FHSAA Softball Rankings: See where Pensacola-area teams stack up in last week of season

[ASFN Admin]

The softball regular season is down to its last week before the postseason.

The Florida High School Athletic Association softball regular season will wrap up on April 23, with the district tournaments quickly following on April 28.

Teams have roughly seven days to improve their stock, and get some last-minute tune ups, before playoffs begin. Brackets will likely be released when the newest rankings come out next week.

The regional playoffs begin May 7 and 8, depending on the classification, followed by the state championships from May 20-24.

Pace continues to be Northwest Florida's top-ranked team, staying put at No. 4 overall in the state with a 22.513 rating. Entering Monday, the Patriots had a 15-2 record. Not far behind is Jay, improving one spot to No. 14 with a rating of 19.163, boasting a 15-1 record entering the week.

Just four area teams rank in the top 100 this week. Outside of Pace and Jay, Northview improved 13 spots to No. 41, while Navarre jumped up 17 spots to No. 78.

Current district leaders are Pace (6A), Escambia (4A), West Florida (3A) and Jay (Rural).

Here are the fourth FHSAA softball rankings for teams from Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, plus a way-too-early playoff watch.

Class 6A​

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• Pace (22.513) – first in District 1-6A, first in Region 1-6A, second in Class 6A, fourth overall in state
• Navarre (12.370) – second in District 1-6A, third in Region 1-6A, 14th in Class 6A, 78th overall in state
• Tate (7.578) – third in District 1-6A, sixth in Region 1-6A, 25th in Class 6A, 141st overall in state

Class 5A​

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• Milton (9.836) – second in District 1-5A, sixth in Region 1-5A, 14th in Class 5A, 113th overall in state
• Gulf Breeze (9.817) – third in District 1-5A, seventh in Region 1-5A, 15th in Class 5A, 114th overall in state

Class 4A​

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• Escambia (2.824) – first in District 1-4A, sixth in Region 1-4A, 23rd in Class 4A, 233rd overall in state
• Pine Forest (-3.422) – second in District 1-4A, ninth in Region 1-4A, 41st in Class 4A, 355th overall in state
• Booker T. Washington (-12.534) – third in District 1-4A, 12th in Region 1-4A, 61st in Class 4A, 474th overall in state

Class 3A​

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• West Florida (8.300) – first in District 1-3A, fourth in Region 1-3A, 15th in Class 3A, 133rd overall in state
• Pensacola (-15.009) – fourth in District 1-3A, 15th in Region 1-3A, 62nd in Class 3A, 497th overall in state

Class 2A​

• Pensacola Catholic (-7.092) – sixth in District 1-2A, 15th in Region 1-2A, 54th in Class 2A, 408th overall in state

Class 1A​

• LEAD Academy (-17.799) – sixth in District 1-1A, 17th in Region 1-1A, 65th in Class 1A, 516th overall in state

Rural​

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• Jay (19.163) – first in District 1-Rural, first in Region 1-Rural, first in Rural, 14th overall in state
• Northview (15.159) – second in District 1-Rural, second in Region 1-Rural, fourth in Rural, 41st overall in state
• Central (-0.762) – fifth in District 1-Rural, seventh in Region 1-Rural, 28th in Rural, 314th overall in state

Way-too-early playoff watch​

District tournaments aren't for another couple weeks, but it's still fun to examine what the playoff scenarios would look like if the regular season ended today as far as region tournaments.

District champions automatically advance to the region tournament after the district tourney, and there are four at-large bids per region in Classes 1A-7A. The Rural classification only brings two district champions plus two at-large bid teams. For the playoff watch, we'll presume that the top team in each district wins the district tournament and moves onto regionals – that's what we're going to share below.

Rankings are bound to change after district tournaments as well, so we'll pretend that they didn't change at all through districts to make things a little easier. Remember: anything can happen in the playoffs.

Here's what the region tournaments would look like.

