National High School Baseball Rankings as of
April 28, 2008 By: Jon Mahoney and
Matt
Remsberg4/29/08
A week after Owasso
(Owasso, Okla.) fell from the top spot, former No. 1 Bishop
Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) drops to No. 8 after losing
last week. That opens the door for American
Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) to take top honors in
this week's national high school baseball
rankings.
Meanwhile, Notre
Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) and Harrison
(Kennesaw, Ga.) make their Top 25 debuts.
RANK // SCHOOL // LOCATION //
RECORD // *PREVIOUS
RANK
1. American
Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) - (25-2)
*2 The Patriots edged Coral
Springs Charter, 7-6, in the District 14-3A
finals. Senior outfielder Joey Belviso's single in
the sixth plated junior infielder Eric Acevedo
with the game-winning run. American
Heritage will play Pope John Paul II in the
regional quarterfinals on
Tuesday.
2. Sarasota
(Sarasota, Fla.) - (24-2) *4 The
Sailors earned their fourth consecutive district
title by blanking Lakeland,
9-0, in the District 8-6A finals. Senior
left-hander Josh Renfro tossed a one-hitter while
junior shortstop Scooter Gennett and senior
pitcher/outfielder Joe Rapp combined to go 6-for-7
with four RBI. Defending state champion Sarasota
will take on Gaither
in the regional quarterfinals on
Tuesday.
3. Don
Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.) - (14-0)
*5 The Ironmen beat Christian
Brothers, 7-0, and Ocean Township, 3-0, at the
Shore Challenge. Senior right-hander Mike
Dennhardt pitched a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts
in the win over Christian Brothers, while senior
left-hander Eric Pfister, despite walking seven
batters, didn't allow a run and pitched a
one-hitter with 10 punchouts against Ocean
Township.
4. Brookwood
(Snellville, Ga.) - (21-1) *6 The
Broncos bested Parkview,
10-1, for their 14th consecutive win. Senior
righty Alex Beebe pitched a four-hitter, while
senior infielder Chase Hawkins went 3-for-4 with
two doubles, a homer and three RBI. Junior catcher
Ronnie Freeman also drove in
three.
5. Plano
West (Plano, Texas) - (28-0)
*7 The Wolves closed out a perfect
regular season by defeating Richardson Berkner,
6-1. Plano
West opens against South
Garland on Friday in the bi-district round of
the Class 5A state playoffs.
6. Opelika
(Opelika, Ala.) - (37-1) *9 Another
playoff round, another sweep for the Bulldogs, who
earned 9-3 and 8-6 wins over Satsuma in the second
round of the Class 6A state playoffs. Senior
right-hander Zach Blatt fanned nine in the first
game and helped his own cause by going 2-for-4
with a triple that plated three. Opelika
will play McGill-Toolen in the quarterfinals this
weekend.
7. Park
Vista (Lake Worth, Fla.) - (26-1)
*10 The Cobras, buoyed by a two-hit,
10-strikeout pitching performance from Eric Rice,
blanked Boca
Raton, 4-0, in the District 10-6A finals. Park
Vista will play Jupiter,
which was once in the National Top 25, in the
regional quarterfinals on
Tuesday.
8. Bishop
Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) - (30-2)
*1 The Gaels fell to Sierra
Vista, 7-4, as the Gorman
offense was stymied by Sierra
Vista right-hander Kiel Harmon. The Gaels
bounced back with a 9-1 victory over Rancho.
9.
Lakota
West (West Chester, Ohio) - (17-0)
*11 Junior right-hander Bryan Beaver
struck out seven in six innings and was 2-for-4
with a homer as West
edged Princeton,
10-8. Princeton
scored five runs in the
seventh.
10. Rowlett
(Rowlett, Texas) - (27-0-2) *12 The
Eagles notched an undefeated regular season with a
10-3 win over Garland Naaman Forest. Now Rowlett
turns its attention to the playoffs as the Eagles
will meet Plano
East in the bi-district round of the Class 5A
state playoffs.
11. Paul VI
Catholic (Fairfax, Va.) - (21-1)
*3 The Panthers
started the week strong with an 8-5 win over Bishop
O'Connell and a 23-0 drubbing of Bishop
McNamara. But Bishop
Ireton ended Paul VI's thoughts of a perfect
season with a 6-4 victory over the Panthers. Paul
VI looks to close out the regular season strong
with games this week against Good Counsel, St.
