Bolles (Jacksonville) wins back-to-back state titles to finish on top of the regional baseball rankings
GAINESVILLE – Three area teams won a high school baseball state title this year, while four others finished as state runners-up.
Two of the three champions finished on top of the final regional rankings, including Class 5A state champion Bolles (Jacksonville), the top overall team in The Prep Zone Power Poll for 2017.
The Bulldogs (21-10) defeated Bishop Moore (Orlando), 7-2, in the 5A state championship game at Hammond Stadium in Fort Myers to finish No. 1 in the final state baseball rankings. They also garnered six of the seven first-place votes to finish on top of the regional rankings.
It was the second consecutive state title for Bolles, which had wins this year against No. 3 Providence (Jacksonville), No. 4 Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) and No. 8 Fletcher (Neptune Beach).
Class 1A state champion Trenton finished second.
The Tigers (27-1) defeated #17 Madison County, 3-2, to win its second state title in five years. Trenton, which received the other first-place vote, ended the season with 20 consecutive victories.
Two other teams who competed for a state title in Fort Myers round out the top five.
University (Orange City), the Class 9A state runners-up, and University Christian (Jacksonville), the 3A runners-up, finished tied for fifth.
The Titans’ Logan Allen threw three consecutive shutouts on the road to advance to Fort Myers, where Allen then no-hit Miami Palmetto in the state semifinals. University (25-7) was shutout in the state title game by Timber Creek (Orlando), 5-0, and finished ranked 2nd in the state baseball poll for 9A.
University Christian (21-9) lost to nationally-ranked Canterbury (Fort Myers), 4-1, in the 3A state championship game after defeating Archbishop Carroll (Miami), 6-0, in the state semifinals.
The other state champion from the area was Nease (Ponte Vedra), which won the Class 7A state title with an 11-0 win against King (Tampa) in the state championship game. It was the first state title in school history for the Panthers (21-11), who defeated the Nos. 1 (Cantonment Tate) and 2 teams (Palm Beach Gardens Dwyer) in the state in the postseason.
Class 2A Trinity Christian (Deltona), along with 1A Madison County (19-11), finished as state runners-up. They finished 12th and 17th, respectively, in the Prep Zone Power Poll.
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 #8 (FINAL RANKING)
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, final record, and total voting points)
1. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (6) (21-10) – 139
2. Trenton (1A) (1) (27-1) – 132
3. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (6) (23-6) – 118
4. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (25-4) – 113
5T. University (Orange City) (9A) (25-7) – 101
5T. University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (21-9) – 101
7. Sandalwood (Jacksonville) (9A) (23-4) – 88
8. Fletcher (Neptune Beach) (8A) (20-8) – 84
9. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (21-11) – 83
10. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (23-4) – 72
11. Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (24-4) – 45
12. Trinity Christian (Deltona) (2A) (22-9) – 44
13T. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (18-8) – 43
13T. Keystone Heights (5A) (21-7) – 43
15T. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (6A) (18-12) – 41
15T. Belleview (6A) (22-7) – 41
17. Madison County (1A) (19-11) – 39
18. Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) (2A) (21-6) – 25
19. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (18-8) – 24
20T. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (17-7) – 21
20T. DeLand (9A) (19-10) – 21
Also receiving votes: Mandarin (Jacksonville) (9A) (16-9) – 12; Taylor (Pierson) (1A) (21-6) – 11; Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (21-5) – 11; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (5A) (19-10) – 7; Stanton (Jacksonville) (6A) (21-7) – 4; Ponte Vedra (6A) (17-11) – 3; Dunnellon (6A) (17-11) – 2; North Marion (Citra) (6A) (17-10) – 1; Forest (Ocala) (8A) (16-12) – 1.
