FHSAA Softball Rankings: Pace and Jay rank within top 10 of entire state

[ASFN Admin]

Northwest Florida still boasts two top 10 teams in the latest Florida High School Athletic Association softball rankings.

With the latest FHSAA softball rankings released on Monday, there is less than a month to go until district tournaments begin on April 28. Any games that were played on Monday were not included in the rankings.

Pace, despite falling for the first time this season to Jay, remains the area's top-ranked team at No. 5 in the state with a rating of 21.936. Jay, climbing up the rankings five spots, also cracked the top 10 this week with a 19.981 rating and an undefeated 10-0 record.

Three other teams cracked the top 100, including Navarre (59), Gulf Breeze (78) and Northview (84).

District leaders, as of now, Pace (6A), Pine Forest (4A), West Florida (3A) and Jay (Rural). The Royals are also the top team in the entire Rural class.

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

Class 6A​

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• Pace (21.936) – first in District 1-6A, first in Region 1-6A, second in Class 6A, fifth overall in state
• Navarre (13.138) – second in District 1-6A, third in Region 1-6A, 11th in Class 6A, 59th overall in state
• Tate (1.906) – fourth in District 1-6A, 15th in Region 1-6A, 47th in Class 6A, 247th overall in state

Class 5A​

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• Gulf Breeze (11.919) – second in District 1-5A, sixth in Region 1-5A, 10th in Class 5A, 78th overall in state
• Milton (7.934) – second in District 1-5A, eighth in Region 1-5A, 18th in Class 5A, 127th overall in state

Class 4A​

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• Pine Forest (-0.967) – first in District 1-4A, eighth in Region 1-4A, 34th in Class 4A, 311th overall in state
• Escambia (-1.371) – second in District 1-4A, ninth in Region 1-4A, 36th in Class 4A, 321st overall in state
• Booker T. Washington (-12.328) – third in District 1-4A, 12th in Region 1-4A, 62nd in Class 4A, 480th overall in state

Class 3A​

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• West Florida (7.627) – first in District 1-3A, third in Region 1-3A, 15th in Class 3A, 134th overall in state
• Pensacola (-13.076) – fourth in District 1-3A, 14th in Region 1-3A, 61st in Class 3A, 487th overall in state

Class 2A​

• Pensacola Catholic (-10.013) – sixth in District 1-2A, 17th in Region 1-2A, 62nd in Class 2, 454th overall in state

Class 1A​

• LEAD Academy (-16.526) – sixth in District 1-1A, 17th in Region 1-1A, 66th in Class 1A, 514th overall in state

Rural​

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• Jay (19.981) – first in District 1-Rural, first in Region 1-Rural, first in Rural, ninth overall in state
• Northview (11.091) – second in District 1-Rural, second in Region 1-Rural, eighth in Rural, 84th overall in state
• Central (-0.36) – fifth in District 1-Rural, seventh in Region 1-Rural, 28th in Rural, 295th overall in state

Way-too-early playoff watch​

District tournaments aren't for another few weeks, 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. Pace (1)* vs. 8. Fletcher (2)*
• 2. Horizon (4)* vs. 7. Buchholz (3)
• 3. Navarre (1) vs. 6. Oakleaf (3)
• 4. Bartram Trail (3)* vs. 5. Tocoi Creek (3)

Notes: The region continues to run through Pace, as long as the Patriots keep winning in the playoffs. All four district champions are in the top eight teams, however Fletcher, the presumed District 2 champion, would lose out on hosting, going to top-seeded Pace. Navarre gets in as an at-large bid, ranked third in the region, and would host Oakleaf in the region quarterfinals.

Region 1-5A​

• 1. Niceville (1)* vs. 8. Milton (1)
• 2. Middleburg (3)* vs. 7. Fleming Island (3)
• 3. Matanzas (4)* vs. 6. Gulf Breeze (1)
• 4. Chiles (2)* vs. 5. Ponte Vedra (4)

Notes: Region 1-5A is pretty straightforward as all four presumed district champions are the top four teams in region, meaning they would all host in the quarterfinals. Gulf Breeze gets in as an at-large bid as the No. 6 team, and would travel to Matanzas to start the playoffs. Milton, as the eighth seed and an at-large team, would head to top-seeded Niceville in the quarterfinals.

Region 1-4A​

• 1. Baker County (3)* vs. 8. Pine Forest (1)*
• 2. Fort Walton Beach (2)* vs. 7. Choctaw (2)
• 3. Columbia (3) vs. 6. Menendez (4)
• 4. Arnold (2) vs. 5. Clay (4)*

Notes: All four presumed district champions are within the top eight teams, meaning no one gets omitted from the region playoffs. Arnold, despite being ranked fourth, still has to go on the road to the presumed District 4 champion, Clay, in the quarterfinals. Pine Forest, the presumed District 1 champion, gets an automatic bid but would be on the road to top-seeded Baker County, a higher-ranked district champion. Escambia, ranked ninth, just falls short of an at-large bid.

Region 1-3A​

• 1. Wakulla (2)* vs. 8. Bishop Kenny (4)*
• 2. Paxon (3)* vs. 7. West Nassau (3)
• 3. West Florida (1)* vs. 6. Suwannee (2)
• 4. Yulee (3) vs. 5. South Walton (1)

Notes: The four presumed district champions are within the top eight teams, however Bishop Kenny (District 4) would lose out on hosting in the quarterfinals, going to top-seeded Wakulla, a higher-seeded district champion. West Florida would get in as the No. 3 seed, and would host Suwannee in the first round of the region tournament.

Region 1-2A​

• 1. Baldwin (3)* vs. 8. Providence School (4)
• 2. North Bay Haven (1)* vs. 7. Florida High (2)*
• 3. Episcopal (4)* vs. 6. Freeport (1)
• 4. Bishop Snyder (3) vs. 5. Bozeman (1)

Notes: Region 1-2A doesn't feature any area teams in the playoffs. Other than that, the four presumed district champions are in the top eight teams. Florida high is the only presumed district champion that wouldn't host in the quarterfinals, going to a higher-seeded district champ in North Bay Haven.

Region 1-1A​

• 1. University Christian (3)* vs. 8. First Coast Christian (2)*
• 2. North Florida Christian (1)* vs. 7. Rocky Bayou Christian (1)
• 3. Peniel Baptist (4)* vs. 6. St. John Paul II (1)
• 4. Harvest Community (3) vs. 5. St. Joseph Academy (4)

Notes: There aren't any area teams in Region 1-1A. However, other things get a little weird as the District 2 champion, First Coast Christian, is ranked ninth in the region, so it gets bumped into the eighth spot. Countryside Christian loses out on an at-large bid, ranked eighth in the region. The other three district champions still host.

Region 1-Rural​

• 1. Jay (1)* vs. 4. Paxton (1)
• 2. Northview (1) vs. 3. Holmes County (2)*

Notes: District 1 has three teams in the top four teams of the region, with Jay and Northview being area teams to make the playoffs. Jay, the presumed District 1 champion, hosts Paxton in the semifinals. Northview would have to go on the road to a district champion, Holmes County, for the region semifinals.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FHSAA Softball Rankings: Five Pensacola-area teams rank inside top 100

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