District playoffs in Florida took their toll on three teams in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings presented by Milk, as three ranked teams lost in district play and dropped out of this week's rankings.
Sarasota, a team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation in several national polls a few weeks ago, lost three of its last four games and dropped the District 7-6A championship to St. Petersburg. Meanwhile, Jesuit of Tampa fell to Jefferson in the District 9-4A playoffs and Lake Wales fell to Winter Haven in the District 5-5A playoffs. All three dropped from this week's rankings, but they are still alive in the Florida state playoffs. The state tournament begins with regional quarterfinals today.
Also dropping from the top 25 were Menchville and Pelham. Menchville dropped three games in the past two weeks while Pelham was eliminated from the Alabama 6A state playoffs by Grissom. 
Jorge Flores, Hamilton
Photo by Mitchell B. Reibel
Moving in to this week's rankings are Clovis West, Stevenson, Bishop Gorman, East Coweta and White Knoll. Clovis West has emerged as the top team in the Central Section of California while Stevenson is the No. 1-ranked team in Illinois.
Bishop Gorman was ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier this year, but suffered three losses to Florida teams in March. Seventeen straight wins have the Gaels back in the rankings. White Knoll, meanwhile, is the No. 2 4A team in South Carolina behind Wando. East Coweta is ranked No. 2 in the AAAAA coaches poll in Georgia.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (1) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 19-0
The Warriors began a busy week with a 10-0 win over St. Ignatius (Cleveland, Ohio) and followed with a 7-1 win over Firestone (Akron, Ohio), an 11-1 victory over Chagrin Falls (Ohio), a 15-4 win over North (Eastlake, Ohio) and a 6-3 victory over Twinsburg (Ohio). Ryan Berry homered against St. Ignatius while Patrick Ammar did the same against Firestone. Johnny Fasola gave up just two hits in the Firestone win while striking out six. Sophomore Michael Marsinek gave up just three hits and struck out eight against Chagrin Falls.
2. (2) Rockwall-Heath (Rockwall, Texas), 32-0
The Hawks played just one game last week, defeating Highland Park (Dallas, Texas) 6-1 to finish the regular season undefeated. Jake Thompson picked up the win, his seventh of the year, and also had a double. Nick Peterson added a two-base hit for the offense.
3. (4) Sumrall (Miss.), 29-1
The Bobcats began their run toward a third straight Division 3A state crown with a pair of wins over Southeast Lauderdale (Meridian, Miss.), 12-3 and 9-2. Chase Lewallen had a pair of doubles among his three hits while Luke Lowery struck out seven to get the win in the first game. Sumrall came from behind in the second game with eight runs over the fifth and sixth innings. Austin Carter had a home run and Connor Barron knocked in four runs.
4. (7) Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), 24-2
The Dorados won their only game last week, defeating Sabino (Tucson, Ariz.) 8-6. Ryan Gerber had a pair of doubles and Sebastian Magaddino and Ryan Cota had one each in the victory.
5. (8) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 23-2
The Monarchs continue to march through West Catholic Athletic League play with a 7-5 win over St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) and an 11-1 victory over Riordan (San Francisco). Brett Fuller and Preston Caldera each homered against St. Francis. Tyler Davis struck out seven in four innings to get the win over Riordan.
6. (10) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 23-3
The Panthers won three times last week and avenged a loss from earlier in the season with a 7-4 win over Grayson (Loganville, Ga.). Parkview also knocked off South Gwinnett (Snellville, Ga.) 10-2 and Dacula 15-9 to remain No. 1 in the Georgia coaches poll. Parkview won the Region 8-AAAAA title with the victory over South Gwinnett. It was the 15th crown in school history. David Langley had a home run in the win over Grayson.
7. (11) Dunedin (Fla.), 22-3-1
The Falcons won their only game last week, defeating Seminole 4-0 for the Class 5A District 11 championship. The district title was the fifth in a row for the Falcons and the 11th in the past 13 years. Chase Smith and Casey Turgeon had RBI singles to pace the Dunedin offense.
8. (13) Pace (Fla.), 24-2
The Patriots topped Navarre (Fla.) 10-0 and Milton (Fla.) 8-1 to win the District 1-5A championship. Winners of 18 in a row, Pace got a strong outing from pitcher Chris Hemphill in the win over Milton, as he gave up just five hits and struck out five. C.T. Bradford led the offense, going 3 for 3 with three RBI and three runs scored. Pace faces Niceville in the first round of the state playoffs.
9. (14) Sts. Neumann & Goretti (Philadelphia), 13-1
The Saints whipped St. Joseph's Prep (Philadelphia) 12-2 and topped Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.) 7-2 in its only games last week. Mark Donato was 3 for 4 with three RBI in the win over St. Joseph's Prep and also hit a home run in the first inning against Gloucester Catholic. Albert Bauer also homered for the Saints and was the winning pitcher.
10. (15) Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 19-1
The Patriots routed Episcopal Academy (Merion Station, Pa.) 16-0 in their only game last week. The game went just three innings as Germantown Academy scored 16 runs in the first inning. Keenan Kish threw all three frames and struck out eight in the win.
