JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Super 6 baseball rankings will be published each Tuesday through the end of the regular season. Results are through March 28 games.
Super 6 baseball rankings
Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification
1. (1) St. Johns Country Day (9-1, Class 2A)
Quality wins: Bolles, Episcopal, Houston County (Ga.), LaGrange (Ga.), Madison Central (Miss.), Oakleaf, Providence.
Glance: It took a big comeback for the Spartans to win their biggest game of the week, a 9-6 comeback win over Providence last Tuesday. And boy, did they ever. St. Johns pounded five homers in the game and pushed six runs across in the fifth and sixth innings for the win. Kody Daneault, Shawn Andrade, Finn Howell, Jordan Taylor and Vic Patel all homered in the game. Howell shut down Oakleaf in the other local game of the week with a two-hitter in a 12-2 win. Bradley Hodges blasted his sixth homer of the season against the Knights. I’ll say it again: this team is destined for a state championship this season. They’ve got a good showdown at home on Tuesday night against Trinity Christian.
2. (2) Columbia (9-1, Class 5A)
Quality wins: Gainesville (twice), North Florida Christian (twice), Suwannee, Union County.
Glance: Just one since our last Super 6, an 8-7 win in eight innings over North Florida Christian. Hayden Gustavson (.448), Brayden Thomas (.435) and Chandler Howard (.406) remain at .400-or-better at the plate for the Tigers. The Tigers host face a solid Baker County team this week (Tuesday and Thursday). Columbia has won nine straight since a loss to Sandalwood in the opener.
3. (6) Providence (8-4, Class 3A)
Quality wins: Apalachee (Ga.), Central (Ala.), Denmark (Ga.), Florida High, Tattnall Square (Ga.), Wesleyan (Ga.).
Glance: Good week of work for the Stallions, who went 2-1 with a 7-0 win over 12-5 Phenix City Central (Ala.) and an 8-7 win over a 13-4 Tattnall Square (Ga.). Providence’s lone loss was a 9-6 game to No. 1 St. Johns. Two very good challenges this week, with a home game Tuesday against Bolles and an always-tough rivalry game Friday at Trinity Christian.
4. (5) Bishop Snyder (7-1, Class 3A)
Quality wins: Creekside, Episcopal (twice), Fernandina Beach, Hilliard, Stanton.
Glance: Weather limited Snyder to just one game since our last Super 6, taking a showdown against Bolles off the schedule. Its lone game was a 4-3 win over Episcopal. Aidan King was superb in that outing (6 IP, 4 H, 2 walks, 11 Ks), with Nick Wrubluski coming in to close down the Eagles in the combined four-hitter. The Cardinals have Christ’s Church (Tuesday) and Oakleaf (Friday) to wrap up the week. Wrubluski (.500) and Jackson Roper (.462) lead Snyder at the plate. Snyder’s lone loss is to Fernandina Beach.
5. (4) Trinity Christian (7-4, Class 2A)
Quality wins: Bozeman, Etowah (Ala.), Florence (Ala.), Nease, Oakleaf, Tattnall Square (Ga.).
Glance: A 1-1 week for the Conquerors since our last Super 6. Trinity lost to Fletcher (5-2) and then beat Tattnall Square (Ga.), 7-6, in comeback fashion. Colton Avera, Eric Fouraker Jr., and Isaac Newman all had two hits in that game, with Avera going yard. Talk about a tough rest of the week for Trinity, at No. 1 St. Johns on Tuesday night, and back home on Thursday against No. 3 Providence.
(tie) 6. (NR) Bartram Trail (9-5, Class 7A)
Quality wins: Buchholz, Clay, Fleming Island, Mill Creek (Ga.), Nease, Ponte Vedra, Trinity Christian, West Broward.
Glance: I’ve avoided putting an extra team in the Super 6 until now. The Bears have won four in a row and have just one local loss, to Fletcher in the opener. Their last loss was a 6-5 game in eight innings to a 13-0 Berkeley Prep. The five losses are high, but all losses aren’t created equal. And a tough week ahead awaits, with an away game at Bishop Kenny on Tuesday, and then Thursday and Friday games against rival Creekside.
(tie) 6. (3) Fletcher (9-1, Class 6A)
Quality wins: Bartram Trail, Bolles, Ponte Vedra, Trinity Christian, Wolfson.
Glance: An odd week for the Senators. They were as good as it gets on the mound against Trinity, with Malachi (5 IP, 10 Ks 1 H) and Kyson Witherspoon (2 IP, 2 H, 4 Ks) teaming up to shut down the Conquerors, 5-2. They also downed a solid Wolfson (7-5) and pounded Orange Park (17-8). They also got annihilated by University Christian (14-2) in a mercy-rule game last Saturday. They have three high quality Ws (Bartram, Bolles, Trinity) so they stay in the Super 6. Sandalwood was my other choice at No. 6 and the Saints are hot and warrant mention, winners of six in a row.
Others
Baker County (6-6, Class 4A); Baldwin (6-3, Class 3A); Bishop Kenny (5-4, Class 4A); Bolles (5-3, Class 3A); Clay (8-5, Class 4A); Eagle’s View (5-1, Class 2A); Episcopal (6-5, Class 3A); Fernandina Beach (5-4, Class 3A); First Coast (6-5, Class 6A); Fleming Island (5-4, Class 6A); Hilliard (6-4, Class 1A); Mandarin (9-1, Class 7A); Middleburg (5-4, Class 5A); Nease (6-4, Class 7A); Oakleaf (7-3, Class 7A); Palatka (5-4, Class 4A); Ponte Vedra (5-6, Class 6A); St. Augustine (7-3, Class 5A); Sandalwood (7-1, Class 7A); Stanton (8-4, Class 5A); Suwannee (8-3, Class 4A); Union County (5-4, Class 1A); University Christian (11-2, Class 2A); Wolfson (6-4, Class 3A).