John's and Gonzaga.
12. Orange
Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) - (19-3)
*13 The Lancers bested Santa
Margarita, 10-4, as senior left-hander Aaron Gates
gave up just one hit and struck out six in five
innings.
13. Tupelo
(Tupelo, Miss.) - (27-3) *15 Tupelo
took two of three games from Madison Central in
the first round of the Class 5A state playoffs.
With the series tied a 1, junior right-hander Kyle
Graham delivered a strong pitching performance as
the Golden Wave clinched the series with an 8-4
win.
14. Moody
(Corpus Christi, Texas) - (27-3)
*16 The Trojans capped the regular
season with victories over Calhoun
(12-2) and Miller
(9-1).
15. Plant
(Tampa, Fla.) - (23-3) *17 Plant,
which had lost in the district semifinals the
previous two seasons, broke through on Friday by
blanking Chamberlain,
5-0, in the District 10-5A finals. Junior
shortstop/pitcher Mychal Givens pitched a
two-hitter and went 3-for-4 with two RBI. The Panthers
will play Palm
Harbor University in the regional
quarterfinals on Tuesday.
16. Los
Alamitos (Los Alamitos, Calif.) - (20-3)
*20 The Griffins dispatched of Edison,
6-1, thanks in large part to senior outfielder
Matt Avery, who hit two homers and drove in
five.
17. Seminole
(Seminole, Fla.) - (25-1) *21 The
Warhawks beat Northeast,
4-2, in the District 11-5A finals. Sophomore
right-hander Tim Lamoureux fanned 11 in the win.
Seminole
will play North
Port in the regional quarterfinals on
Tuesday.
18. Farragut
(Knoxville, Tenn.) - (30-2) *8 After
winning their first 26 games, the Admirals went
4-2 last week, losing to William
Blount, 3-2, and Pigeon Forge,
5-3. Farragut
closed out the week with a 12-2 win over ScienceHill.
Junior Curt Powell hit a grand slam in the
win.
19. Clearwater
Central Catholic (Clearwater, Fla.) - (25-2)
*22 Senior right-hander Ryan Weber
scattered six hits in a 5-1 win over Tampa
Catholic in the District 11-3A finals.
Defending state champ CCC begins its title defense
against Cardinal
Mooney in the regional quarterfinals on
Tuesday.
20. Lake
Orion (Lake Orion, Mich.) - (13-0)
*23 The Dragons tallied five more wins
last week, outscoring their opponents
57-8.
21. Owasso
(Owasso, Okla.) - (28-3) *14 The Rams
lost to Bishop
Kelley, 7-4, in the regular season finale. Kelley
scored all of its runs in the sixth and seventh
innings. Owasso
junior Austin Kirk had a three-run
double.
22. Crespi
(Encino, Calif.) - (18-5) *24 Crespi
shut out St.
Francis, 6-0, as senior pitcher E.C. McSweeney
tossed a four-hit gem.
23. Reagan
(San Antonio, Texas) - (29-2) *25 The
Rattlers completed the regular season by edging Judson,
2-1. Reagan
scored both runs in the sixth inning and held off
a Judson
rally in the seventh.
24. Notre
Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) - (20-2)
*NR The Knights continue to find ways
to win. In a 7-6 victory over Alemany,
senior left-handed pitcher/first baseman Nik
Rodarte's bases loaded double in the bottom of the
seventh drove in three runs, including the
game-winner. Alemany
held a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the
seventh.
25. Harrison
(Kennesaw, Ga.) - (22-1) *NR Since
losing to Kennesaw
Mountain on April 3, the Hoyas have rolled to
seven consecutive victories, including a 9-3 win
against Kennesaw
Mountain last Tuesday.
Dropped
Out:
No. 18 Lake
Brantley (Altamonte Springs, Fla.) -
(24-3) Lake
Brantley was edged by Oviedo,
3-2, in the district playoffs. The Patriots will
now play Boone in the Class 6A regional
quarterfinals on Tuesday.
No. 19 Socorro
(El Paso, Texas) - (29-2) Socorro
ended the regular season with an 8-7 loss to Montwood.