With playoffs starting this week in Alabama and next week in Texas and Florida, among others, it's time for the Xcellent 25 to turn 50.
This week we add 25 teams to the mix for an Xcellent 50. Leading the way for the second-straight week is Pensacola Catholic, which finished the regular season undefeated at 24-0. The Crusaders begin district tournament play this week.
Meanwhile the three other teams in the top four stayed where they were with Mater Dei coming in at No. 2, Harvard-Westlake at No. 3 and Owasso at No. 4. Mater Dei has a tough showdown looming with Orange Lutheran, the new No. 25 team, next week.
Newcomers to the Xcellent 25 this week include Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), Riverdale Baptist (Marlboro, Md.), Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.), United (Laredo, Texas) and Orange Lutheran.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings
Shaun Anderson and American Heritage are on a 10-game winning streak and they're hot at the right time, as the Florida playoffs begin soon.
Photo by Stuart Browning
The Crusaders concluded the regular season undefeated with three wins last week, including a 5-4 victory over Pace. Pensacola Catholic needed a four-run rally in the fifth to overcome a 4-1 deficit. Other wins included a 7-4 victory over Navarre and a 19-0 win over Pensacola.
Michael Neal was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs in the latter win.
Clarke Berry pitched a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts.
Avery Geyer raised his record to 8-0 with a win over Navarre.
2. (2) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 19-1
The Monarchs survived a pair of
close games with Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), winning 4-3 and 2-1. Two games against St. John Bosco (Bellflower) loom this week with a showdown against Orange Lutheran next week.
3. (3) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 18-3
In a showdown between two of the top teams in the Mission League, Harvard-Westlake prevailed with two wins over Alemany (Mission Hills) last week, winning 10-3 and 12-6.
Jack Flaherty raised his record to 7-0 with a complete-game win in the 10-3 victory. He gave up five hits and struck out five. The Wolverines have another tough pair of league games against Chaminade this week.
4. (4) Owasso (Okla.), 28-0
The Rams won four conference games last week, taking two from Muskogee, 6-1 and 7-0, and two from Bishop Kelley (Tulsa), 7-3 and 12-3.
Trae Bobo continues to be among the national home run leaders as he had one home run in each game against Muskogee to give him 14 on the season.
5. (6) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 22-1
Kort Peterson, St. Francis
Photo by Scott Dinn
The Lancers got a
scare from Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), but came from behind
to win 2-1 last week. St. Francis also had little trouble with
Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco), winning 9-0, and Archbishop Mitty
(San Jose), winning 14-3.
Tim Susnara had a home run for the Lancers
against Mitty.
6. (8) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 26-1
Sharyland stayed in the No. 2
spot in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll last
week while picking up wins over Palmview (La Joya), 8-1, and Edinburg
North, 16-1.
Tres Barrera hit a home run and a double with
four RBIs in the win over Edinburg North.
7. (9) Venice (Fla.), 19-3
The
Indians racked up their 15th shutout of the season with the 3-0 win
over Jesuit.
Tyson Albert and
Cooper Hammond combined on a four-hitter.
Venice scored a single run in the sixth inning and two in the seventh to
pull out the win. Venice also defeated Cypress Lake (Fort Myers) 10-2
during the week. The Indians got their 16th shutout with an 8-0 win over
North Port on Friday.
8. (10) The Woodlands (Texas), 27-3
The
Highlanders completed the regular season with three wins, defeating Oak
Ridge 8-4, Conroe 13-0 and Clear Springs 7-6.
Charlie Warren and
Blaine Gillespi each homered against Conroe and Clear Springs while
Colton Wardle hit one out against Oak Ridge.
9. (11) Lexington (S.C.), 20-3
The
Wildcats head into the final week of the season with eight straight
wins after beating Dutch Fork (Irmo) 9-2, Irmo (Columbia) 15-1 and White
Knoll (Lexington) 14-9.
Josh Reagan lifted his record to 7-0 with the
win over Dutch Fork. He struck out six.
Nick Ciuffo and
Ryan Brown both
extended their hitting streaks to 22 games in a row during the week.
