Upsets in the Florida and Mississippi state playoffs resulted in several big drops in this week's Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings.
West Boca Raton (Fla.) and Petal (Miss.) caused the most damage as their state championship wins each resulted in two teams in their state taking a tumble. West Boca Raton completed a spectacular run in the Florida 5A playoffs with a 1-0 win over Pace in the semifinals and a 2-0 win over Lakeland in the finals. Both losses dropped Pace and Lakeland from the Top 25 while West Boca Raton moved into the rankings at No. 12.
Petal, meanwhile, upset Tupelo in the finals, which had defeated Madison Central in the semifinals. Although the defending 6A state champion, Petal had 12 losses on the season and thus only entered the top 50 at No. 47. Tupelo and Madison Central dropped all the way from Nos. 13 and 14 respectively to Nos. 48 and 49.
Petal's win did allow Sumrall to enter the rankings for the first time since the first week of the season. The two-time defending Xcellent 25 National Champions, Sumrall has two wins over Petal this season. Sumrall won its fourth straight Mississippi 3A state title and enters the rankings at No. 38.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 50 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. (1) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 36-2
Oklahoma 6A state champions. Season over.
2. (2) Owasso (Okla.), 37-2
Oklahoma 6A state runners-up. Season over.
3. (3) South County (Lorton, Va.), 21-0
The Stallions opened the postseason with an 8-1 win over West Springfield.
Tyler Frazier had 11 strikeouts for South County, which faces Lake Braddock in the next round.
4. (4) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 34-3
The Rangers beat Clear Springs in two straight games to advance to the Region III semifinals in the Texas 5A playoffs.
Austin Guill picked up the win in a 5-1 triumph while
Beau Dahlman was victorious in a 2-0 win.
5. (5) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 28-2
The Bears opened the postseason with a 9-2 win over Bullard in the first round of the Central Section Division I playoffs.
Jeff Brown had a grand slam and
Seth Moranda had two home runs while picking up his 32nd career win for the Bears.
6. (6) Maize (Kan.), 22-0
The Eagles captured the regional championship with an 11-0 win over Hutchinson.
Gage Byers,
Thomas Clay and
Tory Bell all homered in the championship game with Byers throwing a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts and a walk. In a 23-0 win over Garden City,
Ryan McBroom drove in five runs with three hits, including a triple.
7. (7) Spanish Fork (Utah), 24-2
The Dons began the postseason with a 13-0 win over Bountiful with
Kayden Porter getting the shutout and
James Lengal getting a double and home run with five RBIs. In a 4-2 win over Timpanagos in the next round,
Hayden Nielsen got the win with six shutout innings.
Andy Perkins was 3-for-3 for the Dons.
8. (8) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 23-3
The Chargers opened the playoffs with an 11-0 win over Santiago (Corona) on
Henry Owens' no-hitter. Owens struck out 12 in the win, giving him a 12-0 record on the season.
Jon Torres had a home run and
Jake Lesinski had a three-run homer among his four hits. He also drove in six runs on the day.
9. (9) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 28-3
The Mavericks defeated Wakulla 4-2 on Monday to advance to the Florida 4A state championship game against Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.).
10. (11) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 35-4
The Gaels won their sixth straight Nevada 4A state championship with a 10-0 win over Green Valley in the finals.
Evan Dunn got the win, giving up four hits and striking out six.
Kenny Meimerstorf was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and a double. In a 13-2 semifinal win over Rancho (Las Vegas),
Joey Gallo had a home run and four RBIs while
T.j. White also drove in four runs with a single and a double. The Gaels had four home runs in a 9-7 quarterfinal win over Green Valley as Meimerstorf, Gallo,
Erik Van Meetren and
Johnny Sewald all hit one out.
11. (17) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.), 22-0
The Ironmen played twice last week in the Bergen County Tournament. They opened with a 9-3 win over Mahwah.
Tom Burns struck out eight in the win.
Matt Dacey had a double and three RBIs while
Mike Mecca added a home run. In the quarterfinals, Don Bosco Prep beat Bergen Catholic 11-1 with Burns picking up the win with five innings of work. Dacey added a home run.
12. (NR) West Boca Raton (Fla.), 27-4
Captured the Florida 5A state championship with a 2-0 win over Lakeland. West Boca Raton won all of its playoff games by shutout, including a 1-0 win over Pace in the semifinals.
13. (21) Brenham (Texas), 30-5
The Cubs swept past Willis 8-1 and 5-4 to reach the Region III semifinals against Santa Fe.
Jesse Baker hit a home run in the seventh inning to break a 4-4 tie and give Brenham the win in the second game of the series.
14. (22) Jesuit (New Orleans), 29-5
Louisiana 5A state champions. Season over.
15. (23) Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), 27-5
Arizona 5A Division I state champions. Season over.
16. (24) Saguaro (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 34-4
Arizona 4A Division I state champions. Season over.
17. (26) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 23-5
The Monarchs opened the postseason with an 11-1 win over Temecula Valley.
Blake Thomsen had a home run among his two hits and he drove in four runs on the day.
18. (27) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 23-4
The Lions escaped the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division I playoffs with a 1-0 win over Great Oak.
19. (16) Gloucester Catholic (Gloucester City, N.J.), 27-2
Won three times at the Joe Hartmann Diamond Classic, but fell to Buena 4-3 in the semifinals.
