With an 18-strikeout performance by Dylan Lesko, Buford ended the regular season with a 4-0 win over Grayson on Monday. The Wolves continue to sit atop the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings heading into Georgia's postseason.
The Peach State's playoff system calls for a best-of-three series in each round of the playoffs, meaning the Wolves could lose a game in a series, yet move on to the next round. Thus Buford could win a state championship, yet drop in the rankings should it split any series games along the way.
Sitting in the wings waiting to pounce are Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), Madison Central (Madison, Miss.) and Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.). Jesuit takes on IMG Academy on Tuesday, and a win over the Ascenders would be a signature victory for the Tigers in the 2021 season heading into the postseason. The Florida playoff system is a single-elimination format, meaning Jesuit would need to go undefeated the rest of the way in order to have a chance to surpass Buford.
Madison Central also plays a best-of-three postseason format, but the Jaguars have been simply dominant this year against Mississippi 6A competition. There's a chance Madison Central could jump over Buford and Jesuit (assuming losses by both teams) since it is currently undefeated.
Stoneman Douglas is also in the mix since it could potentially win a Florida state championship and it takes on No. 10 Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) in a non-district contest Wednesday.
The wildcard here is St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.), which has dominated after getting its seasons started earlier this month. The Eaglets have a ways to go and will still be playing while everyone else ahead of them has finished the season. That could allow St. Mary Prep to climb all the way to No. 1 should it have an impressive finish to its season.
Dropped out: Auburn (Ala.), Carrollton (Ga.), Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.); Winder-Barrow (Winder, Ga.)
Game of the Week: Friendswood 2, Manvel 1. Friendswood remained undefeated on the season with a walk-off double in the bottom of the eighth with two outs that scored Izaak Pacheco, who had reached on a walk.
Player of the Week: Henry Godbout, Baylor. Godbout finished the week hitting in eight straight at-bats over two games, including two doubles and a triple.
Recruit Watch: Jack Walker, Barbe. The Buccaneers senior missed all of last year due to injury, but he's making up for lost time. He had a no-hitter against Lafayette with eight strikeouts.
Game to Watch: IMG Academy vs. Jesuit. Both the Ascenders and the Tigers have a shot at finishing the season as the No. 1 team in the country. Since IMG does not play in the postseason in Florida, it can really use a win over Jesuit to give it an edge over the Tigers should Jesuit go on to win a state championship.
Streaks: Webster (Wis.), a team that has not played a game since June 13, 2019, still holds the longest active winning streak with 37 games in a row. Andrean (Merrillville, Ind.), raised its win streak to 37 in a row, before dropping its first game since the 2019 season. St. Mary's Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) is closing in on Webster with 14 straight wins this year to go with 20 straight wins to end the 2019 season. St. Mary's Prep did not play in 2020. The Eaglets are undefeated in 43 straight games (41-0-2).
Henry Godbout, Baylor
Photo by Andy Mitchell
1. Buford (Ga.)
Record: 29-0 |
Last week: 1
Results: Def. Winder-Barrow, 10-0, 3-0. Def. Grayson, 4-0.
Stats: Stan Zagrodnik had a home run and Riley Stanford had a double and a triple in the first game.
Jackson Gaspard tossed a one-hitter with eight strikeouts.
Jax Brockett had a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts in the 3-0 win.
Dylan Lesko threw a two-hitter at Grayson, striking out 18.
Next: Playoffs TBA
2. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 22-1 |
Last week: 2
Results: Def. Calvary Christian, 10-1; def. Berkeley Prep, 10-0; def. Blake, 11-1.
Stats: Dominic Castellano struck out 15 in six innings against Calvary Christian.
Cole Russo had two doubles and four RBI against Berkeley Prep.
Bradke Lohry had two doubles against Blake.
Next: Tues. vs. IMG Academy; Fri. vs. Champagnat Catholic
3. Madison Central (Madison, Miss.)
Record: 24-0 |
Last week: 3
Results: Def. Clinton, 10-0, 5-3.
Stats: Ross Highfill had a grand slam home run in the win over Clinton.
Gatlin Sanders went 3-for-4 with a double in the second game.
Next: Fri. vs. Brandon.
4. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 20-1 |
Last week: 4
Results: Did not play
Next: Wed. vs. Calvary Christian Academy; Thur. vs. Westminster Christian.
5. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 21-2 |
Last week: 6
Results: Did not play
Next: Tue. vs. Jesuit.
6. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 29-2 |
Last week: 7
Results: Def. Lafayette, 10-0.
Stats: Jack Walker pitched a six-inning no-hitter with eight strikeouts against Lafayette.
Kyle Debarge went 4-for-4.
Next: Tue./Thur vs. New Iberia.
7. St. Mary Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 14-0 |
Last week: 9
Results: Def. Divine Child 14-0, 8-0; def. Chelsea, 5-3; def. Brother Rice, 15-0, 11-1; def. Detroit Country Day, 14-4.
Stats:
Jake Dresselhouse had a grand slam against Divine Child, his third of
the season.
Jack Crighton had two doubles against Chelsea.
Ike Irish,
Brock Porter and
Nolan Schubart all homered against Brother Rice in the
first game with Schubart also hitting one in the second game.
Dresselhouse, along with
Ryan McKay, hit home runs against Detroit
Country Day.
Next: Wed. vs. De La Salle Collegiate (DH).
