The Buchholz Bobcats finally tasted defeat, seeing a 21-game winning streak ended with a 10-4 loss at Lincoln (Tallahassee).
But a 24-1 record was more than enough to keep last year’s 6A state runner-up atop the Prep Zone Power Poll.
Buchholz received eight of the nine first-place votes to stay No. 1 as the high school baseball season heads into district and regional play.
The Bobcats own wins over No. 2 Trinity Christian (Jacksonville), No. 6 Providence (Jacksonville) and two wins against No. 16 Columbia (Lake City).
Trinity Christian (21-4) received the other first-place vote and was second on the other eight ballots. The Conquerors finished second at the NHSI Invitational, beating teams from Georgia, California and Colorado before losing in the championship game to Venice, 3-2. Their other losses have come to Buchholz, nationally-ranked No. 1 IMG Academy (Bradenton) and Jesuit (Tampa). The Conquerors have beaten Providence, No. 10 Clay (Green Cove Springs), No. 13 Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine), Columbia, No. 12 Creekside (St. Johns) and 15th-ranked Suwannee (Live Oak).
Spruce Creek (Port Orange) is at No. 3. The Hawks (23-2) are ranked 22nd nationally by MaxPreps, with their only losses to Creekside and Windermere.
Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) is No. 4. The Cardinals (19-5) own wins over Clay, Tocoi Creek, Columbia and No. 7 Bolles (Jacksonville).
Rounding out the top five is St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park). Last year’s 2A champion Spartans are in 1A now and enter the playoffs 17-8 and ranked first in 1A, with wins over Creekside, Clay, Providence and Suwannee.
Providence is No. 6, and Bolles drops from third in the previous poll to seventh.
Lafayette (Mayo), ranked first in the rural classification, is eighth in the regional rankings. Trenton (18-4) is right behind Lafayette at No. 9. The two teams split their two regular-season meetings but could see each other in the Rural playoffs.
Clay (16-9) rounds out the top 10.
Among the Mainstreet Daily News area teams in the second 10 are Suwannee, who moves into the rankings this week at No. 15. The Bulldogs (17-6) have beaten Lafayette, Columbia, and RV (receiving votes) Newberry twice and also has beaten RV North Marion (Citra) and North Florida Christian (Tallahassee).
Columbia is 16th again this week. Receiving votes are Newberry and Keystone Heights.
Moving into the poll this week, along with Suwannee, are 18th-ranked South Sumter (Bushnell) and No. 19 West Nassau (Callahan). Dropping out along with Newberry are Hernando (Brooksville) and Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville).
The Prep Zone Power Poll ranks the top 20 high school football, girls volleyball, girls basketball, boys basketball, softball & baseball teams (regardless of FHSAA classification) across 26 counties in North Florida (Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Citrus, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Hernando, Jefferson, Lafayette, Lake, Levy, Madison, Marion, Nassau, Putnam, Sumter, St. Johns, Suwannee, Taylor, Union & Volusia counties). It is voted on bi-weekly by sportswriters and sportscasters and it is powered by Anytime Fitness of Gainesville.
THE PREP ZONE POWER POLL– 2025 BASEBALL POLL #2
(School, followed by classification, first place votes, current 2025 record through 4/12 and total voting points)
Teams in the Mainstreet Daily News coverage area are in bold
1. Buchholz (Gainesville) (6A) (8) (24-1) – 179
2. Trinity Christian (Jacksonville) (2A) (1) (21-4) – 172
3. Spruce Creek (Port Orange) (7A) (23-2) – 155
4. Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-5) – 149
5. St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park) (1A) (17-8) – 133
6. Providence (Jacksonville) (2A) (15-9) – 116
7. Bolles (Jacksonville) (2A) (16-8) – 104
8. Lafayette (Mayo) (Rural) (18-2) – 100
9. Trenton (Rural) (18-4) – 96
10. Clay (Green Cove Springs) (4A) (16-9) – 94
11. Episcopal (Jacksonville) (2A) (19-5) – 91
12. Creekside (St. Johns) (7A) (16-9) – 81
13. Tocoi Creek (St. Augustine) (6A) (16-7) – 74
14. St. Joseph’s Academy (St. Augustine) (1A) (18-6-1) – 59
15. Suwannee (Live Oak) (3A) (17-6) – 55
16. Columbia (Lake City) (5A) (13-10) – 44
17. The Villages (3A) (20-5) – 39
18. South Sumter (Bushnell) (3A) (18-4) – 27
19. West Nassau (Callahan) (3A) (16-8) – 18
20. Vanguard (Ocala) (4A) (19-4) – 13
Also receiving votes:
Montverde Academy (2A) (15-8) – 12; Fernandina Beach (3A) (16-6) – 11; Nature Coast Tech (Brooksville) (3A) (17-7) – 10; Keystone Heights (2A) (17-7) – 9; University Christian (Jacksonville) (1A) (17-7) – 9; Newberry (2A) (11-7) – 7; North Marion (Citra) (3A) (13-11) – 7; Lake Minneola (Minneola) (6A) (18-7) – 4; Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) (7A) (16-9) – 3; Hernando (Brooksville) (3A) (14-11) – 1.