Smithson Valley, Marcus replace Lake Travis, Reagan in rankings after postseason drama in the Lone Star State.
All season long, Lake Travis and Reagan have been at the top of the Class 6A state rankings in Texas, but that came to an end last week when both lost in the playoffs and had their seasons come to an end. As a result, they dropped out of the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings and two other Texas teams moved in.
Smithson Valley (Spring Branch), which defeated Reagan in a three-game series, joins the rankings at No. 13 with a 32-5 record. Marcus (Flower Mound), which beat Plano in two games, also moves in with a 29-8-1 record. Marcus also holds the distinction of posting a win over IMG Academy early in the season.
Among the other teams joining the rankings this week include Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), which rejoined the rankings after a two-week absence; Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.), which knocked off previously-ranked Alhambra for the Arizona Division I state championship and Marist (Chicago), which is the top-ranked team in Illinois by the MaxPreps computer rankings.
Joining Liberty as a state champion last week were Stoneman Douglas (Parkland) in Florida Class 7A and Auburn in Alabama Class 7A.
Dropped out: Lake Travis (Austin, Texas); Reagan (San Antonio, Texas); Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.); St. Christopher's (Richmond, Va.); Alhambra (Phoenix, Ariz.).
Game of the Week: Auburn 7, Hoover 6. Leading 6-2 after five innings, Auburn gave up two runs in the sixth, scored a run in the bottom of the frame and then gave up two more in the top of the seventh to allow Hoover to close the gap to 7-6. With the bases loaded following a walk, Ryan Olson entered the game and struck out the final batter on three pitches to give Auburn the Class 7A state championship.
Player of the Week: Izaak Pacheco, Friendswood. The All-American candidate kept Friendswood undefeated by going 5-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and 10 RBI in a win over Port Neches-Groves.
Recruit watch: Braden Montgomery, Madison Central. One of the nation's top outfielders, Montgomery has been valuable as a pitcher this year for the Jaguars. He did his best Shohei Ohtani impersonation in a series-opening win over Tupelo as he hit a home run and struck out 12 batters.
Game to watch: Orange Lutheran vs. JSerra Catholic. Since the Trinity
League formed from the old Angelus League in 2006-07, no baseball team
has finished undefeated in league play. That could end this week when
Orange Lutheran, 13-0, takes on JSerra Catholic in a pair of games on
Tuesday and Wednesday. The Lancers ended JSerra's chance at an
undefeated league season on Monday with an 8-2 win, but JSerra (12-1)
can still win the league outright with two wins in the final two games.
Milestones: Glenn Cecchini, Barbe. With the Buccaneers' championship game win over West Monroe, Cecchini is believed to have 975 career wins at Barbe. He should be in line to become the first baseball coach in state history to go over 1,000 career wins next year.
Streaks: Webster (Wis.) added three wins to raise record to 12-0 and 49 in a row. With one more win, Webster will become just the 38th team to ever win 50 consecutive games. The state record is 64 in a row by Nekoosa in 1980-83.
Preston Curtis of Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas) celebrates after a key hit in his team's series win over Plano.
Photo by Robbie Rakestraw
1. Friendswood (Texas)
Record: 29-0 |
Last week: 1
Results: Def. Port Neches-Groves, 4-2, 15-7
Stats: Devon Andrews had two doubles and
Dylan Maxcey had a home run in the 4-2 win.
Izaak Pacheco went 5-for-5 with 2 doubles, a home run and 10 RBI in the 15-7 win.
Next: Fri. vs. College Station.
2. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 39-2 |
Last week: 2
Louisiana Class 5A champions.
3. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 23-2 |
Last week: 3
Season complete.
4. St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 32-1 |
Last week: 4
Results: Def. Grosse Pointe North, 9-6; def. Brother Rice, 6-5.
Stats: Nolan Schubart had two home runs against Grosse Pointe North.
Alex Mooney and
Ryan McKay each had a triple against Brother Rice.
Next: Tue. vs. Pioneer; Fri. vs. Western International
5. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 28-2 |
Last week: 6
Results: Def. Columbus, 3-2; def. Spruce Creek, 5-1.
Stats: Christian Rodriguez struck out 10 against Columbus.
Chris Arroyo struck out 5 in the win over Spruce Creek.
Next: Season complete. Florida Class 7A state champions.
6. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)
Record: 31-2 |
Last week: 7
Results: Def. Tupelo, 2-0
Stats: Braden Montgomery had a home run and also struck out 12 while pitching a 2-hitter.
Connor Nation also had a home run.
Next: Tue. vs. Tupelo
7. Thousand Oaks (Calif.)
Record: 23-1 |
Last week: 5
Results: Def. Newbury Park, 4-2; lost to Newbury Park, 2-1.
