Top 25 high school baseball rankings

The Bishop Gorman Gaels, the top-ranked team in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings, showed midseason form in opening their season last week against teams from two different states and two different countries.

The Gaels blasted a traveling team from West Toronto of Canada 16-3 and then whipped Spring Valley of Nevada 11-1. The big test came on Saturday, however, when Bishop Gorman took on a St. Mary's team from Stockton, Calif., that has been one of the top programs in the Sac-Joaquin Section for a number of seasons.

The three wins keep the Gaels on top of the Xcellent 25 rankings for the third week in a row, but Bishop Gorman figures to get tested in the upcoming weeks. The Gaels will face Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.) and Downers Grove South (Ill.) at the Big League Dugout Invitational starting March 28. Hamilton is one of the top teams in Arizona while Downers Grove South has one of the nation's top pitchers in Nick Burdi.

St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) moves into the No. 2 spot in the national rankings after both Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) both lost. The Lancers are unbeaten on the season at 10-0.

Farragut lost in pool play at the Scenic City Tournament in Chattanooga, but came back to win the tournament. Thus the drop is only a small one for the Admirals. Edison, meanwhile, split a doubleheader with always tough El Toro. The Chargers came back later in the week to win on the arm of All-American Henry Owens and thus stay in the top five.

Six new teams enter the rankings this week, led by Venice (Fla.), which moved up to No. 12 after winning the Sarasota Classic. Other entrants include Madison Central (Miss.), East Coweta (Ga.), Canyon del Oro (Ariz.), Marist (Ga.) and Fairhope (Ala.).

MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS

1. (Last week 1) Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), 3-0
The five-time defending Nevada state champions are off to a strong start with three lopsided wins. The Gaels knocked off a touring team from West Toronto 16-3 last Tuesday and then whipped Spring Valley 11-1 on Friday. In a 16-4 win over St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.) on Saturday, the Gaels got home runs from Joey Gallo, A.J. Van Meetren and Cody Roper, who also had a triple. T.J. White picked up the win. In the 11-1 triumph over Spring Valley, Gallo blasted a home run and White had a triple. Roper got the mound win.

2. (5) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) 8-0
The Lancers remained undefeated with a pair of West Catholic Athletic League victories last week. St. Francis topped St. Ignatius 5-1 on Saturday behind the hitting of Alex Blandino, who had a pair of base hits with a double and three RBIs. Ryan Degregorio picked up his third win of the season. In a 6-5 win over Bellarmine, Blandino and Richard Prigatano each had a home run. Kevin Zhang earned his third victory of the season in the win. The Lancers faced Serra (San Mateo) on Monday and will play Valley Christian, which knocked off Archbishop Mitty, and Sacred Heart Cathedral this week.

3. (2) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 5-1
The Admirals lost a game at the Scenic City Tournament in Chattanooga, but still ended up winning the tournament. Farragut split pool play with a 1-0 win over McCallie and a 6-3 loss to Sparkman. But the Admirals routed Science Hill 18-7 in the semifinals and clobbered Independence 14-2 in the championship game. Farragut opened the season with an 8-0 win over Heritage and a 4-0 win over Maryville. All-American candidate Philip Pfeifer pitched a two-hitter in the win over Maryville, striking out 11. All-American candidate Nicky Delmonico is batting .560 with two home runs and six RBIs.

4. (3) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 7-1
The Chargers split a doubleheader with El Toro (Lake Forest, Calif.), but righted the ship with a strong pitching performance from Henry Owens in a 7-0 win over Fountain Valley. Owens struck out 11 in raising his record to 3-0 on the season. The Chargers defeated El Toro 4-3 but lost the nightcap 5-1.

5. (4) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 3-0
The Dons did not play last week, but they return to action against Heritage (Brentwood, Calif.) today.

6. (12) Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 10-0
The Eagles took two games from Ontario Prep last week to stay unbeaten on the season. In an 8-0 win, Brandon Raaf and Colton Bottomley each had two hits. In a 6-1 win, Louis Silverio and Jonathan Lipinski both homered.

7. (14) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 15-2
The Rangers rebounded from two straight losses to win three district games last week. Clements edged Fort Bend Dulles 6-4, Fort Bend Austin 8-5 and clobbered Fort Bend Elkins 11-1. Philip Casey had three hits in the game for the Rangers, including a triple and a double, while Austin Guill knocked a home run and also picked up the pitching win.

