Preseason No. 1 goes down in third game of the season, six new teams enter the rankings.
By Kevin Askeland February 28, 2023, 9:00am. – There will not be a wire-to-wire national high school baseball champion after Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.) rallied for eight runs in the fifth and sixth innings to hand preseason No. 1 Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.) its first loss of the season.
Last year, St. Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.) was the preseason No. 1 team in the MaxPreps Top 25 and it never moved from that spot in capturing the national championship. Parkview lasted two weeks at No. 1 before falling to Jesuit on Friday. Parkview drops to No. 10 with the loss while Jesuit moves from No. 9 to No. 7.
JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) takes over the top spot in the MaxPreps Top 25 after opening its season with a pair of wins over teams from Arizona. The Lions opened the season with a 9-0 win over Chaparral (Scottsdale), a team that defeated Trinity League rival Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.) 10-7 at the First Look Showdown.
A total of six teams dropped out of the rankings this week with four Texas teams moving in. All four teams – Hebron (Carrollton), Prosper, Cypress Woods (Cypress) and Katy – all opened the season with 6-0 records. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) returned to the rankings while two-time Florida state champion North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek) also moved in.
Dropped out: No. 6 West Monroe (La.); No. 12 Doral Academy (Doral, Fla.); No. 14 Southlake Carroll (Southlake, Texas), No. 16 Hartselle (Ala.); No. 18 Auburn (Ala.); No. 25 Madison-Ridgeland Academy (Madison, Miss.)
Game of the Week: Jesuit 8, Parkview 3. The Tigers scored three runs in the fifth inning to tie the game at 3-3 and then added five more runs in the sixth to gain the lead over the No. 1-ranked team in the country. Three runs in the sixth came on a pair of walks with the bases loaded and a hit batsman with the bases loaded.
Player of the Week: Blake Mitchell, Sinton (Texas). The MaxPreps Preseason All-American got off to a strong start with two home runs, seven runs scored and eight RBI.
Correction: IMG Academy was incorrectly dropped from last week’s rankings after results for its post-grad team appeared on the high school team’s MaxPreps schedule. With the error corrected, IMG Academy moved back into the rankings at its previous slot in the rankings and actually moved up to No. 4 with a pair of shutout wins.
Game to watch: Doral Academy vs. Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.). For the second straight week, Doral Academy meets up with a reigning state champion when it takes on Stoneman Douglas, last year’s Class 7A champion, Tuesday. Doral Academy defeated Miami Christian (Miami), last year’s 2A champion, last week but lost to Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) and dropped from the rankings.
Streaks: Sinton won four games last week to raise its win streak to 35 games in a row, which would be tied for sixth with Bellevue Christian (Clyde Hill, Wash.) for the longest active win streak in the nation. Rosepine (La.), which opened the season with a 31-game win streak, saw its streak end with a loss in its season opener.
In a 10-1 win over Campo Verde of Arizona, Matthew Champion struck out seven batters for new No. 1 JSerra Catholic. (Photo: Jack Beasley)
MaxPreps Top 25 baseball rankings
1. (2) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.)
Record: 2-0
Scores: Def. Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 9-0; def. Campo Verde (Ariz.), 10-1
Hitter of the week: Trent Caraway had a pair of home runs, two runs scored and three RBI against Campo Verde.
Pitcher of the week: Matthew Champion struck out seven in three and two-thirds innings and did not give up an earned run against Campo Verde.
Next: Wednesday vs. Cypress
2. (3) Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.)
Record: 3-0
Scores: Def. Brooks DeBartolo Collegiate (Tampa), 20-1; def. Tampa Catholic, 4-2; def. Palmetto, 7-1
Hitter of the week: Landen Maroudis batted 3-for-7 with two runs, three RBI and a pair of home runs in the three wins. Both home runs came against Palmetto.
Pitcher of the week: Hunter Dietz got the win against Tampa Catholic, giving up two runs on one hit with seven strikeouts in five innings.
Next: Tuesday vs. Alonso
3. (4) St. Mary’s Prep (Orchard Lake, Mich.)
Record: 0-0
Next: March 27 vs. Howell
4. (NR) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.)
Record: 2-0
Scores: Def. Palm Harbor, 5-0; def. George Jenkins, 1-0
Hitter of the week: Tayshaun Walton went 1-for-3 with a triple against Palm Harbor and then went 2-for-3 with an RBI against George Jenkins.