Stats: Dylan Jackson had a home run in the 4-2 win.
Next: Wed. vs. Simi Valley
8. Gregory-Portland (Portland, Texas)
Record: 35-2-1 |
Last week: 8
Results: Def. Carroll (Corpus Christi), 1-0, 7-0.
Stats: Robbie Spencer had a 2-hitter with 9 strikeouts in the 1-0 win while
Malachi Lott tossed a 1-hitter with 11 strikeouts in the 7-0 win.
Next: Fri. vs. Rouse.
9. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Record: 24-4 |
Last week: 9
Results: Def. Ensworth, 11-0, 12-11.
Stats: Hunter Herndon had a grand slam and
Daniel Corona had a home run in the first win.
Cooper Kinney had a home run in the second game.
Next: Tue. vs. Brentwood Academy.
10. Roff (Okla.)
Record: 33-0 |
Last week: 13
Oklahoma Class B state champions.
11. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: 15
Results: Def. St. John Bosco, 23-0, 4-0, 9-4. Def. JSerra Catholic, 8-2.
Stats:
Matthew Polk and
Mikey Romero each had 2 hits and 3 RBI in the first
win.
Gabe Miranda added a triple in the second game and
Steven Mara
homered in the third game for the Lancers.
Next: Tue./Wed. vs. JSerra Catholic
12. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 14
Results: Def. Butler, 6-5; def. Collins, 7-1; lost to DeSales, 2-4; def. Apollo, 13-1, def. Frankfort, 11-2.
Stats: Daylen Lile hit home runs against Butler and DeSales, giving him 12 on the season.
Next: Tue. vs. Madison Central
13. Smithson Valley (Spring Branch, Texas)
Record: 32-5 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Reagan, 4-3; lost to Reagan, 4-1; def. Reagan, 6-5.
Stats: Ethan Gonzalez had the walkoff basehit to get Smithson Valley past Reagan in the rubber game.
Next: Thur/Fri vs. Eagle Pass
14. Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas)
Record: 29-8-1 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Plano, 4-0, 7-4.
Stats: Nathan Harmon had a pair of doubles in the 4-0 win and
Tyler Schott had a triple and the pitching win in the second game.
Next: Thur/Fri vs. Southlake Carroll
15. Liberty (Peoria, Ariz.)
Record: 21-3 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Alhambra, 10-0.
Stats: Carson Baker was 2-for-3 with a double and 3 RBI in the win.
Next: Season complete. Arizona Division I state champion.
16. Butler (Vandalia, Ohio)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: 24
Results: Def. Springfield, 15-0.
Stats: Kaden Echeman and Jordan Taylor combined for a 5-inning no-hitter. Billy Hendricks went 2-for-2 with 3 RBI.
Next: Tue. vs. Sidney
17. Marist (Chicago, Ill.)
Record: 26-2 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Joliet Catholic, 11-1; def. St. Patrick, 18-8, 17-2; def. Marian Catholic, 9-6.
Stats: Luke Sefcik had a double and 3 RBI against Marian Catholic.
Jack Harmon had a double and 3 RBI against St. Patrick.
Next: Tue. vs. Marian Catholic; Thur. vs. Homewood-Flossmoor.
18. Buford (Ga.)
Record: 32-2 |
Last week: 17
Season complete.
19. Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.)
Record: 35-3 |
Last week: 19
Season complete. MAIS state champion
20. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 26-3 |
Last week: 20
Season complete.
21. Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.)
Record: 23-2 |
Last week: 12
Results: Def. Clovis West, 9-5, 5-2. Lost to Clovis North, 5-4
Stats: Jett Ruby homered in the first win for Buchanan.
Next: Tue. vs. Clovis North
22. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Record: 37-5 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Powell, 8-6; def. Seymour, 9-2.
Stats: Bryce Burkey,
Hunter Merrick and
Hudson Seiglar all doubled against Powell.
Parker Evans had a home run against Seymour.
Next: Tue. vs. McMinn County.
23. Auburn (Ala.)
Record: 36-7 |
Last week: 22
Results: Def. Hoover 9-2; lost to Hoover, 8-2; def. Hoover, 7-6.
Stats: Will Turner went 2-for-4 with a double and 3 RBI in the first win and 3-for-3 in the championship final.
Next: Season complete. Alabama Class 7A state champion
24. Lassiter (Marietta, Ga.)
Record: 32-6 |
Last week: 25
Results: Did not play
Next: Wed. vs. Houston County
25. Puyallup (Wash.)
Record: 16-0 |
Last week: 21
Season complete.
