Mater Dei rattled off four straight wins to take home the NHSI title and moved to No. 4 in this week's rankings.
Photo by Louis Lopez
A strong week by Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) at the National High School Invitational was enough to move up ten spots in the Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, but there are still three unbeaten teams ahead of the Monarchs.
Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), Pensacola Catholic (Fla.) and Tomball (Texas) have yet to lose this season and thus stay ahead of Mater Dei, which opened its season with a loss before winning the next 10.
Harvard-Westlake also made a big jump in the rankings after its performance at the NHSI, which included three shutouts. The Wolverines move from No. 20 to No. 5. In all, seven of the 16 teams from the NHSI are in this week's rankings, including newcomer Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), which replaces Cathedral Catholic (San Diego).
The only other team to drop out this week is Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.) while Kentwood (Covington, Wash.) moves in.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings1. (1 last week) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 16-0
The Tigers had their best offensive week of the season, downing Tampa Catholic (Tampa) 13-1, Middleton (Tampa) 24-0 and Lennard (Ruskin) 21-0. The Tigers participate in their own Jesuit Easter Tournament this week.
2. (2) Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), 15-0
The Crusaders downed Pace 4-1 in front of nearly 3,000 fans last week.
Avery Geyer went six and two-thirds innings for the win, striking out nine. Pensacola Catholic also knocked off Washington (Pensacola) 11-0.
3. (4) Tomball (Texas), 20-0
Nicholas Banks, Tomball
File photo by Jim Redman
The Cougars upped their win streak to 20 games in a row by blanking Tomball Memorial 3-0 and Fort Bend Marshall (Missouri City) 10-0.
4. (14) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 10-1
The Monarchs had an impressive week, defeating four nationally-ranked teams to win the National High School Invitational. Wins included an 11-4 victory over Tullahoma (Tenn.), a 1-0 win over Lexington (S.C.), an 11-2 victory over The Woodlands (Texas) and a 4-0 win over Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.).
5. (20) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 12-3
The Wolverines fell just short of winning the NHSI for the second year in a row, falling 4-0 to Mater Dei in the championship game. Along the way, Harvard-Westlake defeated Eustis (Fla.) 3-0, Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) 2-0 and Venice (Fla.) 6-0.
6. (7) Venice (Fla.), 14-2
The Indians rebounded from their only loss at the NHSI with a come-from-behind victory over The Woodlands. Venice also defeated Christian Brothers (Memphis, Tenn.) 5-1 and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 7-3.
7. (3) The Woodlands (Texas), 21-2
After winning 21 games in a row, The Woodlands dropped a pair at the NHIS. Besides losses to Venice and Mater Dei, The Woodlands defeated Jenks (Okla.) 2-1 and Milton (Ga.) 9-8.
8. (8) Owasso (Okla.), 16-0
The Rams had an impressive trip to Florida, knocking off four different teams in six games. Owasso defeated Lake Wales 7-4, Winter Haven 5-3 and 12-4, Auberndale 4-3 and 5-2 and Haines City 14-3.
9. (10) O'Connor (Phoenix), 21-0
O'Connor won the ANI Tournament with a 5-2
win over Tualatin (Ore.), an 11-0 win over West Albany (Albany, Ore.), a
6-1 win over Piedra Vista (Farmington, N.M.), a 10-0 win over Denver
Christian, and a 5-0 win over Grand Junction (Colo.).
10. (13) Loganville (Ga.), 14-1
Loganville remains the top AAAA school in Georgia after defeating Flowery Branch twice, 6-4 and 5-4, and Apalachee 9-1.
11. (15) Klein (Texas), 20-1
Klein continues to challenge The Woodlands for the No. 1 ranking in class 5A in Texas after defeating Klein Forest 6-2 and Atascocita 3-0.
12. (11) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 0-0
Season begins April 1 vs. Deptford.
Michael Strem, St. Francis
Photo by Scott Dinn
The Lancers took a break from league play to defeat Tracy 5-0 and St. Mary's (Stockton) 8-2.
14. (16) Jupiter (Fla.), 15-1
Jupiter suffered its first loss of the season, falling 12-9 to Columbus (Miami). However it also beat Chaminade-Madonna 9-0, Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale) 4-1 and Sunset (Miami) 8-5.
15. (24) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 20-1
Sharyland could move up to No. 3 in the Texas 5A rankings after shutout wins over United South (Laredo) 3-0 and La Joya 15-0.
16. (25) Puyallup (Wash.), 9-0
Off to a strong start in Washington, Puyallup won three times last week with victories over Curtis (University Place) 14-0, Beamer (Federal Way), 4-3 and Lake
Washington (Kirkland) 5-0.
17. (NR) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 12-3
Hamilton stumbled at the NHSI with a 4-3 loss to Milton (Ga.), but rallied to defeat Jenks (Okla.) 3-0, Tullahoma (Tenn.) 11-1 and Lexington (S.C.) 6-2.
18. (12) Lexington (S.C.), 12-3
The top-ranked team in South Carolina went 2-2 at the NHSI, defeating Florida Christian (Miami) 4-0 and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 2-1, while losing to Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 1-0 and Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) 6-2.
19. (19) Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 4-1
Dyllin Mucha, Cherry Creek
Photo by Tim Visser
Cherry Creek won its only game last week, defeating Grandview 7-6.
20. (21) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 21-2
The Wildcats are still one of the top 4A teams in Texas after defeating Jones (Beeville, Texas) 21-4 and Victoria East (Victoria, Texas) 4-1.
21. (9) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 16-1-1
After losing to Rio Americano (Sacramento) in the first round of the Boras Classic, Buchanan rebounded to win its next three games. The Bears defeated Foothill (Palo Cedro, Calif.) 4-3,
Rodriguez (Fairfield, Calif.) 2-1, and El Oro (Loomis, Calif.), 7-1.
22. (22) Tullahoma (Tenn.), 14-3
Tullahoma went 2-2 at the NHSI with an 11-1 loss to Mater Dei and an 11-1 loss to Hamilton to go along with a 4-3 win over Eustis and an 11-1 win over Florida Christian.
23. (23) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 19-3-1
Carroll dropped a close one to Fossil Ridge 8-7, but the Dragons defeated Haltom 7-0.
24. (5) Woodford County (Versailles, Ky.), 5-1
Woodford County stumbled against Butler 7-6, but also had wins over Franklin County 7-0 and George Rogers Clark 7-1.
25. (NR) Kentwood (Covington, Wash.), 8-0
Some polls have Kentwood ranked No. 1 in the state ahead of Puyallup after an 8-0 start.
Dropped
out: No. 6 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego); No. 17 Granite Hills (El Cajon, Calif.)
