JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Varsity 4 Super 6 high school baseball rankings presented by the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp will be published on Fridays during the regular season. Records are through March 27.
Varsity 4 Super 6 baseball rankings
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Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification
1. (1) Trinity Christian (13-3, Class 2A)
Quality wins: Baldwin, Beachside, Bishop Snyder, Columbia, Creekside, Florida Christian, Lincoln, Marist (Ga.), North Marion (twice), Providence, University Christian.
Notable: The Conquerors lost twice during spring break, but those came to a 17-1 IMG Academy (2-1) and a 14-5 Jesuit (3-2). Those are elite schools. They drummed previous No. 2 Providence in a 10-0 dime, and added another 10-0 over Baldwin in a 15-K, one-hit game from Aaron Watson. Trinity has state championship contender written all over it.
2. (NR) Creekside (13-7, Class 7A)
Quality wins: Bolles, Clay, Columbia, Hagerty, Hillgove (Ga.), Lincoln, North Marion, Providence, Spruce Creek, St. Joseph, Windermere.
Notable: The Knights surge into the Super 6. They have the best body of work by an area public school, with high-quality wins over two-loss teams Hagerty and Spruce Creek headlining their resume. They’ve split the season series with both of those teams. This week alone, Creekside has wins over Bolles, Clay and St. Joseph. Connor Balazic (.533, 4 HR) leads the Knights. Two losses to 8-10 rival Bartram Trail are worrisome, but the Knights have been excellent.
3. (3) Bishop Snyder (13-5 Class 2A)
Quality wins: Baldwin, Columbia, Florida Christian, Neumann, Ponte Vedra, Sandalwood, Suwannee, Tocoi Creek, University Christian.
Notable: The Cardinals had a rough four-game losing streak, three to quality teams and another to an 8-11 Cardinal Gibbons. They responded with a five-game winning streak, including quality Ws over Suwannee, UC, Florida Christian and Neumann. Tripp Hannah is hitting .429, followed by Cody Boshell (.364) and Josh Murray (.311).
4. (4) St. Johns Country Day (12-6, Class 1A)
Quality win: Baldwin, Clay, Maclay, Middleburg, Neumann, Oakleaf, Valdosta (Ga.), Suwannee
Notable: The defending 1A state champs ended a four-game losing streak with quality wins over Oakleaf and Neumann. They did have a big loss to Columbia (11-3) but St. Johns has seemingly gotten back on track. Big game against Providence on Friday. TJ Sunderhaus (.460, 3 HR, 14 RBI), Preston Cole (.389, 3 HR) and Brayden Harris (.348) lead the offense. Harris has been lights out on the mound, too (5-0, 0.76 ERA, 75 Ks, 36.2 IP).
5. (NR) Fernandina Beach (15-2, Class 3A)
Quality wins: Englewood (twice), First Coast, Fletcher, Oakleaf, Sandalwood.
Notable: Great start by the Pirates, and I moved them back in hesitantly this week. One of their losses is to a 3-13 Hilliard, but they also beat Hilliard 12-2. Tanner Jones (.380) and Trace Farmer (.367) lead Fernandina at the plate.
6. (NR) Columbia (10-7, Class 5A)
Quality wins: Bartram Trail, Episcopal, IMG Academy Gray, St. Johns Country Day, Santa Fe, Suwannee
Notable: I had as difficult a time with this spot as I’ve had with any ranking all season. Bolles, Clay, Episcopal and Providence all have cases for the rankings, but concerning recent losses. Other teams that made a push were St. Joseph and Tocoi Creek, but both are mired in losing streaks. The further down contenders like Keystone Heights don’t have the meat of the schedule. I opted for the Tigers due to recent quality wins over No. 4 St. Johns (11-3) and previously ranked Episcopal (5-2). Ayden Phillips (.404, 2 HR, 15 RBI) and Trayce McKenzie (.400) are leading the way.
Dropped out
Bolles (12-6, Class 2A); Clay (12-7, Class 4A); Episcopal (14-5, Class 2A); Providence (12-7, Class 2A).
On the bubble
Baldwin (10-10, Class 3A); Bartram Trail (8-10, Class 6A); Bolles (12-6, Class 2A); Christ’s Church (11-7, Class 1A); Clay (12-7, Class 4A); Englewood (8-8, Class 5A); Episcopal (14-5, Class 2A); Fletcher (11-6-1, Class 6A); First Coast (9-7, Class 6A); Keystone Heights (13-4, Class 2A); Oakleaf (9-10, Class 6A); Ponte Vedra (10-6, Class 5A); Providence (12-7, Class 2A); St. Joseph (13-3-1, Class 2A); Sandalwood (11-5, Class 7A); Suwannee (12-6, Class 3A); Tocoi Creek (13-4, Class 6A); University Christian (12-6, Class 2A); West Nassau (10-7, Class 3A).
