The National High School
Invitational took a wrecking ball to the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings. When the dust cleared,
Tomball (Texas) replaced
St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) as the nation's No. 1-ranked team.
Bosco entered last week's National High School Invitational at No. 1 and opened in impressive fashion with a 14-1 win over
Nolensville (Tenn.).
But a loss to
Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
ended a 27-game win streak and a loss to
Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) preceded by a win over
Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.) dropped the Braves to No. 11.
St. John Bosco's losses opened the door for No. 2
Venice (Fla.)
to move up to No. 1 and it looked like the Indians were prepared to do
so with three impressive wins to open the NHSI, including 10-0 over
Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 12-0 over
Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.) and 4-1 over
Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.).
After reaching the Class 6A Division 2 state final last season, All-State selection C.J. Sampson and Tomball have played 24 games without a loss this spring. (FILE PHOTO: Oladipo Awowale)
But the defending NHSI champions fell behind early against three-time winner
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) in the championship game. Despite a three-run rally in the sixth, Venice fell 7-6 to the Lancers.
Orange Lutheran won three straight games by one run after opening the event
with a 3-0 win over
Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.). Orange Lutheran edged Trinity
Christian Academy 3-2 and then squeaked by Casteel
2-1 to reach the final.
Tomball, which began the week at No. 3,
played three games last week and won all of them to remain
undefeated at 23-0-1. Since Orange Lutheran had a previous loss to
Basic (Henderson, Nev.), the Lancers rose from No. 15 to No. 2.
Venice dropped just one spot to No. 3 while
Barbe (Lake Charles, La.) inched up one spot to No. 4.
St. John Bosco can get right back into it this
week. The Braves and Orange Lutheran play a three-game Trinity League
set, giving both teams a chance to stake their claim for the
No. 1 ranking.
Newcomers this week include undefeated Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.), Keller (Texas) and Siegel (Murfreesboro, Tenn.).
Game of the Week
Orange Lutheran 7, Venice 6: The
Indians fell behind 6-2, but scored three in the bottom of the sixth on
two walks, a hit batsman and three singles. With the tying run on third
base, Lancer pitcher Anthony Tomminelli induced a fly ball to end the
threat.
Game to Watch
No. 2 Orange Lutheran vs. No. 12 St. John Bosco, Tuesday-Thursday: There
was a chance for Orange Lutheran and St. John Bosco to meet in the NHSI semifinals but the Braves' loss to Casteel ended that
possibility. Nevertheless, St. John Bosco can get back in the running
with a strong showing against the Lancers. The Braves won all three
meetings between the two schools last year
Pitcher of the Week
Xavier Vasquez
of Cleveland got the Storm off to a good start
during the week as he threw a five-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts
in a 10-0 win over Artesia.
Hitter of the Week C.J. Weinstein
of Orange Lutheran had a big week during his team's championship run
at the NHSI. He batted 6-for-11 (.545) with three doubles and a triple
during the four-game series.
Streaks Forest Hills Eastern (Ada, Mich.) finally
got its season started Monday with a doubleheader rout of Ottawa
Hills. The Hawks won 24-0 and 18-0 to run their national-best winning
streak to 43 games in a row.
Governor Livingston (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) also opened its
season with a pair of wins last week to run its win streak to 36 games
in a row.
MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings
1. Tomball (Texas)Record: 23-0-1 |
Last week: 3
Scores: Def. Klein 2-0, 5-1, def. Klein Oak 5-2
Next: Thursday vs. Tomball Memorial
2. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)Record: 7-1 |
Last week: 15
Scores: Def.
Regis Jesuit 3-0, def. Trinity Christian Academy 3-2, def. Casteel 2-1, def. Venice 7-6
Next: Tuesday vs. St. John Bosco
3. Venice (Fla.)Record: 19-1 |
Last week: 2
Scores: Def.
Gloucester Catholic 10-0, def. Harvard-Westlake 12-0, def. Baylor 4-1, lost to Orange
Lutheran 7-6
Next: Tuesday vs. Barron Collier
4. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 26-1 |
Last week: 5
Scores: Def. Acadiana 11-4, 8-3, def. Sam Houston 4-2
Next: Tuesday vs. Sam Houston
5. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)Record: 20-2 |
Last week: 6
Scores: Def. Tuloso-Midway 8-0
Next: Tuesday vs. King
6. Corona (Calif.)Record: 10-1 |
Last week: 12
Scores: Def. Santiago 9-7, 8-3, def. Mt. Carmel 12-2
Next: Tuesday vs. Miami Christian
7. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 10-4 |
Last week: 25
Scores: Def. Wakefield 16-0, lost to Venice 12-0, def. Trinity 17-3, def. Casteel 10-8
Next: Tuesday vs. Ponte Vedra
8. Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
Record: 11-3 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def.
