FHSAA Baseball Rankings: Pace sees its stock rise, currently riding 10-game win streak
Pace baseball is seeing its stock rise after winning its 10th consecutive game. It's an incredible turnaround after starting the year with four straight losses.
Now, the Patriots are ranked fifth in Region 1-6A and are the best in the district, after the latest FHSAA rankings were released on Tuesday.
However, Pensacola Catholic continues to be the standard in the area. The Crusaders jumped up five spots in the state rankings, from 11th to sixth, with a rating of 20.410. They remain the top in Region 1-3A, and are now the best among all classes in Region 1.
District tournaments for baseball begin on April 29, stretching until May 2. In Classes 2A-7A, the winner of each district tournament advances to the regional tournament, followed by the next four-best teams, according to the FHSAA rankings, as at-large bids. In Class 1A, it’ll be the two district champions plus the next two highest teams in the regional rankings.
Here's a breakdown of each class and the state rankings for area teams.
Class 6A
Pace (13.321) – first in District 1-6A, fifth in Region 1-6A, 14th in Class 6A, 58th overall
Gulf Breeze (9.370) – second in District 1-6A, 11th in Region 1-6A, 28th in Class 6A, 134th overall
Tate (7.913) – third in District 1-6A, 13th in Region 1-6A, 34th in Class 6A, 168th overall
Milton (4.164) – fourth in District 1-6A, 19th in Region 1-6A, 52nd in Class 6A, 253rd overall
Navarre (3.277) – fifth in District 1-6A, 21st in Region 1-6A, 59th in Class 6A, 277th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Chiles (District 2), Tocoi Creek (District 3), Hagerty (District 4) and Pace (District 1). The four at-large bids would go to: Buchholz (District 3), First Coast (District 3), Fleming Island (District 3) and Oakleaf (District 3).
This is how the region quarterfinals would shape up:
No. 1 Chiles vs. No. 8 Oakleaf
No. 2 Tocoi Creek vs. No. 7 Fleming Island
No. 3 Hagerty vs. No. 6 First Coast
No. 4 Buchholz vs. No. 5 Pace
Class 5A
Escambia (10.260) – first in District 1-5A, third in Region 1-5A, 20th in Class 5A, 115th overall
Pine Forest (-3.874) – fourth in District 1-5A, 18th in Region 1-5A, 66th in Class 5A, 442nd overall
Booker T. Washington (-4.936) – fifth in District 1-5A, 19th in Region 1-5A, 69th in Class 5A, 460th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Lincoln (District 2), Clay (District 3), Escambia (District 1) and St. Augustine (District 4). The four at-large bids would be earned by: Columbia (District 2), Englewood (District 4), Beachside (District 4) and Choctaw (District 1).
This is what the region quarterfinals would look like:
No. 1 Lincoln vs. No. 8 Choctaw
No. 2 Clay vs. No. 7 Beachside
No. 3 Escambia vs. No. 6 Englewood
No. 4 Columbia vs. No. 5 St. Augustine
Class 4A
West Florida (9.050) – third in District 1-4A, seventh in Region 1-4A, 14th in Class 4A, 141st overall
Pensacola (-9.446) – fifth in District 1-4A, 19th in Region 1-4A, 79th in Class 4A, 521st overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Arnold (District 1), Bishop Kenny (District 3), Suwannee (District 2) and Santa Fe (District 4). The four at-large bids would go to: Wakulla (District 2), South Walton (District 1), Yulee (District 3) and West Florida (District 1).
This is what the region quarterfinals would look like:
No. 1 Arnold vs. No. 8 Santa Fe
No. 2 Bishop Kenny vs. No. 7 West Florida
No. 3 Suwannee vs. No. 6 Yulee
No. 4 Wakulla vs. No. 5 South Walton
Class 3A
Pensacola Catholic (20.410) – first in District 1-3A, second in Region 1-3A, third in Class 3A, sixth overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: Trinity Christian Academy (District 2), Pensacola Catholic (District 1), Bolles (District 3) and Keystone Heights (District 4). The four at-large bids would go to: Providence School (District 3), Episcopal School of Jacksonville (District 3), Fernandina Beach (District 3) and Marianna (District 1).
This is what the region quarterfinals would look like:
No. 1 Trinity Christian Academy vs. No. 8 Keystone Heights
No. 2 Pensacola Catholic vs. No. 7 Marianna
No. 3 Bolles vs. No. 6 Fernandina Beach
No. 4 Providence School vs. No. 5 Episcopal School of Jacksonville
Class 2A
L.E.A.D. Academy (-15.180) – fifth in District 1-2A, 16th in Region 1-2A, 85th in Class 2A, 563rd overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the four Region 1 automatic bids would be: St. Johns Country Day (District 2), North Florida Christian (District 1), Oak Hall (District 4) and University Christian (District 3). The four at-large bids would go to: St. Joseph Academy (District 2), Christ's Church Academy (District 2), St. John Paul II (District 1) and Saint Francis Catholic (District 4).
This is how the Region 1 quarterfinals would shape up:
No. 1 St. Johns Country Day vs. No. 8 Saint Francis Catholic
No. 2 North Florida Christian vs. No. 7 St. John Paull II
No. 3 St. Joseph Academy vs. No. 6 Christ's Church Academy
No. 4 Oak Hall vs. No. 5 University Christian
Class 1A
Central (11.233) – first in District 1-1A, first in Region 1-1A, fourth in Class 1A, 96th overall
Jay (1.727) – second in District 1-1A, fourth in Region 1-1A, 16th in Class 1A, 314th overall
Northview (-0.370) – fourth in District 1-1A, sixth in Region 1-1A, 22nd in Class 1A, 360th overall
If the regular season ended today, assuming the top team in each district wins its tournament, the two Region 1 automatic bids would be: Central (District 1) and Holmes County (District 2). The other two at-large bids would be earned by: Paxton (District 2) and Jay (District 1).
This is what the two Region 1 semifinals would look like:
No. 1 Central vs. No. 4 Jay
No. 2 Holmes County vs. No. 3 Paxton
Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pace, Pensacola Catholic baseball continue to rank among best in FHSAA