JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – High school baseball season is back and so are our Super 6 rankings. They’ll be published every Thursday during the regular season. Records are through April 13 games.
Super 6 baseball rankings
Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification
1. (1) Bolles (18-3, Class 4A)
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Clay, Episcopal, Fletcher, Mandarin, Providence, St. Joseph, Savannah Benedictine, Trinity Christian.
Glance: The Bulldogs won their lone game since our last Super 6, a 5-1 win over an always-tough Providence. Three hits for Jaden Flowers in that game and Sully Brackin scattered three hits and four Ks over 4.2 against the Stallions. Big one home on Friday against visiting Calvary Christian Academy, which is coached by former Eagle’s View and Trinity lead man Gil Morales. That sets up a challenging close that includes games against Creekside (home on Wednesday), at St. Johns Country Day on Thursday, and then back at home Friday against Ponte Vedra.
2. (3) Clay (17-3, Class 4A)
Notable wins: Baker County, Baldwin, Episcopal, Keystone Heights, Ponte Vedra, St. Johns Country Day, St. Joseph, Suwannee, Trinity Christian.
Glance: Clay is on a four-game winning streak, the final three of those against high quality opposition. They beat a 17-2 Santa Fe 5-4 in a whopping 14 innings last Thursday and followed that with a dominant 5-0 win over previous No. 2 Fleming Island. Richie Long went the distance and scattered three hits along the way. He also whiffed nine. In the marathon against Santa Fe, Blake Parker had four hits and Wyatt Root had three. Pitchers Logan Wilson, Brandon Adams and Steven Reiss combined to whiff 15. Reiss went 8.1 with 9 Ks in the no decision. The other W of merit in the current winning streak was an 8-3 win over Episcopal. The Blue Devils have Bartram Trail back-to-back next Tuesday and Wednesday.
3. (2) St. Johns Country Day (15-6, Class 2A)
Notable wins: Baldwin, Bartram Trail, Bolles, Creekside, Glynn Academy, Lowndes, Providence, Spruce Creek, University Christian (twice).
Glance: The Spartans have regrouped from a four-game losing streak (three of those at the IMG National) and ripped off four straight Ws. Since our last Super 6, St. Johns has beaten Providence (9-2), Creekside (1-0) and Yulee (11-1). A tough closing stretch for the Spartans, with three of their four remaining games against Calvary Christian (Saturday), Bishop Kenny (Tuesday) and Bolles on Thursday.
4. (2) Fleming Island (17-3, Class 6A)
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny (twice), Creekside, Episcopal, Nease (twice), Palatka, Ponte Vedra, St. Johns Country Day, St. Joseph.
Glance: The Golden Eagles dropped back-to-back games last week (Sandalwood and Clay) but bounced back with wins this week over Middleburg (3-2) and a solid Palatka squad (5-2). They’ve got the St. Johns River Athletic Conference final against No. 5 Bartram on tap Thursday night. Drew Homitz (.423), Marcus Murray (.393) and Aidan Mastantuno (.357) lead the Golden Eagles at the plate. Cody Carwile (6-0, 41 IP, 78Ks, 1.02 ERA) remains unbeaten on the mound.
5. (5) Bartram Trail (18-4, Class 7A)
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Bolles, Creekside, Episcopal, Fleming Island, Fletcher, Mandarin, Nease, North Florida Christian, Ponte Vedra (twice), St. Augustine, St. Joseph
Glance: Solid two weeks of work for the Bears, who are unbeaten in April, with wins of merit over Creekside, Episcopal and Nease this month. The 2-1 win over Nease was particularly gratifying since the Panthers dimed Bartram earlier this season. They’ve got a challenging conference final on Thursday night against Fleming Island on tap before closing the regular season out with back-to-back games against Clay on Tuesday and Wednesday.
6. (NR) Episcopal (15-5, Class 3A)
Notable wins: Bishop Kenny, Fletcher, IMG Academy Silver, Mandarin, Nease, Providence, Stanton, Suwannee.
Glance: This was a tough, tough call this week. The Eagles are back in after winning games over West Nassau (8-0) and a tough Suwannee squad (3-1). Went back and forth on Episcopal and Sandalwood here and went with the Eagles. The Saints are riding a nine-game winning streak entering the Gateway Conference semifinals Thursday night against First Coast, including a win over a previous No. 1 in Fleming Island. The strength of schedule is the decider for this spot. Only five teams in MaxPreps top 100 in the state have a lower strength of schedule than the Saints. So, Episcopal is in this week. Dillon Haines (.406) and Connor McGarity (.400) are still in the .400 club for the Eagles. That could change next week, though. Sandalwood winning the Gateway and then beating a Trinity Christian on April 22 would be big for the Saints.
Dropped out: Trinity Christian (12-8, Class 3A).
Others
Bishop Kenny (10-11, Class 4A); Creekside (13-8, Class 6A); Fernandina Beach (14-5, Class 3A); First Coast (18-2, Class 6A); Fletcher (11-10, Class 6A); Keystone Heights (12-10, Class 3A); Mandarin (13-6, Class 7A); Nease (11-11, Class 7A); Palatka (14-5, Class 4A); Parker (12-7, Class 5A); Providence (11-10, Class 3A); St. Joseph (12-9, Class 2A); Sandalwood (17-2, Class 7A); Suwannee (16-5, Class 4A); Trinity Christian (12-8, Class 3A); Union County (19-1, Class 1A); University Christian (11-4, Class 2A).