For the second time this season,
Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) has come out on top in one of the toughest high school baseball tournaments in the country, this time dropping
Norco (Calif.) 4-1 for the Boras South Classic championship in Orange County.
Orange Lutheran, which won the National High School Invitational in mid-March, beat out some of the top teams in Southern California for its second tournament title of the year. The Lancers also solidified their spot as the No. 2 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings with the four wins.
Tomball (Texas) remains on top of the rankings after staying undefeated with a pair of close wins last week. Meanwhile,
Venice (Fla.) kept pace at No. 3 with three wins. The Indians' only loss this year is to Orange Lutheran.
After going 5-0 against teams from Illinois and Indiana last week, Kentucky powerhouse Trinity jumped four spots to No. 7 in this week's MaxPreps Top 25. (PHOTO: Jeff Hoskins)
Two Southern California teams that dropped significantly were
St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and
Corona. Bosco lost to Norco in the first round at the Boras South Classic and then fell to
Huntington Beach in the first round of consolation play.
Corona dropped out of the rankings after losing three of five games last week, including setbacks against JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and Huntington Beach at the Boras South Classic and Centennial (Corona) in league play on Monday.
Norco took advantage of St. John Bosco and Corona's struggles by entering the rankings at No. 6. Also making the rankings are a pair of Arkansas teams, Valley View (Jonesboro) and Conway. Conway has a win over previous MaxPreps Top 25 team Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.) while Valley View has a win over Conway.
Grapevine (Texas) also returns to the rankings after a run of 13 straight wins since its last loss.
Game of the Week
Norco 3, St. John Bosco 2: The
Cougars opened the Boras South Classic with their biggest win of the
season in defeating St. John Bosco by a run. Norco made the most of its
four hits, also scoring a run on a sacrifice fly and taking advantage of
a Bosco error to build a 3-0 lead. The Braves had the tying run at
second base in the sixth inning but a pop-up to center field ended the
threat.
Game to Watch
No. 2 Orange Lutheran vs. JSerra Catholic, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. Orange Lutheran
would seem to be the clear favorite to beat the Lions, who are just 7-12 on the season. However, JSerra defeated St. John Bosco at the Boras South Classic.
The Lancers lost two of three Trinity League games to Bosco.
Pitcher of the Week
Drayton Mitchell of
Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas) had a big outing against Robstown in a 14-0 win. He went five innings on the mound and struck out 10 while giving up no runs on two hits. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate with a double, a home run and three RBI.
Hitter of the Week Governor Livingston (Berkeley Heights, N.J.) saw its win streak end at 40 games in a row after falling to
Johnson (Clark, N.J.), 2-1, on Saturday.
Forest Hills Eastern (Ada, Mich.) still
has the longest win streak in the nation at 44 in a row. The Hawks are back in action Wednesday.
MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings
1. Tomball (Texas)Record: 27-0-1 |
Last week: 1
Scores: Def. Tomball Memorial 2-1, def. Magnolia 2-1
Next: April 21 vs. Klein Forest
2. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)Record: 12-3 |
Last week: 2
Scores: Def. Fountain Valley 13-1, def. Gahr 2-1, def. Aquinas 8-0, def. Norco 4-1
Next: Tuesday vs. JSerra Catholic
3. Venice (Fla.)Record: 24-1 |
Last week: 4
Scores: Def. Barron Collier 7-0, def. Out-of-Door Academy 9-4, def. Sarasota 10-5
Next: Postseason TBD
4. Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 33-1 |
Last week: 5
Scores: Def. Southside 8-1, 4-1, def. Grace Christian 15-0, 10-0
Next: Postseason TBD
5. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)Record: 24-2 |
Last week: 6
Scores: Def. Robstown 14-0, def. Alexander 6-0
Next: Tuesday vs Tuloso-Midway
6. Norco (Calif.)
Record: 16-2 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def.
St. John Bosco 3-2, def. Los Osos 14-0, def. Mater Dei 11-5, lost to
Orange Lutheran 4-1, def. Roosevelt 10-3
Next: Wednesday vs. Roosevelt
7. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)Record: 15-2 |
Last week: 11
Scores: Def. Silver Creek 10-2, def. Chicago Mt. Carmel 9-0, def. Brother Rice 14-6, def. Providence Catholic 6-2, def. Brother Rice 6-3
Next: Tuesday vs. Seneca
8. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 14-4 |
Last week: 8
Scores: Def. St. Joseph 17-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Notre Dame
9. Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.)
Record: 20-3 |
Last week: 13
Scores: Def. Chaminade-Madonna 8-4
Next: Tuesday vs. TBD
10. The Bennett School (Houston, Texas)
Record: 26-4 |
Last week: 14
Scores: Def. Cornerstone Christian 12-2, 13-1
Next: Wednesday vs. Pro5 Fighters
11. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)Record: 21-3 |
Last week: 15
Scores: Def. The First Academy 6-1, def. St. Ignatius 11-0, def. Badin 3-1
Next: Sunday vs. OBJ Collegiate
Record: 21-4 |
Last week: 19
Scores: Def. Bay 8-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Walton
Record: 13-5 |
Last week: 3
Scores: Lost to Norco 3-2, lost to Huntington Beach 4-2, def. Centennial 10-0, def. Fountain Valley 2-1
Next: Tuesday vs. Santa Margarita
17. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Record: 9-3 |
Last week: 21
Scores: Did not play
Next: Wednesday vs. Monte Vista
18. Bishop Moore (Orlando, Fla.)
Record: 22-2 |
Last week: 23
Scores: Def. Orangewood Christian 3-1, def. Montverde Academy, 7-5, def. Cypress Creek 12-6
Next: Playoffs vs. TBD
19. Keller (Texas)
Record: 27-2-2 |
Last week: 25
Scores: Def. Trinity, 13-3, def. Timber Creek 7-0, 5-3
Next: April 21 vs. V.R. Eaton
20. Grapevine (Texas)
Record: 24-3 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Birdville 7-0, 7-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Richland
21. Valley View (Jonesboro, Ark.)
Record: 15-1 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Batesville 13-3, 14-5, def. Catholic 6-4
Next: Tuesday vs. Nettleton
22. Conway (Ark.)
Record: 15-2 |
Last week: NR
Scores: Def. Jonesboro 9-0, 14-0, def. Robinson 11-3
Next: Tuesday vs. Central
23. Pleasant Grove (Texarkana, Texas)Record: 24-3 |
Last week: 12
Scores: Def. Liberty-Eylau 9-2, lost to Bullard 3-2
Next: Tuesday vs. North Lamar
24. Casteel (Queen Creek, Ariz.)
Record: 16-4 |
Last week: 9
Scores: Def. Chandler 22-1, 7-6, lost to Corona del Sol 15-3
Next: Tuesday vs. Perry
25. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)Record: 29-5 |
Last week: 24
Scores: Def. Woodlawn 17-1, def. Zachary 12-1, def. Episcopal 6-1, def. Zachary 4-0, lost to Westlake 7-3
Next: Playoffs TBD
Dropped out: No. 7
Corona (Calif.), No. 10
Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.), No. 18
North Paulding (Dallas, Ga.), No. 22
Stony Brook (N.Y.)
