Bolles (Jacksonville) follows up a No. 1 finish in boys’ basketball by ending the 2015-16 year on top of the final regional baseball rankings
GAINESVILLE – Following its seventh FHSAA state baseball title in school history, Bolles (Jacksonille) finished on top of the Prep Zone Power Poll for baseball, and boys’ basketball.
The nationally-ranked Bulldogs (28-3) won the Class 5A state title with at 1-0 win in nine innings against 5A #4 Monsignor Pace (Miami) in the title game, as well as a 5-0 win against 5A #3 Melbourne Central Catholic in the state semifinals, handing the Hustlers (30-2) their first loss to a Florida school this season.
In fact, Bolles, a unanimous selection as the top overall team with seven first-place votes, did not lose to a team from the Sunshine State. They allowed only one run in five regional and state tournament games.
Jonathan DeWane, who was a member of the Class 4A state champion Bulldogs’ basketball team back in February, had the walk-off bunt single in the 9th for Bolles, which is only the second team in Duval County to win a baseball and boys’ basketball title in the same year (Arlington Country Day, 2006).
The ‘Dogs also posted wins this season against No. 2 Creekside (St. Johns), #4 Providence (Jacksonville) & #6 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville).
Creekside, which was a state semifinalist in Class 7A, moved up two spots to second.
The Knights (25-6), who advanced to their third state semifinal in the past four years, lost to Venice, defending 6A state champion and this year’s 7A state runners-up, 3-2, in the state semifinals. They dominated their regional opponents, 23-2, but struggled to push runs across the plate against Caleb Williams and reliever Brent Killam, who will play at Georgetown next season.
Nationally-ranked University (Orange City), last year’s 8A state runners-up, dropped one spot to finish third. The Titans (24-4-1) lost to 9A #1 West Orange (Winter Garden), 2-0, in the regional finals in a match-up of two of the top 20 teams in the country. In the second round of the 9A state playoffs, University beat then No. 5 Spruce Creek (Port Orange), 5-3, dropping the Hawks (23-6) to seventh in the final regional rankings.
Jacksonville schools Trinity Christian and Providence had quite the battles in 4A-District 2.
The defending 4A state champion Conquerors defeated Providence in the regular season, 3-1, and also in the district championship game, 2-1. But Trinity Christian (23-6) couldn’t beat the Stallions a third time, as the Conquerors’ season ended in the 4A regional final, 5-1, and they dropped three spots to finish sixth.
The Stallions (23-7) won at 4A #1 Trinity Christian and #2 Pensacola Catholic in the postseason, but they lost to unranked Bishop Verot (Ft. Myers), 3-1, in the state semifinals. Providence moved up three spots to finish fourth.
Following back-to-back state semifinal appearances, Forest (Ocala) rounds out the top five. The Wildcats (22-9) won at then #9 Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville), 3-0, in the 8A regional finals, but lost a wild 19-16 game in 12 innings to Hagerty (Oviedo) in the state semifinals.
Following Trinity Christian and Spruce Creek in the top 10 are No. 8 Lafayette (Mayo), #9 Terry Parker (Jacksonville) and #10 North Marion (Citra).
Lafayette (21-6) made the biggest jump in the rankings. The Class 1A state champion Hornets moved up 12 spots following a 2-0 win in the title game against previous No. 10 Chiefland (24-5), which dropped one spot to 11th. The Hornets won their first baseball state title in school history behind a complete game three-hit shutout by junior Zach Yaeger and RBI’s by seniors Kayne Hurst and Mason Herring.
In their first regional final since 2005, Terry Parker lost to eventual 6A state runner-up Mosley (Lynn Haven), 5-1, in the Region 1-6A final. The Braves (25-4) won first district title since 2000 when they defeated Stanton in the District 3-6A championship and they scored five runs in their last at bat in the bottom of the 7th to win a thrilling regional semifinal game against No .14 Ridgeview (Orange Park).
North Marion advanced to its first state semifinal in school history. The Colts (22-9) lost to nationally-ranked Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches), 14-2 (5 innings), in the 6A state semifinals, but they knocked off nationally-ranked Jesuit (Tampa), 3-2, to get there. They also defeated #13 Belleview, 3-2 (8 innings), in the regional semifinals.
Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) moved into the top 20 for the first time ever at No. 15. The Eagles had a historic season, advancing to their first state title game appearance in school history. They won their first regional title, followed by a 2-1 win against Seacrest Country Day (Naples), 2-1 (10 innings), in the Class 2A state semifinals, but lost to Trinity Christian (Lake Worth), 12-1 (5 innings), in the title game.
Duval County had the most teams in the poll with seven (top-ranked Bolles, #4 Providence, #6 Trinity Christian, #9 Terry Parker, #12 Atlantic Coast, #15 Christ’s Church and #18 Bishop Kenny), followed by Marion County with four (No. 5 Forest, #10 North Marion, #13 Belleview & #16 Trinity Catholic).
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 – 2016 BASEBALL POLL #11 (FINAL RANKINGS)
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, final record and total voting points)
1. Bolles (Jacksonville) (5A) (7) (28-3) – 140
2. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (25-6) – 130
3. University (Orange City) (9A) (24-4-1) – 122
4. Providence (Jacksonville) (4A) (23-7) – 117
5. Forest (Ocala) (8A) (22-9) – 104
6. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (4A) (23-6) – 102
7. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (23-6) – 91
8. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (21-6) – 88
9. Terry Parker (Jacksonville) (6A) (25-4) – 87
10. North Marion (Citra) (6A) (22-9) – 85
11. Chiefland (1A) (24-5) – 72
12. Atlantic Coast (Jacksonvile) (8A) (22-8) – 69
13. Belleview (6A) (22-7) – 53
14. Ridgeview (Orange Park) (6A) (20-8) – 36
15. Christ’s Church (Jacksonville) (2A) (26-4) – 34
16. Trinity Catholic (Ocala) (4A) (20-8) – 30
17. The Villages (5A) (22-9) – 28
18. Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville) (5A) (20-9) – 23
19. Nease (Ponte Vedra) (7A) (22-6) – 22
20. Columbia (Lake City) (7A) (17-12) – 13
Also receiving votes: Trinity Christian (Deltona) (2A) (17-12) – 12, St. John Lutheran (Ocala) (2A) (19-7) – 3, South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (21-5) – 2, Palatka (5A) (17-11) – 2, Trenton (1A) (14-7) – 2, Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (20-5) – 1, Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (18-11) – 1, Yulee (5A) (18-8) – 1.
