Video: Top 25 national baseball rankings The Argyle Eagles remain at No. 1 behind Chad Ricker's dominance.
For the third game in a row, Chad Ricker was unhittable and as a result the Argyle Eagles are back in the state tournament.
Ricker has not allowed a hit in 20.2 innings after setting down Iowa Park 2-0 in seven innings during the Class 4A Region 1 finals. Ricker did not allow a hit in the final 2.2 innings against Graham. He then threw a five-inning no-hitter in the regional quarterfinals against Brownwood and the pitched six innings of no-hit ball in a combined no-hitter against Canyon in the regional semifinals.
Ricker will likely pitch the opener of the state tournament against LaVerne with a chance to extend his no-hit streak. Argyle is looking for its second straight state championship and second straight National Championship as the No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 50 National Baseball Rankings.
The Florida state tournament resulted in some major adjustments to the top 15 teams. Jesuit (Tampa) suffered some late season losses, including one to IMG Academy and another to Calvary Christian (Clearwater). Venice, meanwhile, also lost a pair of late season games, falling to Jesuit and Calvary Christian (Clearwater).
However both teams won state titles over the weekend with Jesuit winning a Class 6A title and Venice winning Class 7A. Calvary Christian, meanwhile, had won the Class 4A title. Jesuit and Venice had previously defeated Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) during spring break, so both Jesuit and Venice, with state titles now under their belt, were moved ahead of Parkview, which was No. 13, and Calvary Christian was moved ahead of Jesuit and Venice into the No. 11 spot.
One major upset in the top 25 came at No. 9 where Boyd (McKinney) knocked off Cypress Ranch (Houston) in a three-game series. Cypress Ranch had won the first game on a no-hitter by Matt Thompson, but Boyd's Jack Hagan outdueled J.J. Goss to give Boyd the win in the second game and then prevailed in the third game to knock out the Mustangs.
Dropped out: No. 14 Kingwood (Texas), No. 26 New Albany (Ohio), No. 32 Mountain Vista (Highlands Ranch, Colo.), No. 38 Mosley (Lynn Haven, Fla.), No. 49 Magnolia West (Magnolia, Texas).
Player of the Week: Jack Hagan, Boyd (McKinney, Texas). Hagan went head-to-head against one of the top pitchers in the nation in Cypress Ranch's J.J. Goss and didn't blink. He gave up no runs on two hits in seven innings while striking out seven and walking just two. His win evened the series against Cypress Ranch and allowed Boyd to go on to claim the rubber game of the series 8-3 and advance to the Class 6A state tournament.
Prospect of the Week: Michael Doolin, Andrean (Ind.). The Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year is a big reason Andrean has risen to No. 19 in the national rankings. He has allowed one earned run in 56 innings pitched (0.125 ERA) and has struck out 98 batters while racking up an 11-0 record.
Game of the Week: Andrean 8, Kankakee Valley 7. After winning 30 games in a row, Andrean needed a huge comeback to beat Kankakee Valley for the section championship and advance to the state tournament. Trailing 7-3 in the bottom of the seventh, Andrean loaded the bases on a single, a walk and a hit batsman. Another hit batsman and a sacrifice fly cut Kankakee Valley's lead to 7-5 with one out. Michael Doolin singled home a run and a walk loaded the bases for pinch hitter Rigo Martinez. He ended the game with a two-run walkoff double to right field.
Game to Watch: Lake Travis (Austin, Texas) vs. Carroll (Southlake, Texas). The two teams meet in the Class 6A state semifinals. Carroll is the defending state champion. After getting off to a 1-6 start to the season, Carroll has come on strong, including 16 straight wins with no losses in the postseason. Lake Travis, meanwhile, has the leading home run hitter in the nation in Brett Baty with 18.
Streaks: Silo (Okla.) still holds the active streak at 40, while Blanchard is second at 39. Newman Catholic (Iowa) won three more games to put its win streak at 33 wins in a row.
Top 50 High School Baseball Rankings
Valley Christian celebrates its CIF Central Coast Open Division title.
File photo by Darryl De Fiore
Results: Defeated Iowa Park 2-0 in Class 4A Region 1 finals.
Stats: Chad Ricker threw seven-inning no-hitter with four strikeouts and four walks.
Alex Gonzales had a triple and a home run while
Austin King had a double.
This week: LaVerne on Wednesday in Class 4A state semifinals.
2. (2) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 24-1
Season over.
3. (3) Cypress (Calif.), 31-3
California Southern Section Division 1 champions. Season over.
4. (4) Blanchard (Okla.), 39-0
Oklahoma Class 4A state champions. Season over.
5. (5) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 29-1
North Coast Section Division 1 champion. Season over.
6. (6) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 38-3
Louisiana Class 5A state champions. Season over.
7. (8) Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 37-3
Results: Defeated Lubbock Monterey 6-3, 6-3 in the Class 5A Region 1 finals.
Stats: Chandler Freeman was 2-for-2 with two doubles and two RBI in the first game while
Jacob Guerrero had a home run,
Bobby Witt Jr. had a triple and
Mason Greer had a double in the second game.
This Week: Corsicana on Thursday in Class 5A state semifinals
8. (7) DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.), 34-3
Mississippi Class 6A state champions. Season over.
9. (10) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 42-3
Tennessee Class AAA champion. Season over.
10. (12) New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), 28-2
Results: Defeated Marvin Ridge 7-3, 4-0 in Class 3A state finals.
Stats: Alex Sniffen had a home run and
Jac Croom had a triple and two RBI in the first game.
Blake Walston got the win, striking out eight.
Kyle Smith had a home run and Walston had a double in the second game.
This week: Season over. North Carolina Class 3A state champions.
11. (29) Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.), 25-4
Florida Class 4A state champions. Season over.
