MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings

It was smooth sailing for most of the Xcellent 25 this past week, except for the Jesuit Tigers and Owasso Rams, each of whom lost their first game of the season.

Jesuit was unable to get much going on offense against Gulliver Prep and dropped a 3-0 decision. Owasso, meanwhile, played in the Lake Wales Tournament in Florida and lost a close one to Haines City, 6-3.

The losses knock both Jesuit and Owasso down toward the bottom of the rankings, but not out altogether. Four teams did leave the rankings this week, however, as Columbus (Miami), Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), Providence (Charlotte, N.C.) and La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.) all suffered losses and were dropped.

No. 1 Bishop Gorman got off to a strong start by winning all five of its games in the Desert Classic. A pair of Corpus Christi teams, Carroll and Calallen, move into the No. 2 and 3 slots after Jesuit's drop. Calallen has a big showdown against rival Moody today.

Moving into the rankings this week are Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas), Simeon (Chicago), Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.) and Mount Si (Snoqualmie, Wash.).

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 5-0
The Gaels opened the season with five straight wins at the Bishop Gorman Desert Classic, including a 14-2 win over Juan Diego Catholic (Draper, Utah), an 8-1 win over Taylorsville (Utah), a 12-11 victory over Westlake (Saratoga Springs, Utah), a 4-0 shutout of Faith Lutheran (Las Vegas) and an 11-1 victory over Jordan (Sandy, Utah). Kenny Meimerstorf had a double and a triple against Faith Lutheran. Cody Roper homered against Juan Diego while Jerrell Latham had a double and a triple. Against Jordan, Joey Gallo and Meimerstorf each hit a home run.

2. (3) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 10-0
The Tigers topped Seguin 12-1 behind the pitching effort of Michael Cantu, who gave up one unearned run on five hits in five innings pitched. He struck out seven. Josh Cruz added a home run while Courtney Hawkins scored three runs. Carroll also pounded 14 hits in a win over Highlands (San Antonio) to claim an 18-1 victory.

3. (4) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 18-0
The Wildcats set up a showdown with Moody today by winning four games last week, including 4-3 over Sinton, 13-1 over King (Kingsville), 17-10 over Gregory-Portland (Portland) and 1-0 over Alice. Wyatt Mathisen leads the team with 20 RBIs heading into the Moody contest while Tyler Neslony tops the Wildcats with five home runs. Desi Castillo and Armando Arrevelo are both 4-0 on the mound.

4. (5) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 0-0
Season opens March 31 at Georgetown Prep.

5. (6) Spanish Fork (Utah), 5-0
The Dons defeated Cottonwood 4-1 early in the week and then went 4-0 at the Dixie Sunshine Tournament, defeating Mountain View (Orem) 12-1, Fremont (Plain City) 5-2, Lone Peak 11-1 and Orem 13-0. Hayden Nielsen was named the tournament MVP after striking out nine against Lone Peak in the championship game. Kayden Porter was 4-for-4 with two doubles in the Orem victory.

6. (7) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 5-0
The Admirals opened the season last week with five straight wins, including a pair of shutouts. Farragut clobbered Lenoir City 19-0 in the opener and then edged Heritage 5-2. It followed with an 8-0 win over Soddy Daisy, a 7-4 win over Father Ryan and a 7-4 win over Station Camp at the Scenic City Classic. Cameron Strickland, Nick Senzel and David Logan all hit home runs against Lenoir City. A.J. Simcox added a homer against Heritage. Simcox also went 4-for-4 against Father Ryan.

7. (8) Washington (New York City), 5-0
The Trojans have come out swinging, scoring a combined 47 runs in their first three games including a 15-12 win over Cardozo (Bayside), an 18-4 win over Riverdale County (Bronx) and a 14-0 win over Kennedy (Bronx). The Trojans also dumped Midwood 11-3 on Saturday.

8. (9) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 0-0
Season opens April 2 at Penns Grove.

9. (10) JW North (Riverside, Calif.), 8-0
The Huskies opened the Centennial Corona Tournament with wins over Corona, 10-3, and host Centennial, 13-8. Gabrial Franca, Gabriel Clark and Gage Cotton all had three hits against Corona with Cotton hitting a home run.

