There was no movement among the top eight teams in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, but eight teams moved in, including a pair of unbeaten teams from California, Florida and Texas.
Lakewood enters the rankings after starting the season with a 10-0 record while Serra defeated Archbishop Mitty last week to stay unbeaten.
In Florida, Sarasota and Archbishop McCarthy both moved into this week's rankings, while Naples and Lakeland both departed. Sarasota defeated Naples head-to-head, winning 6-5.
Meanwhile Rockwall Heath and Mesquite, a pair of undefeated teams from the Dallas area, jump into the rankings this week along with Heritage, the top-ranked team in the Dallas area.
No. 1-ranked Bishop Gorman won a pair of games and will head to Florida this week to participate in the National Grand Slam Tournament in Palm Beach.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (1) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 4-0
The Gaels pumped out 33 runs in a pair of shutout wins, dropping Pahrump Valley (Pahrump, Nev.) 11-0 and Durango (Las Vegas, Nev.) 22-0 last week. Joey Gallo had three RBI and two doubles against Pahrump Valley and three pitchers combined on a one-hitter with Chris Tulak striking out six. Four Gaels hit home runs against Durango with Gallo and Mikal Hunter each belting grand slams during a 15-run second inning. Both Gallo and Hunter finished with five RBI apiece.
2. (2) Sumrall (Miss.), 11-0
The Bobcats' trip to Florida proved to be a successful one as they won three games at the Walt Disney Wide World of Sports Tournament. Chase Lewallen had a pair of triples in a 10-0 win over Byrns (Cedar Hill, Tenn.) while Bradley Smith had a triple and a home run in a 14-4 win over the Albany Academy for Boys (N.Y.). Sumrall topped TMI-Episcopal (San Antonio, Texas) in the final game 7-1 with Connor Barron and Jackson Posey each knocking in a pair of runs.
3. (3) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 0-0
Season begins March 22 vs. Roosevelt (Kent, Ohio).
4. (4) Menchville (Newport News, Va.), 3-0
The Monarchs began the season with three easy wins, dropping Warwick (Newport News, Va.) and Woodside (Newport News, Va.) by identical 9-1 scores and then blasting Kecoughtan (Hampton, Va.) 13-3. Sophomore Alex Korecky was 2 for 3 with a home run and a double for Menchville while Deron Hanley was 2-for-4. Deshorn Lake struck out eight in five innings and gave up just one hit against Warwick. Austin Chrismon won his 17th game in a row in the win over Woodside, striking out nine. Hanley and Austin Chrismon each had three hits.
5. (5) Owasso (Okla.), 10-0
The Rams won three more games last week, dropping Tulsa NOAH HomeSchool (Okla.) 10-0 on a combined two-hitter by Phillip Wilson and Kyle Wood, beating Bishop Kelley (Tulsa, Okla.) 3-0 on a 16-strikeout shutout by Dylan Bundy and defeating Jay (Okla.) 10-5 on Justin Steelmon's home run, triple and four RBI.
Trevor Holland, Rockwall-Heath
Photo by Matt Gomez
6. (6) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 6-0
The Admirals opened their season with six straight wins, including a first-place finish at the Scenic City tournament in Chattanooga. Farragut topped Heritage (Maryville, Tenn.) 16-6 and Lenoir City (Tenn.) 10-0 in district games and then beat Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 7-1, Evangelical Christian (Cordova, Tenn.) 9-2, Independence (Thompson's Station, Tenn.) 16-10 and St. Benedict at Auburndale (Cordova, Tenn.) 6-5 to win the tournament.
7. (7) Rocky Mountain (Fort Collins, Colo.), 0-0
Season begins March 24 vs. Chaparral (Parker, Colo.).
8. (8) Wando (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.), 9-0
The Warriors picked up four more wins, beating Summerville (S.C.) 12-4, Fort Dorchester (North Charleston, S.C.) 11-1, Beaufort (S.C.) 4-3 and Colleton County (Walterboro, S.C.) 13-1. Robbie Dodds hit two more home runs against Summerville and finished 4-for-4 on the day with two doubles. Dodds picked up the pitching win over Fort Dorchester while Benjamin Keane got the win against Beaufort.
9. (10) Roswell (Ga.), 9-0
The Hornets continued their winning ways with a 6-2 win over Kell (Marietta, Ga.) and a 6-4 victory over Lassiter (Marietta, Ga.). Roswell is ranked No. 1 in the state AAAAA coaches poll rankings in Georgia. Zane Evans homered in the win over Kell.
10. (17) Columbus (Miami, Fla.), 13-1
The Explorers won their ninth straight game, defeating Ferguson [John A.] (Miami, Fla.) 9-6 on a pair of Nick Collazo home runs. Ferguson is the only team to defeat Columbus this season. Javier Salas (3-0) picked up the win.