12. (47) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 27-5
Results: Defeated Miami Springs 7-3 in semifinals, Dunedin 4-3 in Class 6A state championship.
Stats: Nick Rodriguez and
BJ Graham each had a double and an RBI against Dunedin.
This week: Season over. Florida Class 6A state champion.
13. (48) Venice (Fla.), 26-6
Results: Defeated Creekside 9-8 in semifinals, Doral Academy 3-2 in Class 7A state finals.
Stats: Danny Rodriguez struck out 10 in five innings and
Zac Calhoon had a double against Doral Academy.
This week: Season over. Florida Class 7A state champions.
14. (13) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 36-4
Georgia Class AAAAAAA state champions. Season over.
15. (11) Georgetown (Texas), 40-4-1
Results: Lost to Magnolia West 2-1, won 9-6 and 1-0 in Class 5A Region 3 finals.
Stats: Ty Tilson had a double and two RBI in the 9-6 win. Tilson and
Noah Thompson both had two hits and
Jeffrey David had triple in the second game.
This week: Pioneer (Sharyland) on Thursday in Class 5A semifinals.
16. (15) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 37-4
Results: Defeated Alexander 3-2 and 3-0 in Class 6A Region 4 finals.
Stats: John Riden had a walk-off single in the first game while
Brett Baty had a triple. Baty pitched six innings of shutout ball with eight strikeouts in the second game.
This week: Carroll (Southlake) on Friday in Class 6A semifinals.
17. (16) Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.), 29-4
California Central Coast Section Open Division champion. Season over.
18. (17) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 26-7
Arizona Class 6A state champion. Season over.
19. (25) Andrean (Merrillville, Ind.), 33-1
Results: Defeated Kankakee Valley 8-7. Beat Griffith 11-0 in first round of Class 3A state tournament.
Stats: Rigo Martinez had a two-run walkoff double to cap a five-run rally by Andrean against Kankakee Valley. Michael Doolin went three innings to get the win, striking out three and giving up one hit against Griffith. Joel Holtcamp went 2-for-3 with a double and four RBI.
This week: South Bend St. Joseph on Monday.
20. (18) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 27-6-1
Season over.
21. (19) Notre Dame (SO) (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 24-7
Season over.
22. (20) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 26-4
Season over.
23. (21) Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), 36-5
Season over.
24. (22) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 25-7
Season over.
25. (23) Desert Oasis (Las Vegas), 34-7
Nevada Class 4A state champions.
The Next 25
26. (27) Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.), 25-3
Results: Defeated Seton Hall Prep 7-5, Don Bosco Prep 2-0.
This week: St. Augustine on Wednesday.
27. (24) Benedictine (Richmond, Va.), 28-2
VISAA Division 1 champion. Season over.
28. (28) St. John's (Washington, DC), 30-3
WCAC champions. Season over.
29. (46) Plant City (Fla.), 30-2
Results: Defeated McArthur (Hollywood) 8-0 in semifinals and Strawberry Crest 3-1 in Class 8A state finals.
This week: Season over. Florida Class 8A state champion.
30. (31) St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.), 33-5
Results: Defeated Morris 15-2. Beat Joliet Catholic 5-4 in first round of Super Sixteen.
This week: De La Salle (Chicago) on Monday at Super Sectionals.
31. (30) La Mirada (Calif.), 26-7
Season over.
32. (41) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 31-11
Results: Defeated Flower Mound 8-5, 8-5.
This week: Lake Travis on Friday in Class 6A state semifinals.
33. (39) Ridge Point (Missouri City, Texas), 32-4-1
Results: Defeated Kingwood 6-5 and 3-2.
This week: McKinney Boyd on Friday in Class 6A state semifinals.
34. (NR) Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 31-14
Results: Lost to Cy Ranch 10-0, won 1-0 and 8-3 in Class 6A Region 2 finals.
This week: Ridge Point on Friday in Class 6A state semifinals.
35. (9) Cypress Ranch (Houston), 34-6-1
Results: Defeated Boyd 10-0, lost 1-0, 8-3.
This week: Season over.
36. (33) Yucaipa (Calif.), 26-6
Season over.
37. (34) McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.), 32-8-1
Alabama Class 7A state champions. Season over.
38. (36) Silo (Okla.), 33-0
Oklahoma Class 2A state champions. Season over.
39. (37) Loganville (Ga.), 35-6
Georgia Class AAAAA state champions. Season over.
40. (35) Miami Springs (Fla.), 26-2
Results: Lost to Jesuit (Tampa), 7-3.
This week: Season over.
41. (40) American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.), 29-3
Season over.
42. (42) Parkway (Bossier City, La.), 31-6
Season over.
43. (43) Mountain View (Meridian, Idaho), 27-2
Idaho Class 5A state champion. Season over.
44. (44) North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.), 31-8
Season Over.
45. (45) Tattnall Square Academy (Macon, Ga.), 34-3
Georgia Class 1A Private state champion. Season over.
46. (50) Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), 42-10
Season over.
47. (NR) Beechwood (Fort Mitchell, Ky.), 38-1
Results: Def. Montgomery County (Mt. Sterling) 4-3 in first round of state tournament.
This week: Breckinridge County in second round on Wednesday
48. (NR) Rowan County (Morehead, Ky.), 39-3
Results: Defeated Lawrence County (Louisa) 5-0 in first round of state tournament.
This week: McCracken County in second round on Thursday.
49. (NR) Woodhaven (Brownstown, Mich.), 30-3
Results: Defeated Monroe 8-1 and Roosevelt 10-5 in Division 1 playoffs.
This week: First round of Division 1 state tournament.
50. (NR) Eastlake (Chula Vista, Calif.), 26-4-1
California San Diego Open Division champion. Season over.
