Gaels stay at No. 1 in national high school baseball rankings for second staight week; Lutheran, Archbishop Mitty, Fairhope enter prep Top 25.
The No. 1 team in the country remained the same for two weeks in a row, thanks to an impressive start by the Bishop Gorman Gaels.
The Gaels are the third team to sit atop the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings so far in this young season after preseason No. 1 Alonso lost its opener and its replacement at No. 1, Edison, fell in its second game.
No such worries for the Gaels thus far, as they cruised in their two games last week. Bishop Gorman figures to get a strong test in two weeks when it heads to Florida for the National Grand Slam Tournament in Palm Beach.
Sumrall hangs on to the No. 2 spot and the Bobcats will also make their way to Florida this week for the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports Tournament in Orlando. Sumrall will take on Byrns (Cedar Hill, Tenn.), Albany (N.Y.) and TMI-Episcopal (San Antonio, Texas) among their first three games of the tournament.
Only three teams dropped out of the rankings this week. Poway (Calif.) lost its second game of the season, falling to Cathedral (San Diego). Northshore (Slidell, La.), which began the season with nine straight wins, lost four in a row in the Denham Springs Tournament. Moody (Corpus Christi, Texas), meanwhile, lost twice at the Brenham Tournament. They were replaced by Lutheran, Archbishop Mitty and Fairhope.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (1) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 2-0
There were no early-season jitters for the Gaels this year as they opened their season in emphatic fashion with an 18-4 win over Desert Oasis (Las Vegas) and a 9-3 win over Spring Valley (Las Vegas). Neil Lawhorn and T.J. White each hit home runs in the Desert Oasis victory with White driving in five runs. Joey Gallo was 2-for-4 with two RBI and two doubles in the Spring Valley victory.
2. (2) Sumrall (Miss.), 8-0
Two more big wins for the Bobcats, who walloped Collins (Miss.) 31-0 and cut down North Forrest (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 21-1. Chad Guice and Dylan Anglin each had five RBI against Collins while Jackson Posey had four. Anglin and Posey combined for a no-hitter with Posey striking out six. Luke Lowery added three hits and four RBI with a home run in the North Forrest win while Austin Knight had four RBI and two doubles.
3. (3) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 0-0
Season begins March 22 vs. Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio).
4. (4) Menchville (Newport News, Va.), 0-0
Season begins March 16 vs. Warwick (Newport News, Va.). 
Chase Harrison, Lutheran
Photo by Shawn Oudt
5. (5) Owasso (Okla.), 4-0
Dylan Bundy continues to dominate on the mound for the Rams, striking out 13 in a 4-0 win over Stillwater (Okla.). Ryan Wilson also had a strong outing in a 7-0 win over Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.), striking out 12 in a one-hitter. The Rams also topped Skiatook (Okla.) 12-3 with Bundy, Wilson, Austin Jensen and Garrett Schaede all hitting home runs.
6. (6) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 0-0
Season begins March 15 vs. Heritage (Maryville, Tenn.).
7. (8) Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.), 0-0
Season begins March 24 vs. Chaparral (Parker, Colo.).
8. (13) Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), 5-0
Robbie Dodds hit his fifth home run of the season to help lift Wando over defending 3A state champion Bishop England (Charleston, S.C.) 4-1. Drew Cisco picked up the win, his first of the season, with a run on seven hits, now walks and seven strikeouts.
9. (15) Columbus (Ga.), 7-0
The Blue Devils postponed the only game they had scheduled last week, a non-conference matchup with Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.).
10. (16) Roswell (Ga.), 7-0
The Hornets picked up a pair of wins last week with a 7-4 win over Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.) and a 7-3 win at Cherokee (Canton, Ga.). Against Etowah, Zane Evans had two singles and a double and also picked up the pitching win. Andre Gwyn had a three-run homer to lift Roswell past Cherokee.
11. (17) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 15-0-1
The Rattlers won the PEN Classic, knocking off Mercedes (Texas) 15-0, Juarez-Lincoln (La Joya, Texas) 9-2 and Edinburg North (Texas) 8-5.
12. (NR) Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 5-0
Most of the early season favorites in the CIF-Southern Section have taken turns defeating each other. Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) has wins over Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo, Calif.), Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and Santiago (Corona, Calif.) while Capistrano Valley has a win over JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.). Lutheran has so far remained unscathed and has a win over Bishop Amat, 12-3, in the Newport Elks Tournament.
