Oakleaf (Orange Park) takes over the top spot
Gainesville – There’s a new No. 1 in the Prep Zone Power Poll for softball.
Oakleaf (Orange Park) moved to the top spot after Baker County (Glen St. Mary) lost on a walk-off home run to West Nassau (Callahan), which moved up five spots to second in this week’s all-classification regional rankings.
The Knights (9-0) were a unanimous selection and they received all eight first-place votes following a 2-0 week that included a 1-0 win against previous No. 19 Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville).
The second-ranked Warriors (9-0), who have outscored their past five opponents 55-0, including the win on Friday night against previous No. 1 Baker County, edged Ponte Vedra for the No. 2 spot. The Sharks (8-0) moved up one spot to third following a 3-0 week which included a 2-1 win against previous No. 9 Clay (Green Cove Springs).
Belleview is ranked fourth. The Rattlers (7-0) knocked off previous #3 Forest (Ocala), 5-4 in 10 innings, and moved up two spots in this week’s poll. The Wildcats (5-3) dropped four spots to seventh following an additional loss to No. 5 Gainesville.
The nationally-ranked Hurricanes’ win against Forest capped a 4-0 week. GHS (9-1) also defeated RV Columbia (Lake City), 4-0, on Thursday.
Baker County dropped from first to sixth. The Wildcats (6-1) are followed by Forest, Deltona (8-0), Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (8-1) and 1A Lafayette (Mayo) (8-2) in the top 10.
Class 5A South Sumter (Bushnell) (8-1) and unbeaten University Christian (Jacksonville) (6-0) enter the poll for the first time this season at Nos. 16 & 20, respectively.
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 #2
(School, followed by classification, first-place votes, record through 2/28, and total voting points)
1. Oakleaf (Orange Park) (8A) (8) (9-0) – 160
2. West Nassau (Callahan) (5A) (9-0) – 145
3. Ponte Vedra (5A) (8-0) – 138
4. Belleview (6A) (7-0) – 135
5. Gainesville (7A) (9-1) – 131
6. Baker County (Glen St. Mary) (5A) (6-1) – 127
7. Forest (Ocala) (7A) (5-3) – 100
8. Deltona (7A) (8-0) – 98
9. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (9A) (8-1) – 91
10. Lafayette (Mayo) (1A) (8-2) – 82
11. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (5A) (6-2) – 78
12. Chiefland (1A) (6-1) – 74
13. Eustis (5A) (8-1) – 61
14. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (7-3) – 50
15. Nature Coast (Brooksville) (5A) (10-1) – 45
16. South Sumter (Bushnell) (5A) (8-1) – 37
17. Aucilla Christian (Monticello) (2A) (3-1) – 35
18. Flagler Palm Coast (9A) (6-2) – 24
19. Lake Minneola (8A) (7-2) – 23
20. University Christian (Jacksonville) (3A) (6-0) – 12
Also receiving votes: Suwannee (Live Oak) (5A) (4-1) – 9; Orange Park (6A) (5-3) – 7; Montverde Academy (4A) (7-1) – 5; Fort White (1A) (9-0) – 4; Bartram Trail (St. Johns) (7A) (6-3) – 3; Union County (Lake Butler) (1A) (7-2) – 2; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (8A) (6-3) – 2; Springstead (Spring Hill) (6A) (8-1) – 2.
