2015 National High School Invitational preview

The National High School Invational gets underway in North Carolina this week and features six teams ranked among the Xcellent 25 by MaxPreps.

This year's field also includes five teams that won state championships last year, including Lambert (Georgia), Farragut (Tennessee), Loyalsock Township (Pennsylvania), College Station (Texas), and Puyallup (Washington).

First-Round Games

JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) vs. Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.)
Wednesday, March 25, 10 a.m.

About JSerra Catholic: The Lions are off to a 6-0 start on the season with doubleheader wins over Loyola (Los Angeles), Huntington Beach (Calif.) and Cypress (Calif.). Brady Shockey has been the team leader with a .476 batting average that includes nine RBIs, a double, a triple and a home run. Royce Lewis has also been outstanding at the plate with a .391 batting average, two doubles and a home run.

About Mosley: The Dolphins are 12-0 on the season despite fielding a team consisting mostly of sophomores and juniors. Micheal Cullen, a sophomore, has been one of the team's top hitters with a .432 batting average and a team-high 16 hits. Meanwhile juniors J.J. Bleday (.333) and Sean Maddox (.321) are both batting over .300. Senior Dillon Brown has been the spark on offense and defense, however, as he is batting .455 with 16 RBIs and has a 6-0 pitching record with 40 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched.

Favorite: JSerra Catholic

Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.) vs. Loyalsock Township. (Williamsport, Pa.)
Wednesday, March 25, 11 a.m.

About Horizon: The Huskies began the season ranked No. 1 in Arizona by MaxPreps and they are off to a strong start at 8-2. The only losses are to Perry and Pinnacle, but the pitching staff has put together three straight shutouts heading into the NHSI. Ben Lewis has been the top hitter for Horizon, batting .483 with nine RBIs and two doubles.

About Loyalsock: The Lancers will open their season at the National High School Invitational. Loyalsock Township is coming off of back-to-back Class 2A state championships in Pennsylvania, posting a 22-2 record in 2013 and 23-5 last year.

Favorite: Horizon

College Park (Pleasant Hill, Calif.) vs. Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.)
Wednesday, March 25, 1:00 p.m.

About College Park: The Falcons are currently pegged as the top team in Northern California, thanks to a strong pitching staff that features one of the nation's top senior pitchers in Joe DeMers. Through four games, DeMers is batting .500 with four doubles and a home run. He also has all three wins for the Falcons, who are 3-1 on the season, including a perfect game against Monte Vista (Danville, Calif.). He has 20 strikeouts in 19 innings pitched.

About Farragut: The defending Class 3A state champions are 7-1 on the season with the only loss coming against Whitewater, which is also in the NHSI. Duncan Pence has been the top hitter for the Admirals, knocking in 12 runs while hitting .400. Farragut could send Vanderbilt-bound Patrick Raby to the mound to start the NHSI. He is 1-1 on the season, but has not allowed an earned run while striking out 18.

Favorite: College Park

Huntington Beach (Calif.) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Wednesday, March 25, 1:30 p.m.

About Huntington Beach: Ranked in the Xcellent 25 to start the season, the Oilers have had an extremely tough preseason schedule as they have lost twice to Aliso Niguel, twice to JSerra Catholic and once to Edison (Huntington Beach) in building a 2-5 record. The Oilers do have a win over defending California Southern Section Division I champion Santa Margarita.

St. Thomas Aquinas: The Raiders suffered their only loss to Columbus at the Nike OTS Challenge early in the season. Since then, St. Thomas Aquinas has won 12 straight, including four shutout wins. Aquinas reached the second round of the Class 7A state playoffs, falling to eventual champion American.

Favorite: St. Thomas Aquinas

Puyallup (Wash.) vs. Leesville Road (Raleigh, N.C.)
Wednesday, March 25, 2 p.m.

About Puyallup: The Vikings entered the 2015 season with a 28-game winning streak after finishing the 2014 season undefeated with a Class 4A state championship. Puyallup won its first two games of the 2015 season, but fell to Wenatchee last week to end a 30-game win streak. Brendan Illies has been the team's top hitter so far, batting .571 with two doubles and six RBIs in three games.

About Leesville Road: The Pride are the official hosts of the tournament and they reached the second round of the Class 4A playoffs last year. They are off to a tough start on the season with a 1-3 record including an 11-0 win over Broughton last week.

Favorite: Puyallup

DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.) vs. Whitewater (Fayetteville, Ga.)
Wednesday, March 25, 3:15 p.m.

About DeSoto Central: The Jaguars have one of the nation's toughest preseason schedules as they competed in the LaGrange Toyota Invitational, where they took first place, the Perfect Game Showdown, where they went 1-3, and now the NHSI. DeSoto Central has one of the nation's top players in Austin Riley, who is batting .484 with 13 RBIs, five doubles and two home runs. He's also 2-1 on the mound with 25 strikeouts.

About Whitewater: The Wildcats are 8-1 to start the season with the only loss coming against Buford. Whitewater already has a win over an NHSI opponent with a 2-1 victory over Farragut.

Favorite: DeSoto Central

San Clemente (Calif.) vs. Lambert (Suwanee, Ga.)
Wednesday, March 25, 3:45 p.m.

About San Clemente: The Tritons are 8-0 on the season, but they got some bad news last week when they found out that All-American candidate Kolby Allard will miss the next 6-8 weeks due to stress in his back. Allard was 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA. Lucas Herbert has been the leader on offense, batting .375 with two home runs. Will Tribucher has come through on the mound, posting a 1-0 record with 17 strikeouts in 14 innings pitched.

About Lambert: The Longhorns began the season ranked No. 1 in the nation by MaxPreps, but losses to Kennesaw Mountain and North Forsyth have knocked Lambert out of the Xcellent 25. Lambert has rebounded, however, winning four straight games while outscoring the opponent 48-10. Seth Beer is batting .462 with 12 RBIs, five doubles and three home runs while J.D. Dutka is hitting .441 with 14 RBIs, five doubles and three home runs.

Favorite: Lambert

Trinity Prep (Winter Park, Fla.) vs. College Station (Texas)
Thursday, March 26, 9:45 a.m.

About Trinity Prep: A year after posting a 23-5 record and advanced to the Florida Class 4A regional finals, the Saints have struggled to a 5-10 record.

About College Station: In just the school's third year of existence, College Station has already won a state title, capturing the Class 3A state championship last year despite not having a single senior on the team. College Station (11-1-1) is now a Class 5A team and it has one of the nation's top outfielders in Ryan Johnson.

Favorite: College Station