News4JAX Super 6 baseball: Suwannee moves in as teams head into districts

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Super 6 baseball rankings will be published each Tuesday through the end of the regular season. Results are through April 25 games.

Super 6 baseball rankings

Rank, Previous, School, Record, Classification

1. (1) St. Johns Country Day (18-2, Class 2A)

Quality wins: Bartram Trail, Bolles, Don Bosco Prep (NJ), Episcopal, Houston County (Ga.), Huntington Beach (Calif.), LaGrange (Ga.), Madison Central (Miss.), Oakleaf, Providence, Servite (Calif.), Trinity Christian, University Christian.

Glance: The Spartans had another 3-0 week, with blowouts of Ridgeview (12-2) and Christ’s Church (13-0), and a comeback win over Bartram Trail (5-4). Finn Howell went 3 for 4 with a double and a homer, Bradley Hodges hit a bomb to tie the game at 4-all in the bottom of the sixth and Kellen Brown walked it off in the thriller against Bartram. St. Johns has answered every local challenge this season. The Spartans have three games left this week, at Creekside on Tuesday and at Bishop Kenny on Wednesday, followed by the regular season finale at home against Bolles on Thursday. The Spartans celebrate youth baseball in the game against Bolles, with all children who wear a baseball jersey able to join players on the field for the national anthem. The Spartans have gone wire-to-wire in the Super 6 this season and enter the district tournament next week as a heavy favorite to win the Class 2A state championship.

2. (4) Fletcher (19-2, Class 6A)

Notable wins: Bartram Trail, Bolles, First Coast, Paxon, Ponte Vedra, Sandalwood (twice), Trinity Christian, Union County, Wolfson.

Glance: Up, up, up. The Senators have been on a tear, running their winning streak to 10 games and capturing the Gateway Conference title since our last Super 6. Since our last check in, Fletcher beat solid teams in Paxon (5-0), First Cost (3-1) and Sandalwood (3-2), all in the Gateway tourney. Andrew Veniard (5 IP, 7 Ks, 2 H) had an excellent outing in the no decision, and Vinnie Sicilia (2 IP, no hits, K) put the wraps on the Saints to sew up the win. Kyson Witherspoon homered and drove in two in the Gateway title game. They wrap things up this week with games against Episcopal (Tuesday) and Fernandina Beach (Thursday). The Senators briefly dropped out of the Super 6 with late-March losses to University Christian and Nease, but have been rock-solid ever since.

3. (2) Trinity Christian (17-6, Class 2A)

Quality wins: Bishop Snyder, Baker County, Bozeman, Clay, Creekside, Episcopal, Etowah (Ala.), Florence (Ala.), Nease, Oakleaf, Providence, Sandalwood, Tattnall Square (Ga.).

Glance: The Conquerors saw their eight-game winning streak come to an end with a 4-3 loss to Bolles, then recovered for wins over Flagler Palm Coast (3-0) and Sandalwood (4-0). They close out the regular season with games against Stanton (Tuesday) and Suwannee (Thursday). Jacob Miller (.400), Colton Avera (.369), Eric Fouraker Jr. (.361) and Alonzo Austin (.347) have carried the Conquerors at the plate the full season.

4. (5) Bartram Trail (16-8, Class 7A)

Quality wins: Bolles, Clay, Gainesville Buchholz, Mill Creek (Ga.), Nease, Ocala Forest, Parkview (Ga.), Providence, Trinity Christian, West Broward

Glance: The Bears went 2-1 since our last Super 6, pushing No. 1 St. Johns Country Day to the final inning in a 5-4 loss. They also beat Providence (4-3) and Tallahassee Lincoln (7-3). They close things out this week with a visit to a 17-4 Santa Fe team. The eight losses are the most by a team in the Super 6, but the worst of those, recordwise, has come to an 11-10 Lynn Haven Mosley. The schedule has been rugged.

5. (NR) Suwannee (17-4, Class 4A)

Quality wins: Baker County, Clay, Episcopal, Holmes County, Mosley, St. Augustine, Stanton, Tallahassee Leon, Union County, Valdosta.

Glance: The Bulldogs make their Super 6 debut, ripping off eight straight wins entering the final week of the regular season. They routed both Clay (14-2) and St. Augustine (13-3) since our last Super 6 and have just Lincoln (Tuesday) and Trinity (Thursday) left on the schedule. Matthew Gill (.479) and Peyton Waters (.423) lead Suwannee at the plate.

T6. (6) Columbia (16-6, Class 5A)

Quality wins: Baker County, Bishop Kenny, Gainesville (twice), Middleburg, North Florida Christian (twice), Suwannee, Tallahassee Chiles, Union County, Villages Charter.

Glance: I loathe the ties, but I’ve got another one in our final rankings of the season, with the Tigers and Saints both at No. 6. A 3-2 week for the Tigers, who split with Gainesville Buchholz (6-4 win, 6-2 loss), beat a very good Villages (4-0) and a solid St. Augustine (4-1), and lost to Chiles (8-2). Hayden Gustavson (.404) and Chandler Howard (.379) stay at the front of the offense for the Tigers. Things wrap up with Fleming Island (Tuesday), Tallahassee Lincoln (Thursday) and Stanton (Friday).

T6. (3) Sandalwood (17-4, Class 7A)

Quality wins: Atlantic Coast, Central (Ala.), Chiles, Columbia, Fernandina Beach, First Coast, Mandarin, Oakleaf, Stanton, Wolfson.

Glance: A 2-2 week since our last Super 6 for Sandalwood, with solid wins over Wolfson (6-5) and Mandarin (8-0), before losses to Fletcher (3-2) and Trinity (4-0). The finish their regular season Tuesday against Bolles. Holden Bradshaw (.418), Cooper Whited (.373), Alvin Pabon (.368) and James Laufman (.340) lead the Saints at the plate.

Others

Baker County (11-11, Class 4A); Baldwin (14-6, Class 3A); Bishop Kenny (14-6, Class 4A); Bishop Snyder (12-4, Class 3A); Bolles (9-11, Class 3A); Clay (13-9, Class 4A); Englewood (11-10, Class 5A); Episcopal (13-9, Class 3A); Fernandina Beach (13-7, Class 3A); Hilliard (14-6, Class 1A); First Coast (11-8, Class 6A); Fort White (12-4, Class 1A); Mandarin (16-4, Class 7A); Nease (14-8, Class 7A); Oakleaf (14-9, Class 7A); Palatka (9-9, Class 4A); Paxon (11-8, Class 4A); Providence (13-10, Class 3A); St. Augustine (14-7, Class 5A); Stanton (13-9, Class 5A); Union County (11-8, Class 1A); University Christian (17-6, Class 2A); Wolfson (10-8, Class 3A).