A
pair of former national champions and the defending National High
School Invitational champion, continue to creep up the MaxPreps Top 25
national high school baseball rankings, closing in on a pair of Trinity
League teams at the top.
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), the 2023 and 2025 national champion, and Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.),
the 2024 national champion, both remained undefeated last week. IMG improved to 8-0 and is ranked No. 4 while Catholic boosted its record to 11-0, earning the No. 7 spot.
Venice (Fla.), the defending National High school Invitational champion, is also 8-0 and climbs to No. 3 this week after Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas) and Grapevine (Texas) both suffered their first losses of the season.
MaxPreps All-American James Clark (22) provided a spark for top-ranked St. John Bosco in its season opener, an 8-0 win over La Serna. (FILE PHOTO: Louis Lopez)
De La Salle forfeits first five games
Usually
when a team violates a rule, it waits for a punishment to be handed
down by the governing body. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) decided to get ahead of the
curve, however, as school administration suspended the team for
"breaking school policies, team rules and code of conduct," according to a
report in the San Jose Mercury News.
De La Salle will open its season March 14 vs. Elk Grove.
No. 1 Bosco opens with shutout
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) opened its season last week with an 8-0 shutout win over La Serna (Whittier). Four Bosco pitchers combined to throw a one-hitter with Julian Garcia getting the win after giving up no hits over four innings with five strikeouts. Returning MaxPreps All-American James Clark went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI in the win. The Braves play 3-0 Gahr (Cerritos) on Friday.
Doral Academy joins rankings
Since
opening the season with a 2-1 win over defending Florida Class 4A state
champion American Heritage (Plantation), Doral Academy (Doral) has barely
been challenged in winning 10 straight to start the year.
Not counting
the win over the Patriots, Doral Academy's average winning margin has
been over nine runs per game.
The Firebirds will get a tough test
when they take on defending 7A champion Stoneman Douglas (Parkland) on March 12.
The Eagles dropped their second game of the season, however, with an 8-5
defeat to West Broward (Pembroke Pines).
Game of the Week
Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.) 6, Grapevine (Texas) 4: The
Chiefs rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth to overcome a
4-1 deficit and defeat then-No. 4 Grapevine, 6-4, at the Five Tool
Festival. Christian Doty powered the comeback with a two-run homer.
Game to Watch
Venice vs. Sarasota (Fla.),
March 3: The top two teams in the Sarasota area battle for bragging
rights as both the Indians and the Sailors enter the game at 8-0.
Pitcher of the Week
Chubb Jones Jr. of
McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.) helped avenge his team's only loss of the season as he threw six and a
third innings against Buford, giving up two hits while striking out 12
in a 4-0 win. Buford defeated McEachern 4-1 last week.
Hitter of the Week
Dallin DeBellas of
Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)
hit home runs in the first and second innings against Almeta Crawford
in an 11-0 win. He hit a two-run shot in the first inning and followed
with a grand slam in the second. He added his seventh RBI of the game in
the fourth with a fielder's choice.
Streaks
IMG Academy
upped its streak to 23 wins in a row with its four victories at the
Perfect Game Showdown in Hoover, Ala., last week. The Ascenders have the
longest active streak among teams that have started their season. A
total of six teams that have yet to begin play this year have 23 or more
wins, topped by 41 in a row by
Forest Hills Eastern (Ada, Mich.).
MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings
1. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 1-0 |
Last week: 1
Scores: Def. La Serna (Whittier, Calif.) 8-0
Next: Friday vs. Gahr (Cerritos)
2. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 2
Scores: Def. Crespi (Encino) 10-0
Next: Friday vs. Basic (Henderson, Nev.)
3. Venice (Fla.)Record: 8-0 |
Last week: 5
Scores: Def. Riverview Sarasota 10-0, def. Neumann 7-2
Next: Tuesday vs. Sarasota
4. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)Record: 8-0 |
Last week: 6
Scores: Def.
Petal (Miss.) 18-7, def. Grissom (Huntsville) 3-2, def. Hillcrest
(Tuscaloosa) 4-3, def. Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.) 1-0
Next: Thursday vs. Marist (Atlanta, Ga.)
5. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)Record: 11-1 |
Last week: 3
Scores: Def. Vela 17-0, def. Taft 11-2, lost to Crosby 7-3, def. Almeta Crawford 11-0, def. Rivera 14-0, def. Alice 10-0
Next: Friday vs. Hays
6. Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)Record: 6-1 |
Last week: 10
Scores: Def. Northside Christian 6-2, def. Lake Wales 6-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Carrollwood Day
7. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)Record: 11-0 |
Last week: 11
Scores: Def. Slidell, 9-4, def. Vandebilt Catholic 7-1, 9-5, 6-1
Next: Tuesday vs. Alexandria
8. Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas)
Record: 15-0 |
Last week: 12
Scores: Def. China Spring 3-0, def. Spring Hill 3-2, def. Bullard 7-2, def. Whitehouse 5-4
Next: Thursday vs. Paschal
9. South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.)Record: 9-1 |
Last week: 24
Scores: Def. Hazel Green (Ala.) 4-3, def. Chelsea 8-2, def. The Bennett School (Texas) 5-4, def. North Broward Prep 14-6
Next: Thursday vs. Robertsdale
10. Corona (Calif.)Record: 4-0 |
Last week: 18
Scores: Def. Etiwanda 4-2, def. Trabuco Hills 11-1, def. Norco 3-2
Next: March 16 vs. King (Riverside)
11. Basic (Henderson, Nev.)Record: 1-0 |
Last week: 16
Scores: Def. Faith Lutheran 6-0
Next: Thursday vs. Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas)
12. Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.)
Record: 10-0 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. SLAM Academy 15-0, def. Riverview 7-1, def. Coral Reef 10-0
Next: Tuesday vs. St. Brendan
13. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 15
Next: Opens Saturday vs. Montgomery County
Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 17
Next: Opens March 17 vs. Maine South
15. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 13-1 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Covenant Christian Academy 9-0, 8-0, 4-1, def. St. Louis Catholic 6-5
Next: Thursday vs. True North Classical Academy (Miami, Fla.)
16. McEachern (Powder Springs, Ga.)
Record: 9-1 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. North Springs 10-0, def. Glenwood (Phenix City, Ala.) 5-3, def. Buford 4-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Chapel Hill
17. Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.)Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 19
Next: Opens March 25 at National High School Invitational
18. Brother Rice (Chicago, Ill.)Record: 0-0 |
Last week: 20
Next: Opens March 16 vs. Faith Lutheran
19. Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Record: 8-1 |
Last week: 13
Scores: Def. Imagine School 7-0, def. Mulberry 21-0, lost to Sebring 2-0
Next: Wednesay vs. St. Brendan
20. Columbus (Miami, Fla.)
Record: 6-1 |
Last week: 8
Scores: Def. South Dade 13-3, lost to Mater Academy Charter 5-4
Next: Wednesday vs. Flanagan
21. Tomball (Texas)Record: 6-0-1 |
Last week: 21
Scores: Def. Klein Collins 4-2, tied Montgomery 2-2, def. Tompkins 5-4, def. Lake Creek 6-4, def. Episcopal 5-1, def. Willis 4-2
Next: Thursday vs. Cypress Ridge
22. Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.)Record: 5-1-1 |
Last week: 22
Scores: Def.
Tri-County Academy 8-1, def. Rockwall 12-1, def. Rockwall-Heath 9-2, def. Grapevine 6-4, lost to Southlake Carroll 4-2, tied Dallas
Jesuit 8-8
Next: Wednesday vs. Houston (Germantown, Tenn.)
23. Grapevine (Texas)Record: 8-2 |
Last week: 4
Scores: Def.
Johnson 10-2, def. The Woodlands 5-0, lost to Magnolia Heights
(Senatobia, Miss.) 6-4, lost to Dallas Jesuit 2-1, def. Westlake 3-0
Next: Thursday vs. Kingwood
Record: 7-2 |
Last week: 9
Scores: Lost to West Broward 8-5, def. Chaminade-Madonna 5-2
Next: Tuesday vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale)
25. Pleasant Grove (Texarkana, Texas)Record: 9-2 |
Last week: 25
Scores: Def. Nederland 4-1, def. Lufkin 6-4, lost to Concordia Lutheran 6-4, def. Lufkin 9-0, def. Concordia Lutheran 12-10
Next: Tuesday vs. Pittsburg
Dropped Out: No. 23
Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.), No. 7
Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.), No. 14
De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
