Upsets in the Texas and California playoffs resulted in some shuffling among the Top 10 teams in this week's Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings.
Fort Bend Clements, the top-ranked team in the Class 5A state rankings in Texas for much of the season, fell in three games to Memorial (Houston) resulting in the Rangers dropping to No. 18 and Memorial entering the rankings for the first time this season at No. 17.
Meanwhile in California, the Edison Chargers, the top-ranked team in the Southern Section, lost to Lakewood 3-1 in the Division I quarterfinals. The loss dropped Edison to No. 21 overall while Lakewood rejoins the rankings at No. 20.
Buchanan (Clovis) moved closer to the No. 1 spot this week as it overtook three teams and moved to No. 2 after winning the rugged Central Section Division I playoffs. Buchanan will likely stay at No. 2, behind No. 1 Broken Arrow, unless South County (Lorton, Va.), or perhaps unbeaten Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) make a strong case for themselves in their state playoffs.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 50 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. (1) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 36-2
Oklahoma 6A state champions. Season over.
2. (5) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 30-2
The Bears captured the Central Section Division I championship with a 9-3 win over Centennial (Bakersfield).
Dominic Topoozian got the win to finish 11-0 on the season.
Jeff Brown had a double and a single while
Matt Krick was 3-for-3 with three RBIs.
3. (3) South County (Lorton, Va.), 23-0
The Stallions defeated Lake Braddock 5-3 and McLean 4-2 to advance in the Northern Region AAA playoffs. Played Westfield on Monday and won easily, 11-1.
4. (6) Maize (Kan.), 25-0
There was very little drama for the Eagles in the Kansas 6A state championship game where they defeated Blue Valley West 10-0. The semifinals were a different story as Maize needed eight innings to subdue Shawnee Mission East 7-6. Maize opened the state tournament with a 10-0 win over Leavenworth.
Craig Nicks got the win in the championship game, striking out seven and giving up three hits.
5. (2) Owasso (Okla.), 37-2
Oklahoma 6A state runners-up. Season over.
6. (9) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 28-3
The Mavericks defeated Jesuit (Tampa) 4-1 to claim their second straight Florida 4A state championship.
Andre Martinez picked up the pitching win and also had a home run off Jesuit ace Lance McCullers.
7. (11) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 25-0
The Ironmen captured the championship of the Bergen County Tournament, defeating Ramsey 13-1 in the semifinals and Ramapo in the finals, 13-8. Against Ramsey,
Joe Purritano and
Jason Vosler each had a home run and
Tom Burns got the win.
8. (7) Spanish Fork (Utah), 29-3
The Dons lost a 7-2 decision to Snow Canyon in the third round of the Utah 4A state championships, but fought their way back through the losers bracket to claim their third straight state championship. Spanish Fork defeated Snow Canyon 12-7 in a rematch, getting three home runs and six RBIs from
Kayden Porter in the process. The Dons won the final game 9-0 over Snow Canyon on a complete-game effort from
Matt Nelson.
9. (10) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 35-4
Nevada 4A state champions. Season over.
10. (34) Alonso (Tampa, Fla.), 23-5
The Ravens captured their second state title in three years with a 12-7 win over Deltona. Alonso fought back from a 7-4 deficit on a two-run double by
Dylan Gross.
Matt Brandy,
Michael Fahrman and Gross all had multiple hits for the Ravens.
11. (12) West Boca Raton (Fla.), 27-4
Florida 5A state champions. Season over.
12. (13) Brenham (Texas), 33-6
The Cubs split the first two games of the Class 4A regional semifinals with Santa Fe, winning 14-5 in the first game and falling 1-0 in the second. In the final game, however, Brenham got home runs from
Jesse Baker,
Colten Walla,
Eric Stegent and
Kevin Kubeczka to advance to the Class 4A Region III finals.
13. (14) Jesuit (New Orleans), 29-5
Louisiana 5A state champions. Season over.
14. (15) Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), 27-5
Arizona 5A Division I state champions. Season over.
15. (16) Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 34-4
Arizona 4A Division I state champions. Season over.
16. (19) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 28-2
Defeated Washington Township 3-1 in its only game last week.
17. (NR) Memorial (Houston), 32-8-1
The Mustangs advanced to the region finals with a series win over Fort Bend Clements. Memorial lost the first game of the series 7-6, but it came back to win the next two 17-16 and 4-3.
18. (4) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 35-4
The Rangers lost in three games to Houston Memorial, winning the first game 7-6, but losing the next two 17-16 in eight innings and 4-3.
19. (20) Palm Desert (Calif.), 27-4
Brooks Kriske had a home run and a double in a 6-4 win over Sonora (La Habra) to put defending champion Palm Desert into the Southern Section Division 4 semifinals. Earlier in the week Palm Desert topped La Salle (Pasadena) 5-4 with
Scotty Burcham going 3-for-3 with a double.
JP Crawford, Lakewood
Photo by Terry Jack
The Lancers handed Edison pitcher Henry Owens his first loss of the season and advanced to the Southern Section Division I semifinals with a 3-1 win over the Chargers.
21. (8) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 25-4
The Chargers advanced to the third round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs, but were beaten by Lakewood 3-1 and were eliminated from the postseason.
Henry Owens suffered his first loss of the season to finish the year at 12-1.
