By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
A three-team battle for the top spot in the Ohio Division 1 rankings looms while unbeaten teams abound in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Indiana. Here’s a look at some of the top baseball teams in the Midwest.
Ohio
There’s a keen battle for first place in the Ohio Division 1 poll by the Cincinnati Enquirer as three teams, Lakota West, Moeller and Elder are all within a few votes of each other at the top of the list.
Lakota West holds the No. 1 rankings over Moeller despite having fewer first-place votes. Lakota West is 8-0 on the season with two wins each over Fairfield, Kings, Oak Hills and Sycamore.
Bryan Beaver has been on a tear for the Firebirds. In his last five games, Beaver is 15-for-19 including a 3-for-4 effort with a double and five RBI in a 16-10 win over Sycamore on Thursday. Jimmy Brennaman and Rob Shaw have also been solid at the plate with Brennaman smashing a home run in the Sycamore win. Brenneman is the team’s top returning batter from last year with a .406 average while Beaver batted .320 on last year’s team that went 28-5.
Moeller is just 5-3 on the season after beating Colerain 4-3 in 11 winnings. Moeller has an 8-0 loss to Elder but is ranked ahead of Elder in the Enquirer rankings. Moeller has also lost to Louisville St. Xavier and LaSalle.
Moeller did crush Alter 10-0 on a no-hitter by Kelley Barnes. The victory was the first of Barnes’ high school career and came in just his second start. He struck out six of the 18 batters he faced in the five-inning contest.
Elder is 4-1-1 on the season with a tie game against St. Xavier, which was postponed due to darkness. The Panthers also have a 4-1 loss to Centerville. Moeller and Elder meet on April 30 and then will take on Lakota West on May 9.
West Virginia
The Jefferson Cougars have once again established themselves as the team to beat in the West Virginia 3A division, racking up a 14-1 record after Saturday’s 15-0 win over Martinsburg.
The Cougars were expected to be in a rebuilding season after losing nine seniors from last year’s state championship team. In fact, Jefferson had just three players, Brandon Campbell, Brian Maxfield and Chris Kelley, with any pitching experience. However Patrick Lewis and Campbell combined to toss a five-inning no-hitter in the Martinsburg win and Jefferson pitchers have given up just three runs in the Cougars’ last six games. The Martinsburg game was actually played over the course of two days. The two teams played the first three innings on Friday, but a storm brought an early end to the game. They completed play Saturday morning with Lewis finishing on the mound.
Jefferson opened the season with nine straight wins before falling to Conway, S.C. in the finals of the Mingo Classic, 6-0. Since that loss, the Cougars have won five in a row with two straight shutouts.
Defending 2A champion Herbert Hoover won its fourth game in a row with a 5-4 victory over Winfield on Thursday. The victory upped the Huskies overall record to 10-3. Justin Hanson knocked a home run and also picked up the mound win for the Huskies.
Pennsylvania
Malvern Prep of Philadelphia is off to an 18-0 start on the season and is ranked No. 1 in Southeastern Pennsylvania, but the Friars figure to be tested later this month when they meet Calvert Hall of Towson, Md., at Blue Rocks Stadium. Calvert Hall went undefeated last season at 33-0 and is ranked in the top 25 in the country by Baseball America. Malvern Prep recently defeated Caravel Academy, 8-2. Caravel was the state runner-up in Delaware last year.
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, Chris Gosik has been the big hitter for the Friars, batting at .600 clip with four rum runs. The pitching has also been solid with lefty Tim Cooney on the mound. He was the conference most valuable player as a sophomore.
Meanwhile catcher Mike Lubanski recently committed to play at Wake Forest when he graduates from Malvern Prep. Just a junior, Lubanski is ranked among the top 100 players in the country by Perfect Game, according to the Inquirer.
Indiana
Carmel High School touts itself as “One of America’s Ten Best High School Athletic Programs” on the schools own website. It’s hard to argue with that statement considering the greyhounds have won 89 Indiana High School Athletic Association championships over the past 38 years.
However none of those state championships have come in baseball. That could change this year since the Greyhounds are off to a 6-0 start and currently rank as the top 4A team in the state by the most recent Indiana state coaches poll. Carmel has also gained some national recognition, holding down the No. 6 spot in USA Today’s Midwest regional rankings.
Illinois
Carl Sandburg High School of Orland Park holds down the No. 5 spot in the USA Today Midwest regional rankings and has won five straight games since dropping a 4-1 decision to Lyons on March 26. Sandburg recently defeated Lincoln-Way Central, 9-4, and Lincoln-Way East, 5-1.
Michigan
A pair of Detroit-area teams rank among the Midwest’s best according to USA Today in Lake Orion and Lake Shore.
Lake Orion, the defending Division 1 state champions, is off to a 3-0 start and is averaging 15 runs per game in sweeping a doubleheader from Fraser 15-2, 15-0, and grabbing a 15-8 victory over Rochester Adams. The Dragons have one of the state’s best players in pitcher Josh Deeg, who got the win in the first game against Fraser with eight strikeouts and no earned runs on just three hits allowed. Deeg went 9-0 last season in earning all-state honors.
The Dragons bashed 27 hits in just six innings against Fraser as the first game lasted only five innings and the next was called after three. Brandon Riggsbee had a monster game, going 6-for-6 in the twinbill with a home run, a double and six RBI.
Lake Shore, meanwhile, is 7-0 after sweeping a doubleheader from Lakeview, 16-6, and 9-3. Lake Orion was ranked No. 1 in the preseason poll of the Michigan high school baseball coaches while Lake Shore was No. 2.
Minnesota
The season is only one game old for Cretin-Derham Hall due to the long, wet, early spring, but already the defending state champions are off to a tough start. Hastings knocked off the champs 5-2 in their opener on April 9. The champs did lose 14 players from last year’s title team, but shortstop Jacob Esch returns. He batted .485 with six homers and 45 RBI last year and was 6-0 on the mound, according to TwinCities.com.
Missouri
Howell of St. Charles has emerged as the team to beat in Missouri after getting off to a 10-0 start. Howell went 18-9 in 2007 and won the conference championship. The Vikings last won a state championship in 2003, but have been on a tear thanks to the hitting of Nathan Org and James Allen. Orf is hitting at a .553 clip with 16 runs scored while Allen is hitting .500 with three home runs on 15 RBI. Allen and Zack Gronek are both 3-0 with Allen posting a 1.38 ERA and Gronek netting a 1.64 ERA.