FHSAA Baseball Rankings: Three area teams ranked atop respective districts

[ASFN Admin]

The latest Florida High School Athletic Association baseball rankings look pretty similar to the first rankings a week ago, as far as where teams are positioned in the Pensacola area.

The rankings were again released on Monday, heading into a new week of the season. Any games that were played on Monday were not included in the rankings. Though, not many games are being played this week minus those competing in the Aggie Classic.

Currently, the top team in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties is Pace, which entered the week with a 9-2 record. The Patriots sit at No. 24 in the state – improving 16 spots from last week – while they're also top team in their district, District 1-6A.

West Florida, despite losing to Escambia during the week, is still the second-best team in the area with a 12-2 record, and slot in at No. 47 in the state, falling one spot from last week. The Jaguars are second in District 1-3A, trailing sixth-ranked South Walton with a 22.052 rating.

The postseason keeps getting closer, with district tournaments starting in mid-April while regional tourneys begin at the end of April and go through early May. Currently, the district leaders for area teams include Pace (District 1-6A), Escambia (District 1-4A) and Jay (District 1-Rural).

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Here are the second FHSAA baseball rankings for teams from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, plus a way-too-early playoff watch.

Class 6A​

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• Pace (18.771) – first in District 1-6A, second in Region 1-6A, second in Class 6A, 24th overall in state
• Tate (8.500) – second in District 1-6A, sixth in Region 1-6A, 23rd in Class 6A, 160th overall in state
• Navarre (0.717) – fourth in District 1-6A, 16th in Region 1-6A, 56th in Class 6A, 331st overall in state

Class 5A​

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• Gulf Breeze (14.358) – second in District 1-5A, third in Region 1-5A, fourth in Class 5A, 61st overall in state
• Milton (5.935) – third in District 1-5A, eighth in Region 1-5A, 26th in Class 5A, 219th overall in state
• Pine Forest (-11.338) – fourth in District 1-5A, 16th in Region 1-5A, 70th in Class 5A, 506th overall in state

Class 4A​

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• Escambia (15.057) – first in District 1-4A, third in Region 1-4A, eighth in Class 4A, 52nd overall in state
• Booker T. Washington (-1.707) – fourth in District 1-4A, ninth in Region 1-4A, 49th in Class 4A, 382nd overall in state

Class 3A​

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• West Florida (15.319) – second in District 1-3A, second in Region 1-3A, sixth in Class 3A, 47th overall in state
• Pensacola (-6.033) – fourth in District 1-3A, 14th in Region 1-3A, 58th in Class 3A, 448th overall in state

Class 2A​

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• Pensacola Catholic (9.837) – second in District 1-2A, eighth in Region 1-2A, 28th in Class 2A, 132nd overall in state

Class 1A​

• LEAD Academy (-5.673) – second in District 1-1A, 10th in Region 1-1A, 43rd in Class 1A, 443rd overall in state

Rural​

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• Jay (11.955) – first in District 1-Rural, second in Region 1-Rural, fourth in Rural, 97th overall in state
• Central (11.317) – second in District 1-Rural, third in Region 1-Rural, sixth in Rural, 109th overall in state
• Northview (3.810) – fourth in District 1-Rural, fifth in Region 1-Rural, 11th in Rural, 267th overall in state

Way-too-early region playoff picture​

District tournaments aren't for another month, but it's still fun to examine what the playoff scenarios would look like if the regular season ended today as far as region tournaments.

District champions automatically advance to the region tournament after the district tourney, and there are four at-large bids per region in Classes 1A-7A. The Rural classification only brings two district champions plus two at-large bid teams. For the playoff watch, we'll presume that the top team in each district wins the district tournament and moves onto regionals – that's what we're going to share below.

Rankings are bound to change after district tournaments as well, so we'll pretend that they didn't change at all through districts to make things a little easier. Remember: anything can happen in the playoffs.

Here's what the region tournaments would look like.

