High school baseball rankings: California, Kentucky and Texas schools zeroing in on No. 1 spot in MaxPreps Top 25

State champions have been crowned in 14 states but who emerges as No. 1 in final MaxPreps Top 25 high school baseball rankings won't be decided for another two weeks when the seasons come to a close in California and Texas.

Head coach Rich Arnold and No. 3 Trinity (Louisville, Ky.) will be keeping a close eye on both of those states.

Texas has the top two teams in the rankings with No. 1 Tomball and No. 2 Calallen (Corpus Christi). The two powerhouse programs will not meet in the postseason. Tomball must get past Marcus (Flower Mound) and then either Dripping Springs or Memorial (Houston) in the Conference 6A Division 2 final to claim its second state title in three seasons.

Calallen takes on Bullard in the Conference 4A Division 1 semifinals and then must beat either Pleasant Grove (Texarkana) or West Plains (Amarillo) in the championship game. Calallen defeated Pleasant Grove in the final last year.

In the Southern Section of California, No. 4 St. John Bosco (Bellflower) and  No. 5 Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) meet in the Division 1 semifinals. The winner plays either Norco or Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) in the final.

That may not the end of the season for those teams. While California does not hold a state tournament, it does have Southern and Northern California regional tournaments. The irony is that the section champions aren't required to advance. Additionally, teams like Orange Lutheran (Orange), which lost in the quarterfinals, could be eligible for the postseason if other teams decide not to participate.

Both the Texas and California tournaments are scheduled to end June 6.

Caught in the middle is Trinity (Louisville, Ky.), which will compete in the Region 7 tournament championship game against St. Xavier (Louisville, Ky.) on Wednesday. A win puts the Shamrocks in the state tournament, which it won last year.

The St. John Bosco vs. Harvard-Westlake game will be of particular interest to Trinity, which is 30-1 since playing in the National High School Invitational where it defeated Bosco 5-0 but lost to Harvard-Westlake 17-3. That could be a factor in the final national rankings.

Game of the Week

No. 13 Keller (Texas) 8, Trinity (Euless, Texas) 7: Keller had to rally twice to defeat Trinity in a Conference 6A regional final. First Keller scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh thanks to a double by Maximus Segura. After Trinity scored a run in the top of the eighth for a 7-6 lead, Keller got an RBI double by Cole Koeninger and a walkoff single by Brock Burkett to end the game.

Game to Watch

No. 4 St. John Bosco vs. No. 5 Harvard-Westlake, Saturday: Two of the nation's top teams meet in the semifinals of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. The Wolverines, seeded No. 2 in the tournament, have been nearly unbeatable since losing in the second round of the National High School Invitational. Harvard-Westlake has posted a 17-1 record during that stretch. The Braves, meanwhile, are 14-0 since dropping three straight in the first week of April.

Pitcher of the Week

Jordan Ayala of Norco stifled the Orange Lutheran offense, giving up just two hits with 10 strikeouts and no walks in a 3-0 shutout that propelled the Cougars into the Southern Section Division 1 semifinals. According to Orange Lutheran coach R.J. Farrell, Ayala was hitting 97 miles per hour through the seventh inning.

Hitter of the Week

Drayton Mitchell of Calallen hit for the cyle in an 11-1 win over Davenport in the regional final. He went 4-for-4 with three runs and three RBI. In the second game of the series, he was 2-for-2 with a double and a home run. He was 6-for-6 in the series with five extra-base hits.

Streaks

Top-ranked Tomball is up to 38 wins in a row after a sweep of Tyler Legacy. Two more wins would give the Cougars 40 in a row and a state championship.
 
MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings

1. Tomball (Texas)
Record: 40-0-1 | Last week: 1
Scores: Def. Tyler Legacy 6-1, 15-0
Next: Saturday vs. Marcus

2. Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Record: 36-2 | Last week: 2
Scores: Def. Davenport 11-1, 16-6
Next: Saturday vs. Bullard

3. Trinity (Louisville, Ky.)
Record: 36-3 | Last week: 3
Scores: Def. Brown 17-0, def. Male 10-3
Next: Wednesday vs. St. Xavier

Record: 25-5 | Last week: 5
Scores: Def. La Mirada 5-2
Next: Tuesday vs. Harvard-Westlake

5. Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.)
Record: 23-5 | Last week: 7
Scores: Def. Cypress 2-1
Next: Tuesday vs. St. John Bosco

6. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 28-6 | Last week: 8
Season complete. Class 7A state champion.

Record: 30-4 | Last week: 9
Season complete. Class 3A state champion.

8. Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.)
Record: 37-5 | Last week: 10
Season complete. Select Division I state champion.

9. Norco (Calif.)
Record: 25-4 | Last week: 25
Scores: Def. Orange Lutheran 3-0
Next: Saturday vs. Notre Dame

10. Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Record: 25-6 | Last week: 6
Scores: Lost to Norco 3-0 
Next: Southern California playoffs (TBD)

11. Venice (Fla.)
Record: 32-2 | Last week: 11
Season complete.

12. Magnolia Heights (Senatobia, Miss.)
Record: 36-4-1 | Last week: 12
Season complete. MAIS Class 4A Division 1 state champion.