Who's in, who's out? FHSAA releases Northeast Florida baseball, softball playoff brackets
Life on the bubble no more.
Baker County and St. Augustine baseball, along with Clay and Episcopal softball, were among the Northeast Florida teams receiving good news Saturday, as the Florida High School Athletic Association rolled out its brackets for the 2022 spring regional playoffs.
The wait is over. The work to gear up for postseason is on.
In the playoff format, district tournament champions qualify automatically, while the FHSAA selects at-large teams (four per region per class for 2A through 7A, two per region in Class 1A) based on its rating system.
Baker County, which held the eighth and final playoff berth in Region 1-4A, needed help from Alachua Santa Fe in the District 4-4A tournament. If Santa Fe had lost to Dunnellon, Baker County would have missed out, but the Raiders snapped a tie to down Dunnellon 3-1.
District baseball finals: Bishop Kenny's Garrett Corbett shines; First Coast, Episcopal, SJCD win
District softball finals: Riley Kapparis leads Yulee in gritty victory; Fletcher, Middleburg punch tickets
St. Augustine baseball also squeezed in with the last berth (0.257 points ahead of Escambia) in Region 1-8A, setting up a rematch with top-seeded Columbia, the team that beat them in district action Thursday. Another rematch will pit Providence against Episcopal.
Receiving top seeds were Union County, 2021 Class 2A finalist St. Johns Country Day, first-time district winner Bishop Snyder, Suwannee and Columbia. St. Johns Country Day and Suwannee are seeded highest among all teams in their class statewide.
In softball, 2021 state semifinalist Episcopal made the cut in Region 1-3A, taking the final berth with a margin of 0.730 points ahead of Alachua Santa Fe. The Eagles, boasting one of the area's top strikeout pitchers in Grace Jones, make the trip to Baldwin in a high-powered opening game.
The wildest ride belonged to Clay. The Blue Devils were missing from the initial bracket for Region 1-4A softball, but the FHSAA had mistakenly listed Menendez, rather than Matanzas, as the winner of District 4-4A. Once that error was corrected, the adjusted bracket pushed Clay into the playoffs with the eighth seed, 0.077 points ahead of Panama City Beach Arnold.
The area's No. 1 overall softball seeds are Baker County (1-4A), Baldwin (1-3A), Trinity Christian (1-2A) and Fort White (3-1A).
Some local teams, though, weren't so fortunate.
Oakleaf baseball, in the playoff positions almost all year, missed out by .076 rating points in Region 1-7A, overtaken by DeLand at the finish. The Bulldogs' final-week surge also bumped Mandarin out of the postseason.
Bolles, a state baseball semifinalist last year, missed out in Region 1-3A after Ocala Trinity Catholic seized the automatic bid from District 4-3A.
In softball, 15-8 Bartram Trail missed the playoffs by 0.130 points despite the seventh-highest rating in Region 1-7A. Ocala West Port and Timber Creek, both ranked below the Bears, won their districts to earn automatic bids.
The occasion also brought celebration for teams like First Coast baseball and Fletcher softball, who had entered the week outside the playoff positions but punched their tickets automatically by winning their respective district tournaments.
Baseball regional playoffs
Region 1-7A
May 10
DeLand at Lake Brantley
Sandalwood at Oviedo Hagerty
Apopka at West Orange
Oviedo at Bartram Trail
Region 1-6A
May 10
Ocala Forest at Pace
Cantonment Tate at First Coast
Fletcher at Orange City University
Spruce Creek at Tallahassee Chiles
Region 1-5A
May 10
St. Augustine at Columbia
Lynn Haven Mosley at Stanton
Gulf Breeze at Pensacola Pine Forest
Choctawhatchee at Tallahassee Lincoln
Region 1-4A
May 11
Baker County at Suwannee
Clay at Alachua Santa Fe
Wakulla at Panama City Beach Arnold
South Walton at Bishop Kenny
Region 1-3A
May 11
Fernandina Beach at Bishop Snyder
Pensacola Catholic at Ocala Trinity Catholic
Providence at Episcopal
The Villages at Florida High
Region 1-2A
May 11
Tallahassee St. John Paul II at St. Johns Country Day
Trinity Christian at St. Joseph
Wakulla Christian at University Christian
Gainesville Oak Hall at Tallahassee North Florida Christian
Region 3-1A
May 10
Fort White at Union County
Mayo Lafayette at Madison County
SOFTBALL
Region 1-7A
May 12
Lake Mary at Lake Brantley
Oviedo Hagerty at Timber Creek
Apopka at West Port
Creekside at Oakleaf
Region 1-6A
May 12
Lake Howell at Pace
Spruce Creek at Fletcher
Winter Springs at Tallahassee Chiles
Niceville at Orange City University
Region 1-5A
May 12
Ponte Vedra at Tallahassee Lincoln
Ridgeview at Gulf Breeze
Milton at Gainesville
Ocala Vanguard at Middleburg
Region 1-4A
May 11
Clay at Baker County
Wakulla at Yulee
Paxon at Matanzas
Bishop Kenny at West Florida
Region 1-3A
May 11
Episcopal at Baldwin
Florida High at North Bay Haven
West Nassau at Keystone Heights
Marianna at Providence
Region 1-2A
May 11
Quincy Munroe at Trinity Christian
St. Johns Country Day at Peniel Baptist
Aucilla Christian at Tallahassee North Florida Christian
Wakulla Christian at University Christian
Region 3-1A
May 12
Mayo Lafayette at Fort White
Union County at Madison County
Clayton Freeman covers high school sports and more for the Florida Times-Union. Follow him on Twitter at @CFreemanJAX.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: High school baseball, softball: FHSAA releases 2022 Jacksonville playoff brackets