13. (NR) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 7-0
Arguably the top team in Northern California, Mitty won the Mike Hazlett tournament last week with a 3-2 win over Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.) and defeated St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) 6-0 and Jesuit (Carmichael, Calif.) 6-3 last week. Showdowns with Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) and Serra (San Mateo, Calif.) loom this week.
14. (9) Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), 8-1
The Bulldogs topped Bishop Kenny (Jacksonville, Fla.) 11-2 but fell to Providence (Jacksonville, Fla.) last week 8-4. Caleb Denmark had a triple among his two hits in the win while Braddock Rowe and Austin Slater each doubled. Denmark and David Perkins each homered in the loss to Providence.
15. (10) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 9-1
The Buccaneers dropped their first game of the season, falling to Byrd (Shreveport, La.) 11-0. Barbe bounced back with three straight wins over Hahnville (Boutte, La.) 13-3, Sacred Heart (Ville Platte, La.) 9-3 and Houston Christian 9-8.
16. (11) Bellaire (Texas), 14-2-1
The Cardinals advanced to the finals of the Father Wilson Sister Julia Tournament, but fell to Second Baptist (Houston) 9-8 in the championship game. A grand slam home run and a three-run homer doomed the Cardinals, who had not lost in 15 straight outings since losing their season opener. Matthew Abrahams picked up the win in a 10-4 win over Episcopal (Bellaire, Texas) in the semifinals.
17. (23) Columbus (Miami, Fla.), 10-1
The Explorers won three games last week, including an 11-1 win over Sunset (Miami, Fla.). Andres Perez-Lobo picked up his fourth win of the season in the victory, striking out seven in four innings. Louis Dequesada was 3-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI and Tyler Filliben was 3-for-4. Columbus also topped Reagan (Doral, Fla.) 6-4 and South Dade (Homestead, Fla.) 7-6.
18. (14) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 9-1
The Patriots lost their first game of the season, falling to Coral Springs Charter (Fla.) 4-3. American Heritage also topped Pompano Beach (Fla.) 10-2 during the week.Will Nader was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and a double in the win while Sebastian Gomez drove in three runs.
19. (19) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 4-1
The Chargers rebounded from a shutout loss to Sonora (La Habra, Calif.) with three straight wins. Edison beat Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) at the Loara Tournament 10-1, defeated La Mirada (Calif.) 2-1 and claimed the seventh place game with a 10-6 win over Woodbridge (Irvine, Calif.).
20. (20) St. Rita (Chicago), 0-0
Season begins March 20 vs. Oak Lawn (Ill.).
21. (21) Naples (Fla.), 6-1
The Golden Eagles had rain cancel a contest with Bartow (Fla.) but they managed to edge Dunedin (Fla.) 3-1 on Saturday. Kyle Zech had a pair of hits and scored two runs while Stephen Grove had an RBI double. Grove also struck out five in picking up the win.
22. (22) Lakeland (Fla.), 4-1
The Dreadnaughts did not play last week. Lakeland will take on Lake Gibson (Lakeland, Fla.) on Tuesday and Auburndale (Fla.) on Thursday.
23. (24) Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 0-0
The Patriots cancelled their game with Shipley and will open their season March 24 against Germantown Friends (Philadelphia).
24. (NR) Fairhope (Ala.), 14-2
The Pirates moved to the top of the Alabama 6A state rankings and picked up a pair of wins last week. Chase Domino and Daryl Norris hit back-to-back doubles to spur the Pirates to a victory in a 6-5 win over Faith Academy (Mobile, Ala.) and Fairhope also whipped Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 13-2. Norris picked up his fifth win of the season in the latter game, striking out nine in seven innings. Garrett Pitts added a three-run homer and four RBI.
25. (25) Vestavia Hills (Ala.), 15-2
The Rebels dropped a 6-4 decision to Tuscaloosa County (Northport, Ala.), but topped Oxford (Ala.) 2-1 and 5-0 in a doubleheader before edging Pinson Valley (Pinson, Ala.) 11-4.
Dropped Out: (7) Poway 1-1; (12) Northshore, 9-4, Moody 14-3
