MaxPreps Top 50 national high school baseball rankings

Three of the top five teams in the Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings suffered losses last week, including No. 2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 3 Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) and No. 5 St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.).

The losses did not drop the three California teams entirely out of the Xcellent 25 as Mater Dei fell to No. 4, Harvard-Westlake dropped to 17 and St. Francis fell to No. 24.

Owasso (Okla.) upped its record to 33-0 and moved up to the No. 2 spot while Sharyland (Mission, Texas) comes in at No. 3.

The top debuting team of the week is Mason (Ohio), which is ranked No. 1 in the Ohio Coaches Poll and jumps in at No. 25.

MaxPreps Xcellent 50 National Baseball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), 26-0
The Crusaders began the Class 4A state playoffs with a 10-1 victory over Florida State University (Tallahassee). Jon Jon Burkett had a home run while Avery Geyer went six innings and struck out five to get the win.

2. (4) Owasso (Okla.), 33-0
Preston Olmstead threw a five-inning no-hitter and also hit two home runs in Owasso's 12-0 win over Grant (Oklahoma City) last week. Owasso also defeated Page 4-3 and Bixby 5-1 to raise its win streak to 33 games in a row.

3. (6) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 29-1
The Rattlers had little trouble in bi-district play, dropping Del Rio 10-0 and 14-1 to advance to the second round. Tres Barrera threw a one-hit, five inning shutout in the first game, striking out five. He also went 2-for-3 with a triple and three RBIs in the second game.

4. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 22-2
After capturing the Trinity League championship earlier in the week with a 2-1 win over Orange Lutheran (Orange), Mater Dei fell to the Lancers 4-3 on Friday for its first loss after 22 straight wins. Davis Tominaga got the win against the Lancers while Tyler Adkison had two doubles and three RBIs in the loss.

5. (7) Venice (Fla.), 25-3
The Indians tamed Sebastian River (Sebastian) 8-1 in the first round of the Florida 7A playoffs. Michael Rivera had three hits and two RBIs for the winners.

6. (8) The Woodlands (Texas), 29-3
The Highlanders advanced to the second round of the Region II Class 5A state playoffs with a 6-0, 8-2 sweep of Atascocita. Blaine Gillespie had a home run and a triple in the first game with four RBIs while Ryan Burnett pitched a shutout with eight strikeouts. Gillespie added a double and went 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the second game. Carter Hope got the win, striking out nine.

7. (9) Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 17-1
Cherry Creek picked up four more wins last week, beating Smoky Hill (Aurora) 9-3 and 17-6, Arapahoe (Centennial) 8-0 and Grandview (Aurora) 5-2. Griffin Jax struck out 11 against Arapahoe while Lane Milligan and Matt Rindal each hit home runs. Milligan and Jack Gillett also homered against Smoky Hill.

8. (10) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 24-2
The Patriots easily advanced to the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs with a 10-0 win over Suncoast (Riviera Beach). Zack Collins hit a home run and Shaun Anderson struck out nine in four innings for the win.

9. (11) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 25-2
The Tigers began the playoffs with a 3-0 win over Lakewood. Spencer Trayner gave up one hit in 5 2/3 innings of work, striking out 10 and walking only one for the win.

10. (13) Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.), 33-0
Magnolia Heights opened MAIS postseason play with a sweep of East Rankin Academy. The Chiefs won the first game 8-0 with Luke Latham hitting a home run. Three pitchers also combined to throw a no-hitter. Magnolia has won 37 games in a row.

11. (14) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 33-4
The Buccaneers shut out Pineville 10-0 in five innings for a first-round playoff win. Barbe faces Covington in the second round.

12. (15) Gainesville (Ga.), 25-3
The Red Elephants advanced to the second round of the Georgia Class AAAAA playoffs with a sweep of Hiram. Gainesville won 7-4 and 5-1.

13. (16) Loganville (Ga.), 24-4
Loganville won its first two games of the Georgia Class AAAAA playoffs with a pair of wins over North Paulding, 12-2 and 5-3. Clint Frazier was 2-for-3 with a triple in the first game, but was held hitless in the second.

14. (17) Lexington (S.C.), 24-4
The Wildcats won the District 5 tournament with a 7-6 win over Lugoff-Elgin and then opened Lower State postseason play with an 8-0 win over Beaufort. Nick Ciuffo saw his 25-game hit streak come to an end against Lugoff-Elgin.

15. (18) United (Laredo, Texas), 30-1-1
United knocked off La Joya Palmview 4-1 and 12-1 to advance to the second round of the Texas Class 5A playoffs. Joel Garza went the distance and gave up two hits while striking out eight in the first game. Eduardo Gonzalez was 3-for-4 with a triple in the other game.

16. (19) Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.), 23-2
Steinbrenner had a tough first-round matchup in the Class 7A state playoffs, but managed to get past Seminole 6-1. Jesse Haney had a double and a home run in the win.

17. (3) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 21-4
The Wolverines split their two games with Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) last week, winning 2-1 on Tuesday and losing 10-7 on Friday. The loss keeps Harvard-Westlake (7-3) in second place in the Mission League, two games behind Loyola (9-1).

18. (21) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 31-2
Barbers Hill opened the Class 4A state playoffs with a pair of wins over Little Cypress-Mauriceville (Orange), 14-4, and 11-8. Christian Thames had five RBIs in the first game while Austin Homan was 3-for-5 with four runs scored in the second game.

19. (22) Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 29-4
The Wolves advanced through the Arizona Division I playoffs with three straight wins, defeating Cienega (Vail) 12-6, Corona del Sol (Tempe) 5-4 and Pinnacle (Phoenix) 8-5.