11. (14) Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), 11-1
The Bulldogs whipped Palm Bay (Melbourne, Fla.)11-1, Yulee (Yulee, Fla.) 15-0 and Parker (Jacksonville, Fla.) 22-1. David Perkins and Austin Slater each homered against Palm Bay while Dj Stewart and Michael Spence did the same against Yulee. Spence, Stewart and Caleb Denmark also left the park in the Parker victory.
12. (NR) Lakewood (Calif.), 10-0
The Lancers have opened the season 10-0 with a first place finish in the Loara Tournament and doubleheader sweeps of Paramount (Calif.) and La Mirada (Calif.). Jeff Yamaguchi is the leading hitter for Lakewood with a .486 average and 21 RBI.
13. (NR) Serra (San Mateo, Calif.), 8-0
The Padres knocked off previously undefeated Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.)11-6. Julian Merryweather picked up his third win of the season while Ray Denardi had a double among his three hits with three RBI. Serra also bounced Bellarmine (San Jose, Calif.) 10-4 in West Catholic Athletic League play.
14. (NR) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 12-0
The Mavericks raised their record to 12-0 with an 11-10 win over Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.) with Jose Brizuela picking up the win and getting the game-winning RBI. Andre Martinez picked up a pitching victory in an 8-1 win over Pembroke Pines Charter (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) while Johnny Cole raised his record to 5-0 with a 9-1 win over Russell County (Seale, Ala.).
15. (16) Bellaire (Texas), 15-2-1
The Cardinals rebounded from a loss to Second Baptist last week to defeat Milby (Houston, Texas) 5-2 and Madison (Houston, Texas) 13-1. Landon Goodman picked up the victory against Madison while Toller Boardman went the distance, striking out eight, in the win over Milby.
16. (NR) Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 15-1-1
The Panthers are ranked No. 1 in the Dallas area and the only loss is to Leander (Leander, Texas), a team it has also defeated. Heritage also has a win over Westmoore (Oklahoma City, Okla.), a team that has defeated defending Oklahoma 5A state champion Albert (Midwest City, Okla.).
17. (9) Columbus (Ga.), 9-1
The Blue Devils fell to Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.) 7-3 in non-region play last week, but bounced back to top Central (Carrollton, Ga.) 6-4 and Brookwood (Snellville, Ga.) 13-11. Sophomore Kyle Carter got the win over Brookwood, his third of the season, while Brad Barto was and Bobby Andrews each hit home runs.
18. (18) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 12-1
The Patriots topped Highlands Christian (Pompano Beach, Fla.) 7-5 and Russell County (Seale, Ala.) 11-4 last week. Mike Klement, Sebastian Gomez, Brandon Sedell and Nick Travieso all homered in the win over Highlands Christian while Mike Lopez had two home runs and Travieso had one in the Russell County victory.
19. (NR) Sarasota (Fla.), 8-0
The Sailors remained undefeated on the season at 8-0 with a 6-5 win over defending 4A state champion Naples (Fla.). Sarasota also defeat Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.) on Saturday 5-4. Tyler Doughty had a home run in the victory over Bishop Verot, which went into extra innings. Jimmie Koch added a double.
20. (NR) Mesquite (Texas), 14-0
The Skeeters remained undefeated on the season with a 5-4 win over Arlington Heights (Fort Worth, Texas) and a 7-6 win over South Grand Prairie (Texas). Jeremy Christian, Bre' Kimbell and Conner Tobias each homered in the win over South Grand Prairie.
21. (20) St. Rita (Chicago), 0-0
The Mustangs were scheduled to begin their season Saturday against Oak Lawn (Oak Lawn) but no score was reported.
22. (13) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 9-1
The Monarchs fell to Serra (San Mateo, Calif.) 11-6 in their West Catholic Athletic League matchup but topped St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 7-4 on Saturday. Alex Balog got the win, striking out six batters and giving up two hits in three plus innings of work.
23. (23) Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 0-0
The Patriots cancelled their game with Shipley and will open their season March 24 against Germantown Friends (Philadelphia).
24. (NR) Rockwall-Heath (Texas), 20-0
The Hawks have one of the best records in the nation and are ranked No. 1 among 4A schools in the Dallas area. Drew Baxter is batting .426 with five home runs and 21 RBI while Jake Thompson is hitting .446 with four home runs, 12 doubles and 25 RBI for the Hawks.
25. (NR) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 7-1
Swept Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) in a doubleheader, 7-4 and 5-4, and also knocked off Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) to open Trinity League play this week. Lions also have wins over St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs, Calif.) and Santiago (Corona, Calif.).
Dropped Out: (12) Lutheran (Orange, Calif.); (15) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.); (19) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.); (21) Naples (Naples, Fla.); (22) Lakeland (Fla.); (24) Fairhope (Ala.); (25) Vestavia Hills (Ala.).
