The Bishop Gorman Gaels dropped a pair of close games at the Big League Dugout Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., last week, meaning that a new team will take over the top spot in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings for the first time this year.
The Edison Chargers move into the No. 1 spot after yet another strong performance by All-American pitcher Henry Owens. The 6-foot-7 pitcher has been nearly untouchable in five starts this season, racking up a 5-0 record with three straight shutouts and double-digit strikeouts in each outing.
Christian Lopes, Edison
Photo by Heston Quan
Hot on the heels of the Chargers are the Douglas Eagles. The top team in a rugged Broward County, Douglas is undefeated at 13-0 and has barely been challenged this year in posting five shutouts.
Four new teams enter the rankings this week after Amador Valley, East Coweta, Fleming Island and Ardrey Kell all exited with losses. Gulliver Prep is the highest debuting team at No. 16. The Raiders began the season in the Xcellent 25 but dropped out after a loss to American Heritage.
Right behind the Raiders is Archbishop McCarthy, which is on a hot streak with four straight shutouts. Spanish Fork, which defeated Bishop Gorman in Arizona, rejoins the Xcellent 25 at No. 18.
Vista Murrieta is the final team on the list. The Broncos have one loss this year, and that was to new No. 1 Edison.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. (last week 2) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 11-1
The Chargers like to keep them close, winning their fifth one-run game of the season in a 3-2 win over Los Alamitos on Wednesday Edison also got another strong performance from All-American
Henry Owens, who struck out 11 and allowed just two hits in a 3-0 win over Marina (Huntington Beach).
2. (4) Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 13-0
Douglas played only one game last week, shutting out Coconut Creek 17-0.
Colton Bottomley had a huge game for the Eagles, belting two home runs and a double to drive in nine runs. Brandon Raaf also hit a home run for Douglas.
3. (5) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), 14-1
The Lancers pounded 13 hits to defeat defending Central Coast Section champion Archbishop Mitty 12-3 in West Catholic Athletic League play.
Alex Blandino had four hits, including a pair of doubles, with four RBI for the Lancers. Colin Reed (4-0) won his fourth game of the season.
Richard Prigatano homered in a 7-2 win over Riordan and
Ryan Degregorio picked up his fifth win of the season (5-0).
4. (6) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 20-2
The Rangers are cruising in District 5A-23 play, topping Fort Bend Willowridge 19-0, Fort Bend Bush 10-0 and Fort Bend Marshall 18-2 last week.
Mike Fredeboelling had a grand slam against Bush while
Beau Dahlman had a five-inning no-hitter in the win over Willowridge.
5. (8) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 21-1
The Rattlers got past La Joya 6-2 with
Tres Barrera striking out seven and giving up just four hits. Sharyland also knocked off McAllen 7-4 with a four-run rally in the fourth inning that broke a 3-3 tie.
6. (9) Owasso (Okla.), 15-1
The Rams got a one-hitter from
Dylan Bundy to top Bishop Kelley last week, 8-1. Bundy struck out 14 in the game. Owasso also knocked off Booker T. Washington with
Kendall Emerson going 2-for-3 with three RBI and two doubles. In Saturday's 11-5 win over Enid,
Phillip Wilson went the distance for the victory, striking out six.
7. (10) Broken Arrow (Broken Arrow, Okla.), 16-1
The Tigers racked up wins over Sapulpa, 10-2, Southmoore, 12-1 and Yukon, 2-0 last week, setting up Monday's showdown with defending 6A state champion Union (Tulsa).
Archie Bradley struck out 10 in the win over Sapulpa. Bradley added a pair of two-run homers in the Southmoore victory with teammates
Alex Graham and
Nick Pettus each hitting one out as well.
Mason Hope struck out 12 in the Yukon win.
8. (11) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 10-2
The Admirals won their only two games of the week, topping Bearden 8-1 and West (Knoxville) 11-1.
Derek Chandler hit a home run against Bearden and
Philip Pfeifer went five innings for the win. He gave up one hit and struck out nine. Against West, Chandler got the mound with, striking out 10 in five innings. He also went 3-for-3 with two RBI.
9. (12) Langham Creek (Houston, Texas), 18-2
The Lobos won three district games last week, blanking Cy-Ridge 13-0 and Cypress Springs 10-0 before edging Cypress Lakes 6-5 on Saturday.
Hayden Jones picked up the win over Cy Ridge, striking out six and also belting a home run. Against Cypress Springs,
Brandon Montalvo had nine strikeouts for the win.
10. (13) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 3-0
The Warriors opened the season with three straight wins, topping Gilmour Academy 12-6 and sweeping a doubleheader from Central Catholic (Toledo) on Saturday 11-1 and 4-3. The Warriors began the season on March 28 with a home game against St. Ignatius, but the contest was suspended at 2-2 in the seventh inning. Freshman
Nathanael Romans had a home run in his first varsity at-bat in the Gilmour Academy win while
Jake Nogalo had three hits, including a double.
Cassidy Brown homered in the 11-1 win over Central Catholic.
11. (14) Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis, Ind.), 3-0
The Fighting Irish opened the season with a 12-2 win over Roncalli behind
Dillon Peters's 12 strikeouts in five innings pitched. Cathedral also scored 10-run rule wins over Bishop Chatard, 14-3, and Pike, 17-7, over the weekend.