Region 1-6A​

• 1. Buchholz (2)* vs. 8. Bartram Trail (2)
• 2. Pace (1)* vs. 7. Lake Howell (4)
• 3. Tocoi Creek (2) vs. 6. Tate (1)
• 4. East River (4)* vs. 5. Fletcher (3)*

Notes: Tate enters the fold for Region 1-6A as it jumped up to sixth, but would be on the road to start the tournament at Tocoi Creek. Pace is still second in the region behind Buchholz, and, as of now, would host Lake Howell. The biggest notable change is Tocoi Creek and East River flipping, which means Fletcher would lose out on hosting as it goes to a higher-seeded district champion.

Region 1-5A​

• 1. Niceville (1)* vs. 8. Ponte Vedra (4)*
• 2. Lincoln (2)* vs. 7. Leon (2)
• 3. Gulf Breeze (1) vs. 6. Chiles (2)
• 4. Columbia (3)* vs. 5. Mosley (2)

Notes: Region 1-5A, as of now, remains a one-area team region with Gulf Breeze jumping up to No. 3. It would still host in the first round, taking on Chiles from District 2. Despite Milton being ranked eighth in the region, it would miss out on an at-large bid since Ponte Vedra, the presumed District 4 champion, is ranked ninth and gets an automatic bid into the playoffs.

Region 1-4A​

• 1. Arnold (2)* vs. 8. Fort Walton Beach (1)
• 2. Clay (3)* vs. 7. Baker County (3)
• 3. Escambia (1)* vs. 6. Choctaw (1)
• 4. St. Augustine (4)* vs. 5. Wakulla (2)

Notes: Region 1-4A is pretty straight forward with the top-four ranked teams all being district champions, which makes hosting in the quarterfinals pretty easy. The only change is Arnold and Clay flipping spots in the region. Booker T. Washington, ranked ninth in the region, just misses out on an at-large bid.

Region 1-3A​

• 1. South Walton (1)* vs. 8. Paxon (3)
• 2. West Florida (1) vs. 7. Baldwin (3)
• 3. Suwannee (3)* vs. 6. Bay (2)*
• 4. Fernandina Beach (4)* vs. 5. West Nassau (4)

Notes: The Jaguars would get in as an at-large bid, assuming South Walton takes the District 1-3A tournament. The only district champion that would lose out on hosting in the quarterfinals would be Bay (District 2), as it goes to a higher-seeded district champion at Suwannee. West Florida would take n Baldwin to start the region tournament.

Region 1-2A​

• 1. Trinity Christian (3)* vs. 8. Maclay (2)*
• 2. Bozeman (1)* vs. 7. Keystone Heights (4)*
• 3. Providence School (3) vs. 6. Bishop Snyder (3)
• 4. Episcopal (3) vs. 5. Bolles (3)

Notes: Region 1-2A gets a little crazy as District 3 appears to run the table once again with five teams in the region tournament. District 4's Keystone Heights and District 2's Maclay would lose out on hosting as they travel to higher-seeded district champions. Pensacola Catholic, despite being ranked eighth in the region, would lose out on an at-large bid since Maclay would earn the automatic bid, ranked 11th in the region.

Region 1-1A​

• 1. St. Johns Country Day (4)* vs. 8. Rocky Bayou Christian (1)*
• 2. St. Joseph Academy (4) vs. 7. Eagle's View (3)
• 3. University Christian (4) vs. 6. Covenant School (3)*
• 4. St. John Paul II (2)* vs. 5. North Florida Christian (2)

Notes: Region 1-1A is without local representation since LEAD Academy is ranked 10th in the region. District 1's Rocky Bayou Christian would lose out on hosting as it goes to a higher-seeded district champion in St. Johns Country Day. Covenant School would also host as the presumed district champion, taking on at-large bid University Christian.

Region 1-Rural​

• 1. Holmes County (2)* vs. 4. Baker (1)
• 2. Jay (1)* vs. 3. Central (1)

With both district champions as the top two teams in the region, Holmes County and Jay would both host the region semifinals. Central and Baker would go on the road to start. Northview, ranked fifth, just misses out on an at-large bid.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FHSAA Baseball Rankings: Five Pensacola-area baseball teams crack top 100

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