22. (21) Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 23-1
The Blue Devils scored eight runs in the sixth inning to claim an 8-1 win over Berkeley Carroll in the NYSAISAA title game.
Matt Caposio had two hits in the inning, including a three-run double.
Andrew Zapata gained the win to finish 6-0 on the season.
23. (22) Washington (New York City), 36-2
The No. 1 seed in the PSAL A Division playoffs, the Trojans won twice last week, beating Morris Educational Campus 8-1 and Norman Thomas 8-7.
Henry Rodriguez had three RBIs against Morris.
24. (23) Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.), 27-4
The Lancers advanced to the CIF-Southern Section Division 4 semifinals with a 13-2 win over Kaiser (Fontana).
Jay Andreson was 2-for-3 with two triples and four RBIs while
Adam Alcantara was 3-for-4 with six RBIs.
Bernardo Zavala also drove in two runs with a home run. Bishop Amat also topped St. Bonaventure 3-0 in the semifinals with
Ryan Serrato throwing five innings of one-hit ball with 11 strikeouts.
25. (25) La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 25-4
New Mexico 5A state champions. Season over.
The Next 25
26. (NR) Howell (St. Charles, Mo.), 30-3
Case Munson hit two home runs and had six RBIs to lift Francis Howell to a 12-3 win over previously undefeated St. Louis University and advance to the Missouri Class 4 semifinals.
27. (24) St. Louis University, 24-1
The Billikens were eliminated from the Missouri Division 4 playoffs after a 12-3 loss Francis Howell.
28. (NR) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 37-8
Philip Pfeifer and
Xander Taylor combined for a no-hitter to lead Farragut to their fourth straight Tennessee AAA state championship in a 2-0 victory over Columbia Central.
29. (30) Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.), 33-3
Remained the top team in Illinois with a 6-1 win over Metea Valley.
Sam Travis was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs in the win. Beat Minooka early in the week 18-7 with
Joe Houlihan going 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and four RBIs. Finished the weekend with a 3-0 win over Benet.
30. (26) Lakeland (Fla.), 26-5
Season over.
31. (27) Pace (Fla.), 27-5
Season over.
32. (28) Sierra Vista (Las Vegas), 34-4
Season over.
33. (31) Portage Central (Mich.), 29-2
Portage Central dropped its first game of the season, falling 3-2 to St. Joseph. Still managed to win six times last week, defeating School Craft 22-0 and 7-1, Battle Creek Central 15-0 and 18-0, Galesburg-Augusta 4-0 and Portage Northern 6-4. Won the Greater Kalamazoo Gold Division Tournament with a 2-0 win over Gull Lake.
Kyle Jusick beat undefeated Gull Lake by allowing four hits and striking out seven to remain unbeaten on the year at 7-0.
34. (NR) Bingham (South Jordan, Utah), 27-3
Bingham won its final 14 games of the season to capture the Utah 5A state championship with a 10-6 win over American Fork.
35. (36) Indianapolis Cathedral, 25-2
Won the Class 4A Sectional 10 in the Indiana state playoffs with an 8-1 win over Lawrence Central. Also defeated Warren Central 2-0 and North Central 5-0 in the first two rounds.
36. (37) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 36-8
Alabama 5A state champions. Season over.
37. (38) Sumrall (Miss.), 30-5
Mississippi 3A state champions. Season over.
38. (43) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 32-6
The Tigers got an impressive outing from
O'Shea Dumes, who threw a shutout against Eagle Pass Winn for a 7-0 victory in the one-game playoff in the 5A Region IV semifinals.
39. (NR) Calallen (Corpus Christi, Texas), 36-5
Won two straight to advance to the region finals. Topped Smithson Valley 4-1 and 13-3.
Wyatt Mathisen had a home run in each game.
40. (39) Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), 32-4
Season over.
41. (40) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 27-7
Season over.
42. (45) Spalding (Griffin, Ga.), 32-4
Split the first two games of the Georgia AAA state championship series with Columbus, winning the first game 18-1 before falling 12-2 in the second game. The third game will be played today. Spalding advanced to the championship series with an 11-10, 18-14 series sweep of Woodward Academy.
Austin Hurt had the game-winning hit in the 11-10 win while
Casey Moody had a walkoff grand slam to lift Spalding to the 18-14 victory.
43 (46) Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.), 31-4
Connor Cuff had a no-hitter and 13 strikeouts in a 3-0 win over Bartlett. Lyons also lost to Downers Grove South early in the week, 5-4.
44. (47) Petal (Miss.), 24-12
Mississippi 6A state champions. Season over.
45. (48) Tupelo (Miss.), 31-6
Season over.
46. (49) Madison Central (Miss.), 31-3
Season over.
47. (44) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 27-7
Lost to Archbishop McCarthy 4-1 in the Florida 4A state championship game.
48. (50) Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.), 30-4
Florida 3A state champions. Season over.
49. (NR) Perrysburg (Ohio), 24-3
The Yellow Jackets advanced to the state semifinals with a 9-2 win over Strongsville in the Ohio Division I regional finals.
Matt Kruzel picked up the win, striking out five.
50. (NR) Sumter (S.C.), 24-6
South Carolina 4A state champion. Season over.
Dropped Out: No. 17 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.); No. 18 JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.); No. 29 Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio); No. 32 Plainfield North (Ill.); No. 33 Lamar (Houston); No. 35 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.); No. 41 Wakeland (Frisco, Texas); No. 42. Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati).
