Easter is a time of rebirth, and the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings went through a rebirth during last week's spring break with eight new teams entering the rankings and the No. 1 and 2 teams both dropping from their top spots.
St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) suffered the biggest fall as it exited the Xcellent 25 rankings following a 1-3 performance at the National Classic. After a win over Notre Dame Prep (Scottsdale, Ariz.), the Lancers lost 11-3 to Bishop Amat, 7-1 to Bingham (South Jordan, Utah) and 5-1 to Clovis West (Fresno, Calif.).
Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.) also lost last week, falling to Poway 2-1 at the San Diego Lions Tournament. The Chargers won all of their other games in the tournament, however, and thus stay in this week's rankings.
Two teams that benefited from the fall of St. Francis and Edison are Bishop Amat (La Puente, Calif.) and Cathedral Catholic (San Diego). Bishop Amat won the National Classic and moves into this week's rankings at No. 9. Cathedral Catholic, meanwhile, won the San Diego Lions Tournament and jumped into the rankings at No. 19.
Another team making a big move is Grand Street Campus. The winner of the Monroe Tournament in The Bronx, N.Y., Grand Street Campus defeated some of the top teams in New York City to win the tournament for the first time in school history. The Wolves enter the rankings at No. 16.
Fort Bend Clements moves into the top spot this week. The Rangers continue to play well and have won 15 in a row. The Rangers are also ranked No. 1 in the Texas Baseball Coaches Association rankings.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 NATIONAL BASEBALL RANKINGS
1. (last week 3) Fort Bend Clements (Sugar Land, Texas), 27-2
The Rangers move into the No. 1 spot in the rankings with wins over Fort Bend Travis, 5-4, and Fort Bend Willowridge, 13-1.
Blake Johnson had a home run in the win over Travis and
Alec Horvath was the winning pitcher.
2. (4) Sharyland (Mission, Texas), 27-1
The Rattlers continue to rout opponents, knocking off Mission 11-0 and La Joya 17-8 last week.
Tres Barrera had a home run, two doubles and four RBIs in the win over Mission. Against La Joya,
Alexis Hernandez,
Oscar Gonzalez and
Eric Gutierrez each hit a home run.
3. (5) Owasso (Okla.), 26-1
The Rams won three times last week with convincing wins over Memorial, 15-3, and Sapulpa, 17-0, and a squeaker against Jenks, 5-4.
Phillip Wilson got the win over Jenks, striking out nine in six innings. The Rams had a combined no-hitter against Sapulpa with
Cory Taylor,
Conner Wichman and
Ian Bride all sharing the honors. Against Memorial,
Kendall Emerson was 3-for-3 with four RBIs and a double.
4. (7) Walsh Jesuit (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio), 10-0
The Warriors were able to get in two games last week, defeating Benedictine (Cleveland) 6-1 and shutting out Berkshire (Burton) on a complete game by
Tim Faix. Wet weather has prevented Walsh Jesuit from playing several of its scheduled games so far this season.
Tim Faix feature story.
5. (8) Flanagan (Pembroke Pines, Fla.), 18-2
The Falcons ended 12 days of inactivity with a 5-1 win over Coral Springs Charter.
Mike Emigh picked up the win, striking out seven.
Andres Sanchez and
Zack Collins each hit home runs. Sanchez has 14 home runs on the year. The Falcons knocked off Pembroke Pines Charter 7-0.
6. (9) Sierra Vista (Las Vegas), 26-0
The Mountain Lions were impressive in the Durango Classic last week, outscoring opponents 63-5 in six tournament games. Sierra Vista defeated Carson (Calif.) 14-2, Horizon (San Diego), 14-0, San Fernando (Calif.), 3-1, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, Calif.), 6-2, Liberty (Henderson) 12-0 and Verdugo Hills (Tujunga, Calif.), 14-0.
Blair Goldsack had a no-hitter in the championship game against Liberty, striking out six in the five-inning contest.
7. (11) Madison Central (Miss.), 26-1
The Jaguars picked up two big wins, knocking off traditional Mississippi powers Oak Grove, 8-5, and Sumrall, 8-7.
Connor Goodspeed and
Zach Irwin both homered against Oak Grove while
Brock Hunt and
Stanford Parks both had home runs in the Sumrall win.
8. (12) Tupelo (Miss.), 24-1
The Golden Wave concluded its regular season with a 17-3 win over Columbus on April 19. Tupelo received a bye in the first round of the Mississippi 6A state playoffs and will face Grenada in the second round.
Rio Ruiz, Bishop Amat
Photo by Heston Quan
The Lancers won their 20th straight game with a 12-1 victory over Esperanza in the finals of the National Classic.
Wallace Gonzalez was the tournament MVP as he went 4-for-4 with a home run in an 11-3 win over previous No. 2 St. Francis in the second round of the tournament. Bishop Amat also edged El Capitan 2-1 in the semifinals and edged Cypress (ranked No. 1 in Division 2 in the Southern Section of California), 1-0 in the first round. The Lancers also got in an 11-1 win over Camarillo on Saturday.