10. (12) Columbus (Ga.), 8-0
The Blue Devils concluded a tough string of games with yet another win, this time beating AAAAA opponent Brookwood 3-0. Kyle Carter hit a home run and struck out 10 in the win. The Blue Devils begin region play this week with Central Carroll and Troup.

11. (13) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 10-0
The Tigers replace Owasso as the top team in Oklahoma following a pair of wins over Bishop Kelley, 4-0 and 2-1. They will head to Arizona this week for the Bob National Tournament. Jacob Evans struck out 13 batters and tossed a one-hitter in the 2-1 victory.

12. (14) Olympia (Orlando, Fla.), 13-0
The wins keep piling up for Olympia, which took two from Apopka last week in district play. Olympia won 4-2 on the road and 1-0 at home.

13. (15) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 10-0
Despite losing three players to the Major League Draft and another possible draft pick this year to transfer, St. Francis is off to another strong start, including a 15-4 win over rival Archbishop Mitty on Friday. The Lancers also defeated Sacred Heart Cathedral 2-1 in West Catholic Athletic League play last week.

14. (16) Roberson (Asheville, N.C.), 5-0
Roberson came from behind in a rain-postponed game to stay undefeated. Trailing McDowell 3-1 on Friday, Roberson had to wait until Saturday to resume a game it eventually won 4-3.

15. (17) Nova (Davie, Fla.), 12-0
The Titans won three times last week, defeating Hollywood Hills 11-1, Monarch 9-1 and West Broward 4-3 to claim the Titan Classic. Nova coach Pat McQuaid earned his 800th win during the tournament. Troy Massaro was 2-for-4 against West Broward and was named team MVP for the tournament. CJ Chatham was offensive MVP while Trent Monaghan was defensive MVP.

16. (21) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 8-0
The Oilers won twice last week, including their Sunset League opener. Huntington Beach topped Ocean View 9-2 early in the week and began league play with a 5-4 win over Fountain Valley. Brett Urabe had a grand slam in the seventh inning to lift the Oilers to the win over Fountain Valley.

17. (22) Pelham (Ala.), 19-0
Pelham won five more games last week to remain undefeated. Besides a doubleheader sweep of Tuscaloosa County, 5-0 and 3-0, Pelham also topped Vestavia Hills 4-3 and grabbed a pair from Pinson Valley, 1-0 and 5-4.

18. (2) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 10-1
Lance McCullers pitched six innings of one-hit ball with 13 strikeouts in a 6-1 win over Bolles. Leland Saile also came through with a home run. However the Tigers fell to Gulliver Prep 3-0 on Saturday, managing only two hits off of Raider pitcher Ivan Peleaz.

19. (11) Owasso (Okla.), 8-1
The Rams went 4-1 in Florida, losing to Hanes City 6-3 for their only loss of the season thus far. Owasso also edged Lake Wales twice, 4-3 and 3-1.

20. (NR) Seven Lakes (Katy, Texas), 15-1-1
The Spartans join the Xcellent 25 rankings after moving up to second in the Texas Baseball Coaches Association first regular season rankings of the season.

21. (NR) Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 4-0
The Bruins are off to a strong start after whipping defending 5A state champion Regis Jesuit 18-9 in their opener. Griffin Jax has come out swinging, belting four home runs in four games including two in a 7-1 win over Arvada West.

22. (NR) Simeon (Chicago), 4-0
The Wolverines have been impressive, outscoring their opponents 63-1 in the first four games of the season including a 19-0 win over Payton College Prep and a 21-1 victory over Thornwood.

23. (NR) Mount Si (Snoqualmie, Wash.), 2-0
The defending 3A state champions defeating the defending 4A state champ Bothel 10-1 in their season opener last week. Also edged Skyline (Sammamish) 4-2.

24. (23) Carroll (Fort Wayne, Ind.), 0-0
Season opens March 30 at Jeffersonville (Ind.).

25. (24) Conestoga (Berwyn, Pa.), 0-0
Season opens March 26 at Upper Darby (Drexel Hill, Pa.).

Dropped Out: No. 18 Columbus, No. 19 Flanagan, No. 20 Providence, No. 25 La Cueva.