Pitcher of the week: Jaewoo Cho gave up just two hits over five innings and allowed no runs with 10 strikeouts in the win over George Jenkins.
Next: Thursday vs. Ocean Springs (Miss.)
5. (7) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.)
Record: 5-0
Scores: Def. Benton, 10-0; def. Airline (Bossier City), 10-0; def. Glenbrook (Minden), 11-1; def. Calvary Baptist Academy (Shreveport), 7-2
Hitter of the week: J.C. Vanek was 2-for-4 with a home run and four RBI against Glenbrook.
Pitcher of the week: Landon Victorian struck out 12 and allowed one earned run on three hits against Glenbrook.
Next: Tuesday vs. Glenmora
6. (8) Villa Park (Calif.)
Record: 4-0
Scores: Def. Downey, 18-7; def. Fullerton, 4-3
Hitter of the week: Andrew Grove batted in six runs against Downey, going 3-for-5 with a double and a home run and two runs scored.
Pitcher of the week: Mason Miles struck out five and got the win against Downey.
Next: Wednesday vs. Canyon (Anaheim)
7. (9) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.)
Record: 3-0
Scores: Def. River Ridge (New Port Richey, Fla.), 7-0; def. Lowndes (Valdosta, Ga.), 11-1; def. Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 8-3
Hitter of the week: Wes Mendes had a big week, going 6-for-9 with three runs, a double and six RBI in three games.
Pitcher of the week: Brooks Chamberlin picked up a win over Lowndes and struck out seven batters in five innings.
Next: Tuesday vs. Mitchell (New Port Richey)
8. (10) Sinton (Texas)
Record: 4-0
Scores: Def. Robstown, 6-3; def. Jasper, 7-1; def. Canyon Lake (Fischer), 6-1; def. Goliad, 13-1
Hitter of the week: All-American Blake Mitchell got off to an explosive start by batting 4-for-6 in four games with seven runs, eight RBI, one double, two home runs and five walks in four games.
Pitcher of the week: Braeden Brown picked up a win over Jasper, striking out 10 and not allowing an earned run.
Next: Thursday vs. La Joya
9. (11) Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.)
Record: 3-0
Scores: Def. Coral Springs Charter, 7-0; def. West Broward, 10-0; def. Taravella, 11-1
Hitter of the week: Niko Benestad went 4-for-8 with two runs, an RBI and two doubles in the three wins.
Pitcher of the week: Jayden Dubanewicz struck out six and got the win over Coral Springs Charter.
Next: Tuesday vs. Doral Academy
10. (1) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.)
Record: 2-1
Scores: Def. Neumann (Naples, Fla.), 10-0; lost to Jesuit (Tampa), 8-3
Hitter of the week: Garrett Lambert was 2-for-2 with two runs, two RBI and a double against Neumann.
Pitcher of the week: Landon Stripling got the win against Neumann, striking out five and walking none with no runs allowed.
Next: Thursday vs. Ariton (Ala.)
11. (13) Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio)
Record: 0-0
Next: March 25 vs. Strongsville
12. (15) Edwardsville (Ill.)
Record: 0-0
Next: Today vs. Sacred Heart-Griffin
13. (19) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.)
Record: 0-0
Next: Tuesday vs. Berkeley
14. (20) Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, N.J.)
Record: 0-0
Next: Season begins in April
15. (21) Jackson Prep (Jackson, Miss.)
Record: 4-0
Scores: Def. Bayou Academy (Cleveland), 13-1; def. Tupelo, 9-3
Hitter of the week: Duncan Mathews was 3-for-3 against Tupelo and wetn 2-for-2 with a double, a home run and two RBI against Bayou Academy.
Pitcher of the week: Konnor Griffin got the win over Bayou Academy, going two and two-thirds innings with one hit, no runs and five strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Warren Central (Vicksburg)
16. (17) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.)
Record: 5-1-1
Scores: Tied Gahr (Cerritos), 4-4; def. Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 12-5; def. Canyon View (Waddell, Ariz.), 4-2; lost to Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 10-7
Hitter of the week: Josiah Hartshorn had a double and a home run against Canyon View and he went 2-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI against Hamilton.
Pitcher of the week: Evan Miranda struck out eight batters and got the win over Hamilton.
Next: March 6 vs. Santa Margarita
17. (5) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.)