10. (12) Cherry Creek (Greenwood Village, Colo.), 9-1
Cherry
Creek got in just one game last week, defeating Mullen (Denver) 2-1.
Ethan Kang had two doubles while
Griffin Jax gave up four hits and
struck out eight for the victory.
11. (13) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 21-2
The
Patriots edged Arlington Country Day (Jacksonville) 2-1 and beat
Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) to head into the final week of the regular
season with 10 straight wins.
Shaun Anderson raised his record to 9-1
with the win over Arlington Country Day. The Patriots hit six home runs
in the other win as
Brandon Diaz hit two out and
Dallas Perez,
CJ Chatham,
Zack Collins and
Danny Zardon each hit one.
12. (7) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 22-2
In a showdown between two of
the top teams in Florida, Jesuit dropped a 3-0 decision to Venice in a
non-district matchup. The Tigers begin district tournament play at Spoto
this week.
13. (17) Lincoln-Way North (Frankfort, Ill.), 14-0
Lincoln-Way North
swept Stagg (Palos Hills) with a combined shutout by
Kevin Smith and
Brett King in a 5-0 victory and a complete-game 3-0 shutout by
Mike Miller in the second. The Phoenix also knocked off Richards (Oak Lawn)
11-2 on Saturday.
14. (20) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 26-3-1
The Dragons have strung
together four straight shutouts, including an 8-0 win over Northwest
(Justin), 10-0 over Grapevine, 1-0 against Keller and 8-0 over Fossil
Ridge (Keller).
15. (21) Fountain Valley (Calif.), 20-1
The
Barons stayed undefeated in Sunset League play with 13-3 and 8-5 wins
over Newport Harbor. Fountain Valley plays Los Alamitos twice this week.
16. (22) Puyallup (Wash.), 16-1
Puyallup
had a pair of 6-0 wins over Bethel (Spanaway) and Curtis (University
Place) and edged Beamer (Federal Way) 5-3. The Vikings look to avenge
their lone loss against Rogers (Puyallup) this week.
17. (24) Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.), 28-0
The Chiefs closed
in on an undefeated regular season with 4-3 and 11-10 wins over
Briarcrest Christian (Eads, Tenn.) and a 2-1 win over Southaven.
Jacob Billingsley and
Colin Liles each have 7-0 records for Magnolia Heights.
18. (25) Shorewood (Shoreline, Wash.), 15-0
Shorewood played just one game last week, beating Stanwood 6-2.
Ben Andrews was 2-for-2 with a triple and three RBIs in the win.
19. (NR) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 30-4
The Buccaneers are the top-ranked 5A team in the Louisiana Coaches Poll.
20. (14) Gainesville (Ga.), 20-3
The Red Elephants handed
Loganville a 3-2 loss on Monday and defeated Flowery Branch 8-1 in the
middle of the week, but Flowery Branch returned the favor with a 5-2
defeat on Thursday.
21. (15) Loganville (Ga.), 20-4
Clint Frazier, Loganville
Photo by Dennis Carter
Loganville
lost a second-straight game to Gainesville, falling 3-2 on Monday.
However Loganville dropped Heritage (Conyers) 11-1 and 8-1 later in the
week.
Clint Frazier had a home run in the first win, giving him 13 on
the season.
22. (NR) Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.), 20-1
Steinbrenner has been ranked No. 2 in the Tampa area behind Jesuit for most of the season.
23. (NR) United (Laredo, Texas), 26-1-1
United's only loss of the season is to Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas). It has won 11 in a row since that defeat.
24. (NR) Riverdale Baptist (Upper Marlboro, Md.), 21-1
Riverdale Baptist is led by
Matthew McPhearson, one of the nation's top players, who is batting .516 with 17 RBIs.
25. (NR) Orange Lutheran (Calif.), 16-4
The Hard 9 National Classic champions have a big Trinity League showdown with Mater Dei in two weeks.
