New blood in MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings

The Sierra Vista Mountain Lions haven't had much luck against Bishop Gorman over the years, but that could be changing after last week's 8-5 victory over the Gaels.

Bishop Gorman has won the last five Class 4A state championships in Nevada and has a been a perennial member of the national baseball rankings. The Gaels also hadn't lost to Sierra Vista in the last six meetings between the teams.

But the Mountain Lions are off to an incredible start at 17-0 and they got to Bishop Gorman pitcher T.J. White early with a home run in the first inning. The loss handed the Gaels their third defeat of the season while Sierra Vista used the win to move into this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings at the No. 13 spot.

Sierra Vista is one of seven teams to join the rankings this week. Others include longtime Mississippi powerhouse Tupelo, defending Florida 5A state champion Pace, Texas schools Franklin of El Paso and Westlake of Austin, California's Valencia, defending New York PSAL champion Tottenville and Utah's top-ranked team Lone Peak.



Edison maintains its spot at the top of the rankings after yet another strong outing by Henry Owens, who pitched his fourth straight shutout.

One game to look out for this week is a matchup between Owasso and Broken Arrow, ranked No. 5 and 6 respectively. The contest could feature a head-to-head pitching matchup between Owasso's Dylan Bundy and Broken Arrow's Archie Bradley, two of the nation's best hurlers.

MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS

1. (last week 1) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 13-1
The Chargers defeated Fountain Valley twice during the week, including an 11-9 slugfest and a 6-0 shutout. Christian Lopes went 3-for-4 with a pair of two-run homers and eight RBIs in the first game. Henry Owens picked up his sixth win of the season (6-0) with a three-hit shutout in the second game. Owens has posted four straight shutouts and has pitched 29 consecutive scoreless innings. Edison scored six runs in the top of the seventh to break a scoreless tie.

2. (3) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 17-1
The Lancers won three times in rugged West Catholic Athletic League play last week, topping Bellarmine (San Jose) 2-1, Serra (San Mateo) 6-1 and St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 7-1. Colin Reed pitched a complete game against the Bells for his fifth win of the season (5-0) while Alex Blandino picked up the win over Serra and also had a home run and a double with two RBIs.

3. (4) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 22-2
The Rangers won twice last week in District 5A-23 play, beating Fort Bend Austin 12-2 with Cline Andrews and Gr Hinsley each going 3-for-3 at the plate. In an 8-2 win over Fort Bend Dulles, Hinsley had a home run and Austin Guill was 2-for-3 with three RBIs.

4. (5) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 23-1
The Rattlers continue to romp in south Texas, topping Rowe 13-1 and Donna 10-0. Against Rowe, Oscar Gonzalez was 4-for-4 with a triple and two doubles. Alexis Hernandez had a home run against Donna.



5. (6) Owasso (Okla.), 20-1
The Rams won the Nike Pro Classic, defeating Red Oak 5-0 on a one-hitter by Dylan Bundy (7-0), who struck out 17 batters in collecting his seventh win of the season. During the tournament the Rams also defeated Joplin 17-3, Jenks 12-0, Silo 10-0 and Roff 14-2. Phillip Wilson had a three-hit shutout with eight strikeouts against Silo. Bundy launched a pair of home runs and went 3-for-3 with six RBIs against Roff and he also had 12 strikeouts and a one-hitter against Jenks while also hitting a home run.

6. (7) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 22-1
The Tigers won six games during the week in winning the San Springs Wood Bat Tournament. Broken Arrow defeated Memorial (Tulsa) 4-3, Sapulpa 9-0, Bartlesville 7-2 and Fayetteville (Ark.) 7-3 in pool play. Earlier in the week, the Tigers took two from defending 6A state champion Union (Tulsa) 12-3 and 9-0. The Tigers had five home runs in the 12-3 victory over Union including three in the seventh inning. Archie Bradley pitched a shutout in the other win over Union, striking out 11 on a two-hitter. Mason Hope had 14 strikeouts in the win over Fayetteville while Jacob Evans had 14 in the win over Sapulpa. The Tigers meet Owasso on Friday.

7. (10) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 5-0
After a number of cancellations early in the week, the Warriors got in two games at the Dick Meyer Classic on Saturday and defeated Clear Fork 10-0 and Buckeye Valley 5-3. Graeme Frye had a home run and Nate Lundy had two singles and a double in the win over Buckeye Valley. Against Clear Fork, Tim Faix pitched a no-hitter with nine strikeouts while Dane O'Driscoll had a home run and three RBIs.

8. (12) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 16-1
The Bears took a pair from Central (Fresno), winning 12-4 and 11-1. Dominic Topoozian picked up the win in Tuesday's game with Jason Gonzalez hitting a home run and Christian Parra adding a pair of doubles and three RBIs.

9. (2) Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 16-1
Douglas lost its first game of the season, dropping a 10-3 decision to Coral Springs in district play. The Eagles had defeated Monarch (Coconut Creek) 13-2 and Coral Glades (Coral Springs) 6-4 earlier in the week and had received a forfeit win from Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lakes). Coral Springs hit three home runs in the game to pull out the win. Douglas had defeated Coral Springs earlier in the season 5-4.

10. (13) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 16-2
The Falcons avenged one of their two losses this season by topping West Broward 9-7 in District 12-6A play. Andres Sanchez hit his 13th home run of the season for Flanagan.