8. (18) Fleming Island (Orange Park, Fla.), 12-0
The Golden Eagles continue to play well, edging Gainesville 4-3 and routing White 13-1 last week. Jason Chitwood picked up his fourth win of the season in the victory over White while Luke Czajkowski blasted a home run.

9. (19) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 17-1
The Rattlers continue to win big, routing Donna 17-0 and Palmview 12-2 last week. Eric Gutierrez was 3-for-3 with four RBIs, a double and two home runs against Donna while Tres Barrera also had a home run in the win.

10. (21) Owasso (Okla.), 7-1
The Rams took first place at the Blue Devil Classic in Florida and avenged their only loss of the season with a 14-4 win over Lake Wales in the semifinals. Owasso had little trouble in the championship game, topping Winter Haven, a team it had defeated the previous week, 13-3. Justin Steelmon was 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBIs against Winter Haven while Phillip Wilson picked up the pitching win, striking out nine. Dylan Bundy got the win over Lake Wales and also hit a two-run homer.

11. (7) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 8-1
The Tigers went 3-1 in Florida, defeating Haines City 6-2, Lakeland 4-0 and Lake Wales in the third place contest of the Blue Devil Classic, 11-0. The only loss was a 7-3 defeat at the hands of Winter Haven. Archie Bradley struck out 12 in the win over Lakeland, however he was ejected for reportedly arguing balls and strikes. He sat out the Tigers' final two games.

12. (NR) Venice (Fla.), 13-1
The Indians won the always difficult Sarasota Classic over the weekend, defeating Sarasota 14-4 in the semifinals and Barron Collier (Naples) in the finals, 5-3. Venice also defeated IMG Academies 13-7 and Palm Beach Central 8-3 along the way.

13. (6) Langham Creek (Houston), 12-2
The Lobos split their two District 5A-17 matchups last week, falling to Cy-Fair 7-5 and defeating Cypress Creek 10-2. Logan Onda struck out nine and gave up five hits in the win over Cypress Creek while Carter Magnum was 2-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI.

14. (9) Poquoson (Va.), 2-0
The two-time defending Virginia Division II state champions opened their season with a 15-6 win over Lafayette on Tuesday. Chase Pinder had a double and two RBIs while Austin Davis got the win. In an 11-7 win over Grafton, Tee McConnell and Chad Funkhouser each had triples to spark the offense.

15. (8) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 0-0
The Warriors open their season on March 28.

16. (10) Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 0-0
Opens season March 21 at Covenant.

17. (11) Indianapolis Cathedral (Indianapolis), 0-0
Opens season at Roncalli on March 30.

18. (22) Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.), 9-1
The Golden Eagles set up this week's matchup with rival Buchanan with a 10-1 throttling of Clovis North.

19. (24) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 12-2
Flanagan edged Timber Creek 4-1 in its final game of spring break. Michael Melendez got the win and Robert Collin drove in the key run for the Falcons. Andres Sanchez also had a double while Matthew Figueroa was 2-for-2.

20. (25) Pensacola Catholic (Fla.) 10-0
The Crusaders had no trouble with their latest two opponents, topping Pensacola 8-2 and Sycamore 9-1. Cody Alling struck out 11 in the win over Pensacola while Blake Quillin was 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs against Sycamore.

21. (NR) Madison Central (Miss.), 10-0
With Sumrall absorbing two losses, Madison Central looms as the top team in Mississippi. Madison has a pair of wins over Alabama foes Cullman, 6-5, and Hillcrest, 8-7. Madison has barely been touched facing in-state teams, outscoring opponents 82-8. Josh Laxer is 4-0 on the mound for the Jaguars.

22. (NR) East Coweta (Sharpsburg, Ga.), 8-0
Ranked No. 1 in the coaches AAAAA rankings, the Indians recently picked up a big win over the previously No. 1 ranked team, Luella, 6-4.

23. (NR) Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), 15-1
The Dorados avenged their only loss of the season with a 9-3 win over Ironwood Ridge at the Lancer Invitational last week. Canyon del Oro won the tournament, defeating California teams Yucaipa, 7-3, and Burroughs (Burbank) 13-3 on the final day.

24. (NR) Marist (Atlanta), 8-1
The War Eagles top the coaches AAAA rankings in Georgia. The only loss is a 3-1 setback against No. 19 Flanagan at the Eagle's View Tournament of Champions. Marist has wins over Florida state champions Trinity Christian Academy and Westminster Christian.

25. (NR) Fairhope (Ala.), 12-1
The Pirates suffered a loss to Theodore last week, but they are still ranked No. 1 in the Alabama Sportswriters Association state 6A rankings.