JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The News4JAX Super 6 softball rankings will be published each Monday through the end of the regular season. Results are through April 3 games.
Super 6 softball rankings
Rank, School, Record, Classification
1. (1) Baldwin (11-1, Class 3A)
Quality wins: First Coast, Fletcher, Keystone Heights, Oakleaf, Paxon, University Christian, West Nassau.
Glance: A solid 2-0 week for the Indians, who edged Paxon in eight innings (6-5) last Monday, then followed that with a 3-0 win over rival West Nassau a night later. Two Gateway games this week, with a home game against Atlantic Coast (3-5) on Monday and an away game Tuesday against an always tough Mandarin (5-4). Kendall North (.444), Cali Hartung (.382) and Jazmine Ramos-Merced (.345), Kayla Robinson (.333) and Rylan Gray (.324) lead the Indians at the plate.
2. (NR) Ridgeview (8-3, Class 5A)
Notable wins: Fleming Island, Fletcher (twice), Palatka, Providence, Yulee.
Glance: The Panthers return to the Super 6 after a couple weeks out of the rankings. Two losses have come to West Nassau. The knocked Palatka from the ranks of the unbeaten since our last Super 6. Mary Girgis (.351), Brooklyn Schneider (.333) and Natalie Foret (.333) lead the Panthers at the plate. Strength of schedule puts the Panthers in front of No. 3 Bartram Trail.
3. (NR) Bartram Trail (9-0, Class 7A)
Notable wins: Fletcher, Mandarin, Nease.
Glance: Very good. Very young. The front half of the schedule has been an ease into the season for first-year coach Tony Sowers. And the Bears have responded in a big way. The second half of the year increases in toughness, including three very challenging games this week (Middleburg on Tuesday, at Paxon on Wednesday and at Episcopal on Thursday). Kiera Strub (.548), Addison Maliga (.536), Lucie McDonald (.464, 4 HR), Tiana Hairston (.464), Rachel McMillan (.438) and Ciara Belanger (.414) lead a barrage of Bears who are hitting better than .400. The kicker? All those players, with the exception of McDonald, are sophomores. She’s a freshman.
4. (2) Union County (9-1, Class 1A)
Notable wins: Bell, Fort White, Santa Fe, Trenton, Williston.
Glance: The Tigers saw their unbeaten start end with a 4-1 loss to Fort White on Friday. They’ve got another challenging game against Gainesville on deck Monday.
5. (4) West Nassau (8-5, Class 3A)
Quality wins: Hilliard, Paxon, Providence, Ridgeview (twice), Trinity Christian.
Glance: Tough stretch for the Warriors. They struggled last week, going 1-3 since our last check in. West Nassau went 1-2 at the Kissimmee Klassic, losing to a 9-1 Cooper City (7-1) and a 10-1 Melbourne (2-1). Not bad losses. They rebounded with a 2-0 win over Lake Region. West Nassau also dropped a 3-0 game to No. 1 Baldwin. The Warriors have two challenging games this week, both on the road (Fernandina Beach on Tuesday and Trinity Christian on Friday).
6. (5) Oakleaf (7-5, Class 7A)
Quality wins: Clay, Episcopal, Keystone Heights, Middleburg, University Christian.
Glance: A 1-2 week since our last Super 6 for the Knights. They lost a slugfest to Middleburg (14-10) and lost to Doral Academy (5-1). The win was an 8-7 game over South Lake. Ciara Gibson (.525), Mariyah Sanchez (.486) and Khloe Banks (.474) lead Oakleaf at the plate. Gibson made the all-tournament team at the Kissimmee Klassic last week. The Knights get the nod this week over University Christian for the No. 6 spot. Two teams with better records (Creekside and Palatka) dropped out this week after tough losses. The Knights got drilled by First Coast (10-3) and Palatka lost to previously winless Orange Park (4-2).
Dropped out
Creekside (8-3, Class 7A); Palatka (9-2, Class 3A).
Others
Baker County (5-6, Class 4A); Bishop Kenny (8-4, Class 4A); Bolles (5-3, Class 3A); Bradford (6-4, Class 1A); Creekside (8-3, Class 7A); Fernandina Beach (6-1, Class 3A); First Coast (6-3, Class 6A); Fleming Island (5-5, Class 6A); Fletcher (4-6, Class 6A); Fort White (5-4, Class 1A); Hilliard (4-4, Class 1A); Mandarin (5-4, Class 7A); Matanzas (6-4, Class 4A); Middleburg (7-5, Class 5A); Nease (5-4, Class 6A); Palatka (9-2, Class 3A); Paxon (5-6, Class 4A); Providence (7-5, Class 3A); Sandalwood (6-3, Class 7A); Trinity Christian (6-3, Class 2A); University Christian (9-4, Class 2A); Yulee (8-4, Class 4A).