-ranked in the Max Preps poll, but fell to Keystone Heights, Hernando (Brooksville), Columbia (Lake City) and Ponte Vedra, all of whom are either receiving votes or ranked in this week’s poll.
So, Creekside (St. Johns) returns to No. 1 in the rankings. The Knights (20-2) received all seven first-place votes following a 5-1 week, including a 4-1 record at the same tournament in Belleview.
Baker County (Glen St. Mary) moved up three spots to third. The Wildcats (17-1) have won 17 in a row since a season-opening loss to First Coast (Jacksonville).
Rounding out the top five were Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (15-4) and Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (20-4).
PK Yonge (Gainesville) (19-2) is ranked sixth, followed by North Marion and Columbia (19-4), who are tied for seventh, Belleview (16-6) and Lafayette (Mayo) (15-3) in the top 10.
No teams fell out of this week’s poll.
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, basketball, softball and 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, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters.
PREP ZONE POWER POLL – 2013 SOFTBALL POLL #5
(School, followed by classification, record through April 7, first-place votes and total voting points)
1. Creekside (St. Johns) (5A) (20-2) (7) – 140
2. Bradford (Starke) (4A) (20-2) – 129
3. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (17-1) – 124
4. Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (5A) (15-4) – 108
5. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (3A) (20-4) – 107
6. PK Yonge (Gainesville) (3A) (19-2) – 106
7T North Marion (Citra) (5A) (14-5) – 93
7T Columbia (Lake City) (6A) (19-4) – 93
9. Belleview (5A) (16-6) – 90
10. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (15-3) – 79
11. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (6A) (15-4) – 63
12. St. Augustine (6A) (17-4) – 60
13. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (16-4) – 59
14. Ponte Vedra (5A) (16-5) – 49
15. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (8A) (17-3) – 40
16. The Villages (1A) (18-2) – 30
17. East Ridge (Clermont) (7A) (14-6) – 28
18. Baldwin (1A) (16-4) – 26
19. Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (13-5) – 25
20. Hernando (Brooksville) (5A) (16-6) – 5
Also receiving votes: Keystone Heights (4A) (10-7) – 4; Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (9-4) – 4; Mount Dora (4A) (15-3) – 4; Hernando Christian (2A) (13-2) – 3; Bolles (Jacksonville) (4A) (13-8) – 1