Record: 4-1
Scores: Def. Hoover (Ala.), 7-6; lost to Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 12-5; def. El Dorado (Placentia, Calif.), 6-0; def. Bishop Verot (Fort Myers, Fla.), 5-4; def. Tolleson, 11-2.
Hitter of the week: Zach Wadas went 2-for-4 with two RBI and a walk-off double in the win over Bishop Verot. He also had a double against El Dorado.
Pitcher of the week: Rohan Lettow tossed a seven-inning perfect game with seven strikeouts against El Dorado.
Next: Wed. vs. Desert Ridge.
18. (22) Basic (Henderson, Nev.)
Record: 0-0
Next: March 3 vs. Durango (Las Vegas)
19. (23) Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge, La.)
Record: 4-0
Scores: Def. Thibodaux, 4-0; def. Denham Springs, 11-1; def. Ponchatoula, 10-0
Hitter of the week: Clayton Pourciau went 3-for-3 with two doubles against Denham Springs. He also went 2-for-3 with two RBI against Ponchatoula.
Pitcher of the week: Grant Breaux picked up the win over Ponchatoula, giving up no runs on one hit over five innings with five strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. St. Michael
20. (24) Houston County (Warner Robins, Ga.)
Record: 6-0
Scores: Def. Warner Robins, 22-3; def. Jones County (Gray), 10-0; def. Perry, 3-0
Hitter of the week: Andrew Dunford hit a pair of home runs during the week and also went 7-for-10 with six runs and six RBI.
Pitcher of the week: Carson Small picked up the win over Jones County, striking out 11 and giving up no runs on two hits.
Next: Thursday vs. Helena (Ala.)
21. (NR) Hebron (Carrollton, Texas)
Record: 6-0
Scores: Def. Byron Nelson, 6-0; def. Denton Guyer, 1-0; def. Lone Star (Frisco), 7-2; def. Reedy (Frisco), 4-2; def. The Colony, 7-3; def. Northwest Eaton, 7-2
Hitter of the week: Aden Howard had a home run in the season opener against Denton Guyer and added a double against Northwest Eaton.
Pitcher of the week: Will Patterson threw four innings of a no-hitter with Garner Rice in a 1-0 win over Guyer (Denton). He struck out six in the win. Hebron also had combined no-hitters against Byron Nelson and Lone Star.
Next: Thursday vs. Clear Brook
22. (NR) Prosper (Texas)
Record: 6-0
Scores: Def. Permian, 6-5; def. Lovejoy, 6-3; def. Highland Park, 9-1; def. Vista Ridge (Cedar Park), 9-4; def. Denison, 12-0; def. Southlake Carroll, 5-4
Next: Thursday vs. Edmond Santa Fe (Okla.)
23. (NR) North Broward Prep (Coconut Creek, Fla.)
Record: 3-0
Scores: Def. American Heritage (Delray Beach), 9-5; def. Monsignor Pace (Miami), 6-5; def. ABF Academy, 4-2
Hitter of the week: Nathanael Coupet went 5-for-10 with three RBI and two doubles in the three wins.
Pitcher of the week: Mateo Gray went three innings against Monsignor Pace and struck out four batters while giving up no runs on no hits.
Next: Friday at Perfect Game Showdown
24. (NR) Katy (Texas)Record: 6-0
Scores: Def. Lamar (Houston), 12-2; def. Reagan (San Antonio), 3-0; def. Fort Bend Travis (Richmond), 11-0; def. Tivy (Kerrville), 3-1; def. St. Thomas More (Lafayette, La.), 6-1; def. Ridge Point (Missouri City), 9-2
Hitter of the week: Brady Englett went 8-for-18 during Katy’s first six games with a double, a triple and a home run.
Pitcher of the week: Connor Udland picked up the win over Fort Bend Travis, giving up no runs on two hits with seven strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Tompkins
25. (NR) Cypress Woods (Cypress, Texas)
Record: 6-0
Scores: Def. Cypress Fair, 11-4; def. Channelview, 6-2; def. Mayde Creek, 11-0; def. Morton Ranch, 9-1; def. Fort Bend Austin, 17-1; def. Seven Lakes, 14-8
Hitter of the week: Ethan Farris went 9-for-20 in his first six games, scoring eight runs with 10 RBI, four doubles, a triple and two home runs.
Pitcher of the week: Ty Mason tossed a five-inning shutout against Mayde Creek with six strikeouts.
Next: Tuesday vs. Jersey Village1
By Kevin Askeland, MaxPreps