By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
The Owasso Rams, who finished No. 3 in last year’s USA Today national rankings, moved into the top spot in the most recent national poll. Meanwhile one of the nation’s longest winning streaks comes to an end with Bishop Ward’s loss last week. Here’s a look at some of the top stories among the high school baseball teams in the southwestern part of the country.
Oklahoma
The Owasso Rams, who are 22-0 and have won six of the last 10 Oklahoma Class 6A state championships, moved to the top of the USA Today rankings this past week. The Rams, who were 35-3 last season, have played extremely well of late, defeating Sperry 8-0, Ponca City 3-1, Memorial 7-3, Metroy 14-2, Claremore 8-0 and Jenks 10-0.
Owasso nearly saw its unbeaten season come to an end on April 12, however, as Broken Arrow extended the Rams to 12 innings before Owasso finally broke through for a run in the bottom of the 12th in a 1-0 win at the Old School Wooden Bat Baseball Tournament in San Springs. Owasso was 4-0 in the tourney.
James Stanfield has been a force for the Rams at the plate, belting nine home runs and hitting over .500 while also anchoring the defense as the team’s shortstop.
Kansas
The Bishop Ward Cyclones saw their 45-game win streak come to an end on April 12 with a 7-2 loss to Rockhurst. Bishop Ward had set the state record of consecutive wins earlier in the season after starting the season 6-0, going 26-0 in 2007 and winning the final 13 games of the 2006 season. Sedan held the previous state record of 42 straight wins, set in the 1970s.
Coincidentally, the Cyclones’ last loss was a 6-3 defeat on April 22, 2006, to none other than Rockhurst.
Bishop Ward still remains the favorite to win a sixth straight Class 4A championship in Kansas. The Cyclones have won the title each year since 2003 and has won 10 crowns in school history. No other school in Kansas state history has won more than three state championships in a row.
Defending state champion St. Thomas Aquinas tops the Class 5A rankings despite a 9-8 loss to Bishop Miege. The Saints also have a 10-2 win over Bishop Miege in racking up a 4-1 record.
Nebraska
Omaha Creighton Prep stands atop the Class A baseball rankings by the Lincoln Journal Star after posting a 13-0 record through April 8. The Junior Jays recently whipped Millard West, ranked No. 4 by the Journal Star, 11-1 behind a three-run homer by Ryan Briggs.
Creighton Prep last won a state title in 2004, which is also the last time Creighton Prep has appeared in the Class A finals. Creighton Prep has six state titles in school history dating back to 1942.
Zane Hinkel has been the offensive leader for the Junior Jays, batting at a .674 clip through April 10 with 29 basehits on the season. He has also scored a state-best 23 runs and has eight doubles. Briggs has also swung the bat well with a .438 average.
On the mound, Joe Holtmeyer has been nearly untouchable in compiling a 0.00 ERA while collecting three wins. Shawn McKenna also has three victories while teammate Josh Raburn has also yet to relinquish an earned run. Holtmeyer also has 25 striekouts to rank among the state leaders.
From the Class B ranks, Nebraska City pitcher Logan Ehlers has been whiffing batters at a remarkable rate. The Nebraska leader with 55 strikeouts, Ehlers has struck out 19 batters and 20 batters in two different outings this spring.
Louisiana
Barbe has moved to the top of the Louisiana 5A coaches poll after winning its last six games and upping its season record to 25-5-1. In a 14-3 win over Acadiana on April 5, The Bucs blasted five home runs, including a grand slam by Hommy Rosado Nick Doty added two home runs and five RBI while Josh Lebert and Ryan Doiron each had a round-tripper. Garin Cecchini, meanwhile, was 5-for-5 with three doubles.
The Bucs lost to Acadiana two weeks ago, falling 6-5 to mark their lone loss since going 2-2 at the Cameron State Bank Tournament on March 6. Since a 6-0 loss to Westbrook in that event, Barbe has won 12 of its last 13 games.
Texas
The state of Texas landed four teams in the USA Top 25 rankings last week, led by Corpus Christy Moody at the No. 6 spot, followed by El Paso Socorro at No. 18, San Antonio Reagan at No. 19 and Plano West at No. 24.