11. (3) Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), 23-2
The Warriors defeated Carolina Forest (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) 7-1 in the first round of the Region VII-AAAA playoffs but fell to North Augusta (North Augusta, S.C.) 3-2 in the second round and will have to fight their way through the losers bracket to stay alive in the state playoffs. Evan Hunt had two hits in defeat while Nick Ciuffo and Robbie Dodds each had a double.
12. (9) McAllen (Texas), 28-3
The Bulldogs rebounded from last week's surprising loss to Palmview with an 11-0 win over Rowe (McAllen, Texas) in District 30-5A competition. McAllen finishes district play at 13-1. Alvaro Moreno and Austin Griffith each had home runs in the win.
13. (17) Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), 24-3
The Bulldogs won the District 3-3A championship with a 6-3 win over Episcopal (Jacksonville, Fla.). Bolles also defeated Fernandina Beach earlier in the week, 5-4. In the final, Caleb Denmark had a home run while Hayden Hurst picked up the victory with five innings pitched and six strikeouts.
14. (20) La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 24-2
The Bears crushed Valley (Albuquerque, N.M.) 25-1 in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday and also won the first game 12-7. La Cueva topped Santa Fe (N.M.) 18-2 earlier in the week to put its win streak at 23 in a row. Zach Nelson, Ryan Padilla, Matt Smith and Steve Wolf all homered against Santa Fe.
15. (21) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 27-3
The Huskies avenged last week's loss to Brophy College Prep (Phoenix, Ariz.) with a 6-4 win on Saturday. Hamilton also swept two games from Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), winning 17-8 at home and 13-12 on the road. Derek Hill and Ryan Casillas both homered against Red Mountain at home while Parker Osborne and Gabe Teran homered at Red Mountain. Jorge Flores hit one out in the win over Brophy College Prep.
16. (22) Madison Central (Miss.), 26-2
The Jaguars opened the Division 6A state playoffs with a sweep of Starkville (Miss.), winning 16-6 and 11-1. Peyton Johnson and Josh Crowder homered in the first game to pace the offense. L.J. Hollins picked up the pitching win in the second game, striking out six in six innings while giving up two hits.
17. (23) Florida Christian (Miami, Fla.), 24-3
The Patriots won the District 15-2A championship with a 12-2 win over Miami Country Day (Fla.). Florida Christian also defeated Archbishop Curley 10-0 earlier in the week.
18. (24) Bellaire (Texas), 27-3-1
The Cardinals won their only game last week, defeating Lamar (Houston) 4-1 on a two-hitter by Toller Boardman, who struck out seven in the victory.
19. (6) Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 27-3-1
The Panthers dropped their second straight game, falling to Grapevine (Texas) 7-3 on Friday. Heritage finishes district play with a 12-2 record.
20. (25) Greenwood (Ark.), 24-1
The Bulldogs routed Central Arkansas Christian (North Little Rock, Ark.) 10-0 and then held on for a 4-3 victory in the second game of a doubleheader. The Bulldogs have a tough outing Tuesday against Rogers.
21. (NR) East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.), 23-3
The Indians have emerged as the No. 2 team in the Georgia AAAAA state rankings. They've won 10 in a row and had a 12-game winning streak earlier in the season. Five of the Indians' last seven wins have been by at least 10 runs. In a 6-5 win over Spalding (Griffin, Ga.) on Saturday, the Indians wrapped up the regular season thanks to an RBI single by Michael Hughes in the bottom of the 10th inning.
22. (NR) Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.), 24-2
The Golden Eagles have won 13 in a row, including a 5-2 win over Clovis East (Calif.) that avenged an earlier loss this season. John Koretoff had three RBI to pace the offense while Michael Isom got the win. Clovis West also defeated Alameda (Calif.) 8-4 in the Dave Stewart Classic at the Oakland Coliseum.
23. (NR) Stevenson (Lincolnshire, Ill.), 21-1
The Patriots are ranked No. 1 in the state by the Chicago Tribune and have won 16 in a row and recently defeated Buffalo Grove (Ill.) 15-3 and Fremd (Palatine, Ill.) 21-10. Kyle Ruchim had a pair of home runs in each of the wins.
24. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 26-3
The Gaels have won 17 in a row since falling to South Dade (Homestead, Fla.), including a 15-2 win over Western (Las Vegas, Nev.) on Monday and a 17-0 victory over Pahrump Valley (Pahrump, Nev.) on Wednesday. Johnny Field and Joey Gallo each have 10 home runs for Bishop Gorman this year with Field driving in 58 runs on the season.
25. (NR) White Knoll (Lexington, S.C.), 25-1
The Timberwolves have won 23 in a row and won their three games of the postseason, defeating Orangeburg-Wilkinson (S.C.) 17-0, Irmo (Columbia, S.C.) 14-4 and Hartsville (S.C.) 6-2. Zack Smith was the top hitter for White Knoll, going 2 for 2 with a double and four RBI.
Dropped Out: (5) Menchville (Newport News, Va.), (12) Sarasota (Fla.), (18) Pelham (Ala.), (16) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), (19) Lake Wales (Fla.)