20. (24) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 29-4-1
Kenny Hill had a double and a triple to propel the Dragons to a 10-0 win over Lamar (Arlington) and had a home run in a 5-0 bi-district win over Lamar. Nic Motley also homered in the second game.

21. (25) Fountain Valley (Calif.), 23-2
The Barons won their first league title since 2002 with a 7-3 win over Edison (Huntington Beach). Fountain Valley also defeated Edison 5-4 earlier in the week.

22. (26) Melbourne (Fla.), 25-0
Melbourne's first-round Class 6A playoff game against Seabreeze (Daytona Beach) was postponed due to rain.

23. (12) Lincoln-Way North (Frankfort, Ill.), 25-1-1
Lincoln-Way North dropped its first game of the season, falling to Brother Rice (Chicago) 1-0 on Friday. Earlier in the week, the Phoenix topped Thornridge 14-0 and 9-4, Lincoln-Way East Central 12-0, and Lincoln-Way East 5-1.

24. (5) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 24-3
The Lancers settled into a tie for first place with Serra (San Mateo) in the West Catholic Athletic League after falling to Bellarmine (San Jose) and a 5-4 loss to Valley Christian (San Jose). St. Francis finishes up the regular season against Archbishop Riordan on Tuesday.

25. (NR) Mason (Ohio), 20-0
The Comets are ranked No. 1 in the Division I state rankings in Ohio.

The Next 25

26. (28) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), 19-2
The Crusaders won five games, topping Badin (Hamilton) 2-1, St. Xavier (Cincinnati) 6-4, Turpin (Cincinnati) 5-4, Elder (Cincinnati) 4-2 and Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 7-2.

27. (29) Tullahoma (Tenn.), 30-5
Tullahoma won three times last week, defeating Blackman 11-1, Coffee County 11-6 and Lawrence County 3-1.

28. (30) East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.), 26-2
East Coweta opened the postseason with a pair of shutouts over Rockdale County, winning 13-0 and 16-0 in the first round of the Class AAAAAA playoffs.

29. (32) Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), 26-2
Coronado knocked off Eldorado (Las Vegas) 14-7, Foothill (Henderson) 12-1 and Cheyenne (North Las Vegas) 11-0.

30. (36) Deer Park (Texas), 26-3-1
The Deer won their bi-district matchup with Dobie 12-1 in the Texas 5A playoffs.

31. (37) Granada (Livermore, Calif.), 20-0
Two more wins for the Matadors, who defeated Foothill (Pleasanton) 7-2 and Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 15-0.

32. (38) Tomball (Texas), 27-3
The Cougars opened the postseason with a 10-0 win over Reagan (Houston) in bi-district play.

33. (39) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 34-6
The Toros advanced to the semifinals of the Class 5A state playoffs with a 12-0, 7-1 sweep of Brookwood.

34. (43) Frenship (Wolfforth, Texas), 31-4
Frenship won its bi-district matchup with Dumas, 10-0 and 11-1, to advance in the Class 4A tournament.

35. (44) Puyallup (Wash.), 19-2
Puyallup won a key 4A showdown with Kentwood (Covington), capturing a 2-1 victory.

36. (45) Jupiter (Fla.), 21-4
Jupiter advanced to the second round with a 9-2 win over Park Vista and will take on Seminole Ridge.

37. (47) Richmond (Rockingham, N.C.), 21-1
The Raiders defeated Pinecrest (Southern Pines) 2-1 and Scotland (Laurinburg) 2-0 in the SEC Tournament.

38. (49) Madison (Vienna, Va.), 17-1
Madison defeated South Lakes 6-1 and Langley 7-4 and is ranked No. 1 by the Washington Post.

39. (50) Pearland (Texas), 28-5
Pearland won its bi-district playoff game with Sterling (Baytown) 8-0.

40. (NR) Klein (Texas), 28-3
Klein won its bi-district matchup with a 22-12, 7-3 sweep of A&M Consolidated.

41. (NR) Tucson High Magnet School (Ariz.), 29-4-1
The Badgers have won 13 in a row heading into the semifinals of the Division I winners bracket and will face Desert Mountain.

42. (48) Flora (Columbia, S.C.), 20-5
The Falcons lost 5-2 to Emerald (Greenwood) in the District IV playoffs, but came back to defeat Emerald 8-0 to advance to the Upper State playoffs.

43. (NR) Floyd Central (Floyds Knobs, Ind.), 21-0
Ranked No. 1 in the state by Prep Baseball Report.

44. (NR) St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, N.J.), 17-0
A win over New Jersey's top team Gloucester Catholic puts St. Joseph Regional in the rankings.

45. (NR) Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), 25-3
Mosley opened the Class 6A playoffs with a 5-1 win over Pace.

46. (NR) Howell (St. Charles, Mo.), 26-5
Howell is ranked No. 1 by the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

47. (NR) Harrison Central (Gulfport, Miss.), 23-2
The Red Rebels have won 17 in a row.

48. (35) Gloucester Catholic (N.J.), 16-3
The Rams lost to Cumberland (Seabrook) 5-4 and St. Joseph Regional (Montvale) 6-1 last week while also picking up a 12-0 win over Deptford and an 11-1 win over Schalick (Pittsgrove).

49. (42) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 22-4
The Broncos split their two games with Westview (San Diego) last week, winning 9-0 and losing 6-4.

50. (NR) Orange Lutheran (Calif.), 17-7
A win over Mater Dei puts the Lancers back into the rankings.

Dropped out: No. 20 Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), No. 23 Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.), No. 27 O'Connor (Phoenix), No. 31 Madison Central (Miss.), No. 33 Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), No. 34 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), No. 40 Greenway (Phoenix), No. 41 Flower Mound (Texas), No. 46 Brandon (Miss.).