The Next 25
26. (16) Jupiter (Fla.), 19-3
Jupiter lost its only game of
the week, falling to Cardinal Newman (West Palm Beach) 10-5. The
Warriors begin district 9-8A tournament play this week.
27. (NR) Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), 23-2
Logan Qumoyog leads Mosley with a .361 batting average, 36 RBIs and three home runs.
28. (NR) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 19-2-1
Bears are still the top team in the Fresno area.
29. (NR) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 27-2
Barbers Hill has taken over the No. 1 spot in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association 4A rankings.
30. (NR) Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.), 25-5
Desert Ridge is ranked No. 1 in the state by the Arizona Republic.
31. (5) O'Connor (Phoenix), 28-3
Cooper Gray, O'Connor
File photo by James Conrad
It was a tough week for O'Connor, which sandwiched a pair of wins around two losses. The Eagles opened the week with a 22-11 win over Mountain Ridge (Glendale), but fell 2-0 to Tolleson and 8-3 to North Canyon (Phoenix). They rebounded on Friday with a 15-11 win over Ironwood (Glendale).
Cooper Gray and
Noah Kelly homered against Mountain Ridge while
Adam Alvarez was 4-for-5 with a double, a triple and four RBIs against Ironwood.
32. (18) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), 12-2
The Crusaders suffered two losses during the week, falling to La Salle 11-1 and Milford 4-2. Moeller also picked up a 7-3 win over Lebanon.
Spencer Iacovone was 3-for-3 with a double and four RBIs in the win over Lebanon.
33. (19) Tullahoma (Tenn.), 24-5
Tullahoma fell to Lawrence County (Lawrenceburg) 10-5 and Siegel (Murfreesboro) 4-0 last week while also picking up a pair of wins in a 5-0, 13-1 sweep of Franklin County (Winchester).
34. (23) Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 25-4
The Wolves dropped Pinnacle (Phoenix) 15-11 and Westwood (Mesa) 7-1, but fell to McClintock (Tempe) 7-5. Desert Mountain concludes the regular season at Horizon (Scottsdale) this week.
35. (NR) East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.), 22-2
The Indians are ranked No. 1 in the state AAAAAA coaches poll.
36. (NR) Madison Central (Miss.), 21-3
State rankings by the Jackson Clarion-Ledger put Madison Central at No. 1 in the MHSAA.
37. (NR) Coronado (Henderson, Nev.), 19-2
Coronado performed well at the San Diego Lions Tournament in March.
38. (NR) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 19-3
Alexander Central is ranked No. 1 in the state by Impact Baseball.
39. (NR) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 21-4-1
Kenny Meimerstorf, Bishop Gorman
Photo by Kevin French
is among the national home run leaders with 13.
40. (NR) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 10-1
The Rams are ranked No. 1 in New Jersey by NJ.com
41. (NR) Deer Park (Texas), 22-3
The Deer are No. 6 in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association rankings.
42. (NR) Granada (Livermore, Calif.), 15-0
The Matadors are the top team in the east bay of the San Francisco Bay Area.
43. (NR) Tomball (Texas), 24-2
The Cougars are still ranked among the top three in the state 4A rankings.
44. (NR) Woodford County (Versailles, Ky.), 13-3
The Yellowjackets are ranked No. 1 in the state by the Kentucky Baseball Coaches Association.
45. (NR) Mundelein (Ill.), 13-0
The Mustangs are the No. 2 ranked team in the state by the Chicago Sun Times.
46. (NR) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 32-6
The Toros are ranked No. 1 in the state 5A rankings and have already won their first two playoff games.
47. (NR) Greenway (Phoenix), 27-1
The Demons are ranked No. 1 in the state Division 2 rankings by the Arizona Republic.
48. (NR) Flower Mound (Texas), 26-3
The Jaguars are No. 7 in the Texas High School Baseball Rankings.
49. (NR) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 18-3
The Broncos have won nine in a row, and lead the San Diego Section Open Division standings.
50. (NR) Frenship (Wolfforth, Texas), 27-4
A loss to Plainview this week will likely drop Frenship behind Tomball in the Texas Class 4A rankings.