12. (15) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 14-1
The Bears stayed undefeated in Tri-Rivers Athletic League play with an 8-0 win over Clovis, an 11-5 win over Clovis East and an 8-1 win over Clovis North.
Dominic Topoozian struck out eight in shutting out Clovis.
13. (16) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 14-2
The Falcons won twice last week, topping Western (Davie) 13-2 and Everglades (Miramar) 21-5. In the latter win,
Zack Collins hit a pair of two-run homers,
Robert Collin hit a two-run shot,
Danny Zardon and
Andres Sanchez each hit solo home runs and
Matthew Beauchemin hit a grand slam.
Jose Mesa collected his fourth win of the season (4-0).
14. (17) Pensacola Catholic (Pensacola, Fla.), 16-0
The Crusaders won three times last week, edging Pine Forest (Pensacola) 5-3, shutting out Walton (DeFuniak Springs) 3-0 and topping Gulf Breeze 12-2.
Cody Alling struck out 18 batters and walked only one in the win over Walton. Against Gulf Breeze,
Avery Geyer was 2-for-2 with three RBI, a triple and a home run.
15. (20) The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Texas), 18-2-2
The Highlanders won twice last week in District 5A-14 play, blanking Kingwood 4-0 on
Bryan Brickhouse's 12-strikeout performance. The Woodlands also topped College Park 9-2 on Friday with
Alex Dunlap and
Elliot Richoux each hitting home runs.
16. (NR) Gulliver Prep (Miami, Fla.), 16-3
Although the Raiders did lose to Coral Gables early in the week, they also had a 9-2 win over American, last year's 6A runner-up, and has wins over Jesuit (Tampa) and a preseason win over Archbishop McCarthy.
17. (NR) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 17-2
The Mavericks are on a roll, winning seven in a row since a March 5 loss to Columbus. Included in those wins is four straight shutouts over Marist (Chicago, Ill.), 18-0; Cardinal Gibbons (Fort Lauderdale) 11-0; Dade Christian (Miami), 15-0; and Monsignor Pace (Miami), 10-0.
18. (NR) Spanish Fork (Spanish Fork, Utah), 10-2
The Dons won the championship at the Big League Dugout Invitational with a 3-2 victory over previous national No. 1 Bishop Gorman. Spanish Fork lost to Forsyth Country Day 3-1 during the tournament, but defeated Regis Jesuit in the semifinals before knocking off the Gaels in the finals.
19. (1) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.), 12-2
It was a rough week for the Gaels, who lost their first game of the season in a 3-1 loss to Downers Grove South at the Big League Dugout Tournament in Scottsdale (Ariz.). Bishop Gorman advanced to the championship game with a 5-2 win over Corona del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.), however the Gaels lost to Spanish Fork 3-2 in the championship game. The Gaels bounced back on Friday and Saturday, topping Pahrump Valley 11-1 and Western (Las Vegas) 14-4. This week the Gaels have a showdown with undefeated Sierra Vista.
20. (18) Madison Central (Madison, Miss.), 15-1
The Jaguars split their only two games lastweek, topping Northwest Rankin 10-0 on Tuesday before falling to the same team on Friday 5-3. Josh Laxer struck out nine and allowed only two hits in the shutout win. Brock Hunt's double and triple in Friday's game weren't enough to lift the Jaguars to the win.
21. (21) Mesquite (Gilbert, Ariz.), 16-1-1
The Wildcats tied Mountain View 5-5 and blasted Gilbert 12-2 in region play last week.
Zach Davies had a pair of RBI, as did
Seth Fretheim. Davies pitched the win over Gilbert, striking out seven and walking none for his fourth (4-0) win of the season.
22. (22) Marist (Atlanta, Ga.), 14-1
The War Eagles have won three games in a row by shutout, topping Lakeside DeKalb 13-0, Chamblee 10-0 and Mays 11-0. Marist will get a tough test this week against Mill Creek.
23. (23) Fairhope (Fairhope, Ala.), 22-1
The Pirates collected four wins last week, taking three games from Robertsdale, 8-1, 16-12 and 10-0, and also knocking off Faith Academy early in the week, 11-6. Fairhope knocked four home runs in the 16-12 victory, one each from
Robert Baugh,
Justin Hathcock,
Peyton Fuller and
Sam Kent. Fuller also had one in the 8-1 victory while
Hunter Ellenburg,
Toby Thomas and
Wes Kent all went yard in the Faith Academy win.
24. (25) Highland Park (Dallas, Texas), 22-2
The Scots defeated Rockwall-Heath 6-5 for a key District 4A-10 win.
Ben McElroy had a home run and
Preston Edwards picked up the win for Highland Park. Edwards also got the win in a 13-8 victory over McKinney.
Ryan Romo and
Chris McDade both added home runs for the winners.
25. (NR) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.), 13-1
The Broncos' only loss is a 3-2 defeat at the hands of new national No. 1 Edison (Huntington Beach). Also has wins over El Toro (the only team to defeat Edison) and Lakewood. The Broncos are led by pitchers
Spencer Giron and
Tyler Russell, both of whom are 4-0 on the season.
Dropped: No. 3 Amador Valley, No. 7 Fleming Island, No. 19 East Coweta, No. 24 Ardrey Kell.