10. (1) Edison (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 18-2
The Chargers lost their second game of the season, falling to Poway in pool play at the San Diego Lions Tournament. Edison defeated Otay Ranch 7-2, Green Valley (Henderson, Nev.), 5-4 and Point Loma (San Diego), 3-2.
11. (6) Broken Arrow (Okla.), 25-2
The Tigers lost for just the second time this year, falling to Santa Fe (Edmond, Okla.), 6-5. Broken Arrow also topped Page (Sand Springs) 9-1, and Enid, 20-1. The Tigers saw their 20-game win streak end on a solo home run in the top of the seventh inning against Santa Fe.
Archie Bradley took the loss in relief, his first of the season against eight wins.
Tyler McKinzie had a grand slam and a two-run homer in the win over Enid.
12. (17) Wayne County (Jesup, Ga.), 22-0
The Yellow Jackets took a pair from Evans, winning 13-3 and 7-2 in the first round of the Region 2-AAAA playoffs.
13. (24) South County (Lorton, Va.), 12-0
South County continues to win big, capturing five games at the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Stallions defeated Fairmont (W.V.) 18-4 last week, along with Conway (S.C.), 16-0. Also picked up wins over Proctor (Utica, N.Y.), 10-4, and Myrtle Beach (S.C.), 4-2.
14. (NR) Nova (Davie, Fla.), 20-2
A strong pitching staff has Nova ranked No. 2 in Broward County behind Flanagan. Earlier this year, Nova strung together streaks of seven and five straight shutouts.
15. (15) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 21-2
The Bears won four games in the Fresno East Baseball Classic, topping Madera 11-9, Stockdale (Bakersfield) 3-0, Hanford West 3-2 and Liberty (Bakersfield), 12-0. The Bears were not eligible to compete for the championship based on a tiebreaker that pitted Clovis and Central (Fresno) in the finals.
16. (NR) Grand Street Campus (Brooklyn, N.Y.), 7-0
The Wolves were impressive in winning the Monroe Tournament over the weekend, defeating Bryant 11-1 in the championship game. The Wolves also shut out defending PSAL champion Tottenville and knocked off Queens powerhouse John Adams en route to the finals.
17. (NR) Maize (Kan.), 9-0
The Knights are off to a strong start with nine straight wins. They are ranked No. 1 in Kansas and have won by at least 10 runs in eight of the first nine games.
18. (NR) Mundelein (Ill.), 15-0
With Providence Catholic's loss last week, Mundelein takes over as the No. 1 in the Chicago Sun Times rankings. The Mustangs played twice last week, defeating Warren (Gurnee) 9-1 and Prairie Ridge (Crystal Lake), 11-1.
19. (NR) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 17-2
The Dons captured first place in the San Diego Lions Tournament with a 6-5 win over La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad). Cathedral Catholic also defeated Elk Grove, 7-5, Rancho Bernardo, 2-1, and Temecula Valley, 3-1.
20. (10) Spanish Fork (Utah), 15-2
The Dons took two from Payson last week, winning 6-0 and 11-0.
Kayden Porter had 14 strikeouts in the 6-0 win while
Hayden Nelson pitched a perfect game with 11 strikeouts in the second game.
21. (NR) Ardrey Kell (Charlotte, N.C.), 21-1
Ranked No. 1 in North Carolina, the Knights won three times last week with a pair of wins over Charlotte Christian, 3-2 and 12-5, and a 4-3 win over Providence Day.
22. (16) The Woodlands (Texas), 23-4-2
The Highlanders went 1-1 in district play last week, defeating Oak Ridge 13-1 and falling to Kingwood 2-1.
Lance Miles and
Elliot Richoux both homered in the win over Oak Ridge.
Bryan Brickhouse suffered the loss against Kingwood, despite giving up just three hits and striking out 13.
23. (18) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 22-3
The Mavericks defeated Somerset Academy 13-0 and St. Thomas Aquinas 11-1 with
Chris Thompson going 3-for-3 with three RBIs in the win over the Raiders.
24. (22) Pace (Fla.), 21-4
The Patriots fell to Crestview 6-3 last week, but they bounced back to top Chiles (Tallahassee) 13-0 in the final game of the regular season. Pace begins District 1-5A play this week as the No. 1 seed.
25. (NR) Catholic (Baton Rouge, La.), 27-3
The Bears continue to hold down the No. 1 ranking in Louisiana. Last week avenged an earlier loss to Live Oak (Watson) with a 10-0 win.
Dropped: No. 2 St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.), No. 13 Tottenville (Staten Island, N.Y.), No. 14 Providence Catholic (New Lenox, Ill.), No. 19 Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), No. 20 Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), No. 21 Pensacola Catholic (Fla.), No. 23 Franklin (El Paso, Texas), No. 25 Papillion-LaVista South (Papillion, Neb.).