8. Friendswood (Texas)
Record: 21-0 |
Last week: 10
Results: Def. Manvel, 2-1.
Stats: Dylan Maxcey hit a walk-off double to beat Manvel.
Next: Tue. vs. Sterling; Fri vs. Santa Fe.
9. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Record: 24-2 |
Last week: 11
Results: Def.
Heritage, 15-6; lost to Combine Academy, 13-3; def. White County, 10-0;
def. Walker Valley, 7-6; def. Cleveland, 6-3; def. Bearden, 4-1.
Stats:
Parker Evans had a double, a home run and six RBI against Heritage.
Jaxson Pease struck out nine against Bearden.
Garett Brewer and
Tanner Kim
each homered against Greenville.
Next: Tue. vs. Lenoir City; Wed. vs. William Blount.
10. Calvary Christian Academy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Record: 16-3-1 |
Last week: 12
Results: Did not play
Next: Wed. vs. Stoneman Douglas
11. Thousand Oaks (Calif.)
Record: 10-0 |
Last week: 14
Results: Def. Newbury Park, 10-7; def. Agoura, 10-0.
Stats:
Roc Riggio went 2-for-3 with two RBI and
Maxwell Muncy went 3-for-4 with three
RBI against Newbury Park. Riggio and
Charlie Saum each homered against
Agoura with Saum adding a double.
Next: Wed/Thur vs. Agoura
12. Bryant (Ark.)
Record: 17-1 |
Last week: 18
Results: Def. Northside, 12-2
Stats: Turner Seelinger hit a double and a home run in the win.
Next: Tue vs. Catholic; Thur vs. North Little Rock.
13. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Record: 14-2 |
Last week: 19
Results: Def. Chattanooga Christian, 17-0; def. Ooltewah, 14-3.
Stats:
Daniel Corona homered against Chattanooga Christian while
Henry Godbout
had a double among four hits and
Cooper Kinney had two doubles and five RBI.
Godbout also went 4-for-4 with a double and a triple against Ooltewah.
Next: Tue vs. Knoxville Catholic; Sat. vs. Parkview.
14. Rancho Bernardo (San Diego)
Record: 14-0 |
Last week: 20
Results: Def. Carlsbad, 4-1; def. Sage Creek, 14-4; def. Santa Fe Christian, 22-5.
Stats:
Peyton Schulze went 3-for-5 with a double, a home run and four RBI against
Sage Creek.
Kevin Takeuchi led a 19-hit attack against Santa Fe
Christian with a home run.
Next: Wed vs. La Costa Canyon.
15. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 10-2 |
Last week: 5
Results: Lost to Liberty, 9-2; def. Desert Ridge, 4-0.
Stats: Brock Selvidge went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs against Desert Ridge.
Next: Wed. vs. Horizon; Fri. vs. Perry.
16. Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Record: 24-3-2 |
Last week: 8
Results: Lost to Bowie, 5-4.
Stats: Kyle Rader went 2-for-3 with a double in the loss.
Next: Tue/Fri vs. Akins.
17. Reagan (San Antonio)
Record: 25-3 |
Last week: 13
Results: Def. Brandeis, 9-2.
Stats: Jacob Burcham went 3-for-4 with two RBI in the win.
Next: Tue. vs. Johnson; Fri. vs. Churchill
18. Seymour (Tenn.)
Record: 25-1 |
Last week: 23
Results: Def. Knoxville Central, 11-1; def. Grace Christian Academy, 6-3. def. Morristown-Hamblen West, 27-0.
Stats:
Adam Quincy had a double and a home run and
Elijah Galyon had a home
run against Knoxville Central.
Alex Hutcherson had a grand slam and Galyon and
Seth Shaw each homered against MHW.
Next: Tue vs. Morristown-Hamblen West
19. Fort Zumwalt West (O'Fallon, Mo.)
Record: 22-2 |
Last week: 22
Results: Def. Rock Bridge, 8-1; lost to Staley, 5-0; def. Hickman, 1-0; def. Staley, 10-7; Def. Troy Buchanan, 8-1, 10-0.
Next: Tue. vs. Francis Howell
20. Gregory-Portland (Portland, Texas)
Record: 25-2-1 |
Last week: 24
Results: Def. Flour Bluff, 6-0; def. Victoria West, 10-0.
Stats:
Walker Janek and
Christian Mayer combined for a no-hitter against
Victoria West.
Malachi Lott struck out 17 against Flour Bluff.
Next: Fri vs. Victoria East.
21. Hewitt-Trussville (Trussville, Ala.)
Record: 25-3 |
Last week: 15
Results: Lost to Vestavia Hills, 6-2
Next: Tue/Thur vs. Spain Park.
22. Lakeland Christian (Lakeland, Fla.)
Record: 21-1 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Bartow, 10-3.
Next: Tue. vs. IMG Academy White; Thur. vs. Lake Wales.
23. Winter Park (Fla.)
Record: 20-1 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. East Ridge, 5-3; def. Orangewood Christian, 6-0.
Next: Wed. vs. Olympia; Thur. vs. Freedom.
24. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 14-0 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Highlands, 13-2; def. St. Henry, 8-0; def. Campbell County, 5-2.
Next: Sat. vs. Campbell County.
25. Vero Beach (Vero Beach, Fla.)
Record: 18-1 |
Last week: NR
Results: Def. Bayside, 11-1.
Next: Wed. vs. Palm Bay; Thur. vs. Jensen Beach.