Delbarton 11-2, def. St. John Bosco 3-2, lost to Orange Lutheran 2-1, lost to Harvard-Westlake 10-8
Next: Tuesday vs. Basha
9. Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.)
Record: 12-3 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def.
Aquinas 9-6, def. Trinity 4-3, lost to
Venice 4-1, lost to Trinity Christian Academy 9-7
Next: April 7 vs. Silverdale Academy
10. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)Record: 7-2 |
Last week: 4
Scores: Def.
Jesuit 2-0, lost to Baylor 4-3, lost to Harvard-Westlake 17-3, def. St. John Bosco 5-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Oldham County
11. St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) Record: 9-2 |
Last week: 1
Scores: Def.
Nolensville 14-1, lost to Casteel 3-2, def. Trinity Christian Academy 11-6, lost to
Trinity 5-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Orange Lutheran
12. Pleasant Grove (Texarkana, Texas)Record: 20-2 |
Last week: 16
Scores: Def. Pittsburg 8-4, 8-2
Next: Friday vs. Paris
13. Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Record: 17-3 |
Last week: 25
Scores: Def. North Cobb Christian 6-1, def. Merritt Island 7-1, def. IMG Academy 9-3
Next: Thursday vs. Palmetto Ridge
14. The Bennett School (Houston, Texas)
Record: 24-4 |
Last week: 8
Scores: Def. Kingsmen Academy, 7-6, 10-4, def. Cornerstone Christian 8-4, 8-0, 11-0
Next: Tuesday vs. TBA
15. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)Record: 16-3 |
Last week: 10
Scores: Def. St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.) 6-4, def. Poly Prep Country Day 12-2, lost to Canterbury 9-3
Next: Tuesday vs. George Jenkins
Record: 5-1 |
Last week: 11
Scores: Lost to IMG Academy (Fla.) 6-4, def. Georgetown Prep 11-1, def. Merritt Island 4-3
Next: Monday vs. Marist
17. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)Record: 23-3 |
Last week: 17
Scores: Def. Liberty 16-0, def. Central 5-1, lost to Central 2-0
Next: Tuesday vs. St. Martin's Episcopal
18. Merritt Island (Fla.)
Record: 18-3 |
Last week: 19
Scores: Def. Landon 6-0, lost to Canterbury 7-1, lost to St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.) 4-3
Next: Tuesday vs. Wheaton Academy
19. North Paulding (Dallas, Ga.)
Record: 18-3 |
Last week: 24
Scores: Def. Wheeler, 4-0, 5-0, 16-1
Next: Tuesday vs. North Cobb
20. Keller (Texas)
Record: 22-1-2 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Keller Central 7-3, def. Southlake Carroll 9-8, 4-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Byron Nelson
21. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Record: 13-1 |
Last week: 22
Scores: Def. Crespi 10-0, 11-1, lost to Mira Costa 6-2, def. Santiago 7-4
Next: Tuesday vs. Temecula Valley
22. South Walton (Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.)Record: 16-4 |
Last week: 13
Scores: Def. Pace 11-0, def. Lincoln (Tallahassee) 4-1, lost to Chiles 1-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Niceville
23. Cleveland (Rio Rancho, N.M.)
Record: 16-0 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Artesia 10-0, def. Rio Rancho 6-3, def. La Cueva 6-2
Next: Tuesday vs. Cibola
24. Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 18-2 |
Last week: 20
Scores: Def. Florida Christian 14-4, lost to Winter Park 2-1
Next: Tuesday vs. Weeki Wachee
25. Siegel (Murfreesboro, Tenn.)
Record: 19-1 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def.
Wauconda 4-0 def. Braddock 8-0, def. Collierville 14-12, def.
Beaver Creek 7-6, lost to Clarksville 9-3, def. Independence 5-1
Next: Tuesday vs. Independence
Dropped out: No. 7
Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) No. 9
Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), No. 14
Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), No. 18
Waxahachie (Texas), No. 21
Etowah (Woodstock, Ga.), No. 23
Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.), No. 25
Bishop Snyder (Jacksonville, Fla.)