Region 1-6A​

• 1. Pace (1)* vs. 8. Fletcher (2)*
• 2. Horizon (4)* vs. 7. Tocoi Creek (3)
• 3. Navarre (1) vs. 6. Tate (1)
• 4. Bartram Trail (3)* vs. 5. Oakleaf (3)

Notes: Three of the four presumed district champions – Pace, Horizon and Bartram Trail – all are in the top eight teams, and all earn the right to host in the quarterfinals. District 2's Fletcher, ranked ninth, still gets an automatic bid into the tournament, which knocks out eighth-ranked South Lake from an at-large bid. Locally, Navarre and Tate also get in, and, as of now, would face each other in the quarterfinals, with the Raiders hosting.

Region 1-5A​

• 1. Matanzas (4)* vs. 8. Fleming Island (3)
• 2. Middleburg (3)* vs. 7. Gulf Breeze (1)
• 3. Niceville (1)* vs. 6. Milton (1)
• 4. Chiles (2)* vs. 5. Ponte Vedra (4)

Notes: The four presumed district champions are the top four teams in the region, making it easy to determine who would host in the quarterfinals. Gulf Breeze and Milton would also get in as at-large bids, ranked inside the top eight. The sixth-ranked Panthers would stay relatively local and head to Niceville for the quarterfinals, while the No. 5 Dolphins would go to Middleburg.

Region 1-4A​

• 1. Baker County (3)* vs. 8. Choctaw (2)
• 2. Fort Walton Beach (2)* vs. 7. Menendez (4)
• 3. Columbia (3) vs. 6. Escambia (1)*
• 4. Arnold (2) vs. 5. Clay (4)*

Notes: All four presumed district champions are within the top eight teams. And based on how they're currently situated, all still get to host in the quarterfinals. Escambia and Clay (District 4), despite being lower-seeded teams, still host higher-ranked at-large bids in the quarterfinals. Escambia would start the region tournament with a home game against Columbia. Pine Forest, ranked ninth in the region, just misses out on a spot in the playoffs, as of now.

Region 1-3A​

• 1. Wakulla (2)* vs. 8. Wolfson (4)*
• 2. Paxon (3)* vs. 7. South Walton (1)
• 3. West Nassau (3) vs. 6. Yulee (3)
• 4. West Florida (1)* vs. 5. Suwannee (2)

Notes: All four presumed district champions are within the top eight teams. However, Wolfson (District 4) is the only one that wouldn't host in the quarterfinals, having to go to a higher-seeded district champion in Wakulla out of District 2. West Florida, ranked fourth in the region, gets a home game against Suwannee in the quarterfinals to kick things off.

Region 1-2A​

• 1. Baldwin (3)* vs. 8. Walton (1)
• 2. North Bay Haven (1)* vs. 7. Bishop Snyder (3)
• 3. Episcopal (4)* vs. 6. Freeport (1)
• 4. Bozeman (1) vs. 5. Florida High (2)*

Notes: All four presumed district champions are ranked within the top eight teams. However, Florida High would still host even though it's going against a higher-ranked at-large bid team. No area teams are in the region tournament in Region 1-2A, with Pensacola Catholic sitting at No. 15.

Region 1-1A​

• 1. University Christian (3)* vs. 8. Christ's Church (2)*
• 2. North Florida Christian (1)* vs. 7. Rocky Bayou Christian (1)
• 3. Peniel Baptist (4)* vs. 6. St. John Paul II (1)
• 4. Harvest Community (3) vs. 5. St. Joseph Academy (4)

Notes: Three of the four presumed district champions are in the top eight teams. District 2's Christ's Church Academy is ranked ninth in the region, but still gets an automatic bid. Christ's Church wouldn't host in the quarterfinals, going to a higher-seeded district champion in University Christian. No area teams make the region tournament in Region 1-1A, with LEAD Academy ranked No. 17.

Region 1-Rural​

• 1. Jay (1)* vs. 4. Chipley (2)
• 2. Northview (1) vs. 3. Holmes County (2)*

Notes: Remember, only four teams get into the region tournament from the Rural classification. Jay and Northview are the top two teams in Region 1, but only Jay, the presumed district champion, would host in the semifinals. Northview, an at-large bid team, would have to go to Holmes County to kick things off.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: FHSAA Softball Rankings: Pace, Jay both in top 15 of entire state

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