11. (15) The Woodlands (Texas), 20-2-2
The Highlanders won in convincing fashion last week, blanking Conroe 21-0 behind the hitting efforts of Landon Merka and Ryan Flynn. Merka was 3-for-3 with six RBIs, two doubles and a homer while Flynn was 2-for-3 with a double and a grand slam with four RBIs. Bryan Brickhouse pitched a no-hitter in the win, striking out seven and walking one. Merka and Lance Miles both hit home runs against Atascocita in a 14-4 win.

12. (17) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 19-2
The Mavericks held off Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) 7-6 thanks to Jose Brizuela's three-run homer and Jonathan Quintana's round tripper. Archbishop McCarthy also best Pines Charter 7-3 and secured a No. 1 seed for the Mavericks in the postseason. The Mavericks had a triple play in the win over the Jaguars and Alex Fernandez had a home run and a double to lead the offense.

13. (NR) Sierra Vista (Las Vegas), 17-0
The Mountain Lions stayed undefeated and held on to their No. 1 ranking in Nevada with an 8-5 win over perennial state champion Bishop Gorman. Scott Tomassetti hit a three-run homer in the first inning, his 10th of the season. He finished 2-for-3 with four RBIs in the win.

14. (18) Spanish Fork (Utah), 12-2
The Dons took a pair of games from Maple Mountain (Spanish Fork) last week, winning 10-0 and 8-1. Kayden Porter had a five-inning no-hitter in the first game and got help from James Lengal, who went 3-for-3 with a double.

15. (20) Madison Central (Miss.), 15-1
The Jaguars put up big numbers in their four wins last week, topping Murrah (Jackson) 17-0 and 18-4, Hernando 19-0 and Lewisburg (Olive Banch) 16-7. Josh Laxer and Spencer Turnbull combined on a no-hitter in the first win over Murrah with Turnbull also hitting a home run. Turnbull added two home runs against Hernando while Stanford Parks, Zach Irwin, and Curt Chism also homered in the win. Laxer pitched a one-hitter with eight strikeouts for the victory. Turnbull got his fourth home run of the week against Lewisburg and Chism also hit one out.

16. (NR) Tupelo (Miss.), 19-1
The Golden Wave have ripped off 17 straight wins since an early season loss to Oxford. Tupelo ended Mooreville's 11-game win streak with a 14-2 win as Cody Shrewsbury (3-0) picked up his third win of the season.



17. (8) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 15-3
The Admirals dropped their third game of the season, but won five other games during the week, including four at the Farragut Invitational. Farragut topped Noblesville 7-0, Anderson County 11-3, Grove City 18-3 and Tullahoma 10-4. The Admirals also fell to Lenoir City 7-6 on April 5, but rebounded to defeat Catholic 7-1 in a nonleague contest. Nicky Delmonico had a home run and five RBIs against Grove City while Xander Taylor pitched a shutout with seven strikeouts and also homered in the win over Noblesville. Philip Pfeifer did not pitch in the tournament due to soreness issues, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel.

18. (NR) Pace (Fla.), 17-2
The defending Class 5A state champs in Florida got their season off to a rough start with two early losses, but the Patriots have been on a roll of late including an 8-5 win over previously undefeated Pensacola Catholic. Addison Russell hit a home run in the win and Patrick Ervin had a two-run single in the bottom of the fourth to give Pace the lead.

19. (14) Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), 18-1
The Crusaders dropped their first game of the season, falling to defending state champion Pace 8-5 on Thursday. Pensacola Catholic also defeated Marianna 7-6 and Owensboro Catholic 10-2 during the week. Avery Geyer had a home run against Owensboro Catholic and Tyler Henry finished with a double and three RBIs. Chad Westlake had a home run in the loss to Pace.

20. (NR) Franklin (El Paso, Texas), 24-2-1
Ranked No. 4 in the state by the Texas Baseball Coaches Association, the Cougars have won 17 in a row since a 1-0 loss at the Midland Tournament of Champions to a talented Highland Park team. Franklin is 11-0 in District 5A-1 play.

21. (NR) Westlake (Austin, Texas), 27-3
The Chaparrals return to the rankings after winning their 11th in a row with a 6-2 win over Bowie (Austin) on Friday. Westlake is ranked No. 5 in the Texas Baseball Coaches Association 5A state rankings.

22. (NR) Valencia (Calif.), 12-1
The Vikings are ranked No. 2 in the Southern Section coaches poll and recently returned from Tennessee where they took first place at the USA Classic with a 6-1 win over Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.). Shane Zeile, the nephew of former Major League player Todd Zeile, leads the Vikings with four home runs on the season.



23. (19) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 14-3
The Gaels won twice last week, defeating Clark (Las Vegas) 14-0 and Bonanza (Las Vegas) 6-0, but fell to Sierra Vista (Las Vegas) 8-5 in a showdown between the top two teams in Nevada.

24. (NR) Tottenville (Staten Island, N.Y.), 7-0
The defending PSAL champions are just getting their season started, but the Pirates are expected to repeat. The Pirates are ranked No. 1 in the New York Post city baseball rankings.

25. (NR) Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), 11-0
The Knights are actually ranked No. 1 in the Utah state rankings by the Deseret News. The two key wins for Lone Peak are a doubleheader sweep of Alta, which defeated Bingham, which handed Spanish Fork its first loss of the season.

Dropped: No. 11 Indianapolis Cathedral, No. 16. Langham Creek, No. 18 Gulliver Prep, No. 21. Mesquite, No. 22 Marist, No. 23 Fairhope, No. 24. Highland Park, No. 25 Vista Murrieta.