Moody has a potent offense with four players batting over .470. Christian Garza Gallegos leads the team with a .520 average (40-for-77) while Marc Gomez is at .484 (31-64), Justin Meza is at .475 (29-61) and Rudy Flores is at .470 (31-66). Flores tops the team in home runs with seven while Meza had five. On the mound, Gomez is 8-0 with 78 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched. Meza has also thrown well, posting a 6-0 record with 49 Ks in 36 innings. The defending Class 4A state champions are 21-2 overall.
Socorro ran off 24 straight wins before falling to Franklin 4-3 on April 8. The Bulldogs have since beaten Americas 10-0 and El Dorado 8-2 to put their record at 26-1. Socorro sits atop the Texas 5A rankings by the Texas Baseball Coaches Association.
Reagan is 26-2 on the season and is the top-ranked team in the San Antonio area. The Rattlers recently won their 13th straight district contest with a 17-5 drubbing of Wagner. Case Selsor, an all-district player from 2007, leads the Reagan pitching staff with seven wins. Carter Hahn, one of the top junior players in Texas, is second on the staff with five victories.
Plano West is 25-0 on the season after having an early season loss to South Lake Carroll overturned. Southlake Carroll defeated Plano West 4-0, but an ineligible player cost the Dragons the victory and restored Plano West to unbeaten status. Jason Coats leads Plano West with a .493 batting average and six home runs while Donald Plant is hitting .473. Ryan Ford leads the team in RBI with 40 while Ben Flora and Drew Johnson each have seven victories to top the pitching staff.
Arizona
Deer Valley has taken over the top spot in the Class 5A Division II rankings in Arizona, as chosen by the Arizona Republic, after Sunrise Mountain lost to Tolleson 13-12 on April 11.
Deer Valley is 18-5 on the year including a season-opening loss to Sunrise Mountain, 2-0. However the Skyhawks are 17-2 after beginning the year with a 1-3 mark.
Arizona started the season with a pair of teams ranked in the top 25 national rankings by Baseball America, including Catalina Foothills and Sandra Day O’Connor. Catalina Foothills has gone just 11-6 on the season, although it has won its last six games in a row. Sandra Day O’Connor, meanwhile, is 17-5-1 on the year, including a 3-2 loss to Chaparral last week. Chapparal was another team to watch in Arizona in 2008, but the Firebirds lost three games at the Cleats National Tournament in Mid-March.
That left Sunrise Mountain as the only Arizona team mentioned in the latest USA Today regional rankings. However those rankings did not reflect its loss to Tolleson. The most recent Arizona Republic rankings moved Deer Valley into the top spot following Sunrise Mountain’s recent defeat.
Mesa Mountain View is the top team in the 5A Division 1 rankings with a 21-2 record. The Toros have won nine straight games since losing to Chandler at the Mesquite/Skyline Tournament on March 18. Mountain View’s only other loss was to Horizon. Coltin White leads the Toro offense with a .479 batting average. Meanwhile Matt Shannon has a 7-0 record with a 2.133 ERA.
New Mexico
In a showdown between the top two teams in District 1-5A, Rio Rancho knocked off Cibola 7-4. John Walker had a pair of hits and was on base four times for the Rams, who have now beaten Cibola twice on the season. The Rams are 2-0 in district play at 15-3 overall. Cibola dipped to 11-6 on the season.
Arkansas
The two-time defending state 7A champion Fayetteville Purple Dogs got their season off to a rough start, losing their opener to Bossier City, La., in a tournament in Shreveport.
Since then, however, it’s been smooth sailing for Fayetteville, as it has powered its way to 20 straight wins and an 8-0 conference mark.
According to the Northwest Arkansas Times, a pair of left-handed pitchers has led the way for the Purple Dogs. Spencer Hansen and Taylor Shaddy. Hansen is 4-1 on the season while Shaddy, last year’s 7A tournament MVP, is 5-0.
The Purple Dogs extended their win streak to 20 in a row with a doubleheaders sweep of Tulsa Bishop Kelley, winning 3-2 in the opener and 9-7 in the nightcap.