20. (25) Palm Desert (Calif.), 24-4
Brooks Kriske pitched a one-hitter with nine strikeouts to lead Palm Desert to a 4-1 win over Estancia in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs. The Aztecs are the defending section champions.
21. (28) Poly Prep Country Day (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 21-1
The Blue Devils defeated Dalton 4-0 behind the pitching of
Peter Desantis, who allowed just one hit over six innings.
22. (29) Washington (New York City), 34-2
The Trojans won twice last week, taking a pair from Norman Thomas by scores of 12-2 and 10-0.
23. (30) Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.), 25-4
The Lancers scored seven times in the fifth to rout Burroughs (Burbank) 10-1 in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division IV playoffs.
Jay Andreson was 3-for-4 with a double in the win while
Wallace Gonzalez hit a home run.
24. (31) St. Louis University (St. Louis, Mo.), 23-0
The Billikens won twice last week, defeating University City 10-0 and Ritenour 13-1 in the Missouri Division 4 state playoffs.
Sasha Kuebel and
Willie Floros each had three RBIs against University City with Kuebel also throwing a one-hitter with eight strikeouts against Ritenour.
25. (33) La Cueva (Albuquerque, N.M.), 25-4
New Mexico 4A state champions. Season over.
The Next 25
26. (15) Lakeland (Fla.), 26-5
The Dreadnaughts fell to West Boca Raton 2-0 in the Florida 5A state championship game.
27. (10) Pace (Fla.), 27-5
Lost to West Boca Raton 1-0 in 5A semifinals
28. (20) Sierra Vista (Nev.), 34-4
Season over.
29. (35) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 20-2
The Warriors defeated St. Vincent-St. Mary 7-2 with
Mike Marsinek improving to 8-0 on the season. Walsh Jesuit also beat Trinity 11-5 over the weekend.
30. (38) Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.), 30-3
Topped Lockport 6-5, Lincoln-Way Central 14-0, Marist 4-0 and Joliet West 12-4.
31. (39) Portage Central (Mich.), 26-1
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.
32. (40) Plainfield North (Ill.), 29-1
Defeated Romeoville 5-0, 12-1, and 8-7 last week.
33. (41) Lamar (Houston), 34-5
Lamar took two of three from Westside (Houston) to advance to the semifinals of the Region III playoffs. Lamar won the opener 4-2 before falling 3-2 in the second game. The Redskins captured a 3-0 win in the third game Saturday.
Chris Lanham struck out nine in the decisive third game.
34. (43) Alonso (Tampa, Fla.), 22-5
Defeated Park Vista 7-5 on Monday to advance to the Florida 6A state championship game against Deltona.
35. (44) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 24-5-1
The Monarchs opened defense of their Central Coast Section championship with a pair of wins last week. Mitty defeated Milpitas 8-1 and Valley Christian 3-2.
Kolby Rousseu and
Preston Caldera had doubles to key a three-run rally in the win over Valley Christian.
36. (45) Indianapolis Cathedral, 22-2
Avenged a previous loss to Bishop Chatard with a 7-3 win on Wednesday. Also defeated Brebeuf Prep 4-1, Indianapolis Scecina 12-3 and Perry Meridian 7-2.
37. (NR) Spanish Fort (Ala.), 36-8
The Toros won the Alabama 5A state championship with a 16-6, 11-5 sweep of Cullman in the final series. Spanish Fort has won two straight 5A titles.
38. (NR) Sumrall (Miss.), 30-5
The Bobcats won their fourth straight Mississippi 3A state championship and also had a pair of wins during the season over 6A state champion Petal.
39. (46) Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), 32-4
Season over.
40. (50) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 27-7
Season over.
41. (NR) Wakeland (Frisco, Texas), 35-5
Split a three-game series against highly regarded Highland Park, winning 12-7, 6-8, 8-6, to advance to the Region 2 semifinal against Poteet.
42. (NR) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati), 22-4
Ranked No. 1 in the Division I rankings by the Ohio Baseball Coaches Association.
43. (NR) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 31-6
Defending champions advanced to the 5A Region 4 semifinals against Winn by defeating Reagan (San Antonio), 3-1, 9-5.
44. (NR) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 27-6
Reached the Florida 4A state championship game by defeating Hernando 8-2. Will play Archbishop McCarthy for the title today.
45. (NR) Spalding (Griffin, Ga.), 29-3
Ranked No. 1 in the Georgia AAA state rankings.
46 (NR) Lyons (LaGrange, Ill.), 30-3
Ranked No. 2 in the Chicago Tribune state rankings.
47. (NR) Petal (Miss.), 24-12
Defeated Tupelo in three games (10-2, 3-4, 9-0) to capture the Mississippi 6A state champion.
48. (13) Tupelo (Miss.), 31-6
The Golden Wave's streak of game-three victories came to an end after falling to defending champion Petal 9-0 in the championship game on Saturday. Tupelo had won three straight playoff series by winning the third game.
49. (14) Madison Central (Miss.), 31-3
Season over.
50. (NR) Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.), 30-4
Topped Pensacola Catholic 4-3 for the Florida 3A state championship.
Dropped Out: No. 12 A&M Consolidated (College Station, Texas), No. 18 Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), No. 19 Orangewood Christian (Maitland, Fla.), No. 32 Providence (Charlotte, N.C.), No. 34 Sherwood (Sandy Springs, Md.), No. 36 Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.), No. 37 Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), No. 42 Park Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.), No. 47 Midway (Waco, Texas), No. 48 Rock Bridge (Columbia, Mo.), No. 49 Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.).
