Video: Top 25 national baseball rankings Season coming to conclusion as handful of team in race for National Championship.
Argyle (Texas) won the Class 4A state championship in Texas over the weekend and strengthened its case for a second straight MaxPreps National No. 1 ranking.
Ironically, it is Argyle's one loss of the season that probably sealed its fate as the No. 1 team in the nation. After Argyle dropped La Vernia 16-0 in the semifinals and Sweeny 6-3 in the Class 4A championship game, all that was left was to see how Carroll (Southlake, Texas) might do in the Class 6A playoffs.
Carroll defeated Argyle 11-1 in an early March tournament in the Dallas area. Argyle went 5-1 at the tournament, defeating five other Class 6A teams, but fell to the Dragons. At the time, the loss to Carroll was seen as a "bad" loss for the Eagles. Although Carroll was the defending state champion, it was only 7-8 at the time of the win over Argyle. The victory also had ended Argyle's 50 game unbeaten streak.
However, after Carroll knocked off Lake Travis on Thursday and routed Ridge Point 17-0 on Saturday, Argyle's loss to the Dragons looked much better.
As a result, Argyle has a 77-1-1 record over the past two seasons with the only loss coming against a two-time Class 6A state champion. They outscored their opponents 113-10 in the postseason this year and had 13 shutouts during the season. Argyle also posted three no-hitters during the playoffs.
Argyle recently had 14 players named first or second team all-district with Preston King earning MVP honors, Chad Ricker making Offensive Player of the Year, Austin King Defensive Player of the Year and Hayden Clearman Utility Player of the Year.
IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) makes a strong case for the No. 1 ranking. The Ascenders had a record six players drafted in last week's Major League Baseball Draft and won several big tournaments, including their own IMG National Classic and the Perfect Game Showdown.
The only knocks against the Ascenders are a loss to a Blessed Trinity team that lost in the Georgia Class 4A semifinals and the absence of a postseason resume. Argyle also finishes the season with 16 more wins. To its credit, IMG Academy defeated two state champions (Desert Oasis, Jesuit) and easily defeated three state runners-up (Dunedin, Doral Academy, Canterbury).
Cypress can also make a case for National No. 1 as it won one of the toughest tournaments in the nation — the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Along the way, Cypress defeated nationally ranked Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), La Mirada and Yucaipa, as well as defending Southern Section Division 1 champion Capistrano Valley. Cypress had three losses, however, to Orange Lutheran, St. John Bosco and Mira Costa.
The final MaxPreps Top 50 National Baseball Rankings will run on June 19 after the conclusion of the Indiana state baseball playoffs.
Dropped out: No. 30 St. Laurence (Burbank, Ill.), No. 47 Beechwood (Fort Mitchell, Ky.), No. 48 Rowan County (Morehead, Ky.), No. 49 Woodhaven (Brownstown, Mich.).
Player of the Week: Chad Ricker, Argyle. Ricker pitched a shutout against La Vernia and extended his no-hit innings streak to 21 in a row before giving up a base hit with one out in the first. He also went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI in the win over La Vernia.
Prospect of the Week: Anthony Volpe, Delbarton. After being drafted in the first round by the New York Yankees on Monday, Volpe struck the opening blow for Delbarton in their Non-Public A state championship game against St. Augustine Prep with a first-inning home run.
Game of the Week: Carroll 6, Lake Travis 2. The two teams were tied at 2-2 heading into the seventh inning of their Class 6A state semifinal matchup. The Dragons rapped six base hits in the top of the inning, including a two-run single by Yanluis Ortiz, to take a 6-2 lead. Luke Gornell got Lake Travis out on three straight groundouts to end the game. Carroll went on to defeat Ridge Point for its second straight Class 6A championship.
Game to Watch: Andrean vs Edgewood, Indiana Class 3A state finals. Playing the game on June 18 will allow Andrean to start Gatorade State Player of the Year Michael Doolin on the mound. Already 13-0 on the mound, Doolin threw a four-hit shutout against Yorktown in the semifinals.
Streaks: Newman Catholic (Iowa) had its win streak end at 33 games in a row, leaving Silo (Okla.) with the nation's longest win streak heading into next year at 40 in a row. Blanchard is right behind with 39 straight wins.
Top 50 High School Baseball Rankings
Brenden Dixon, Argyle
Photo by Thomas Hays
Results: Defeated La Vernia 16-0 in semifinals, defeated Sweeny 6-3 in Class 4A state championship game.
Stats: Chad Ricker threw a five-inning shutout on four hits against La Vernia. He also went 3-for-3 with a double and three RBI.
Hayden Clearman added a double and three RBI and
Preston King had a triple and two RBI.
Sean Bolin picked up the win in the second game while
Austin King and
Cade Merka each had doubles.
This week: Texas Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
2. (2) IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.), 24-1
Season complete.
3. (3) Cypress (Calif.), 31-3
California Southern Section Division 1 champions. Season complete.
4. (4) Blanchard (Okla.), 39-0
Oklahoma Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
5. (5) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 29-1
North Coast Section Division 1 champion. Season complete.
6. (6) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 38-3
Louisiana Class 5A state champions. Season complete.
7. (7) Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 38-3
Results: Defeated Corsicana 2-1 in semifinals; defeated Georgetown 14-2 in state championship game.
Stats: Bobby Witt Jr. scored both runs for the Panthers, while
Mason Greer drove in a run.
Logan Britt went 3-for-5 with a triple and five RBI,
Chandler Freeman was 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI and
Jacob Guerrero and
AJ Smith each had three hits against Georgetown.
This week: Texas Class 5A state champions. Season complete.
8. (8) DeSoto Central (Southaven, Miss.), 34-3
Mississippi Class 6A state champions. Season complete.
9. (9) Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.), 42-3
Tennessee Class AAA champion. Season complete.
10. (10) New Hanover (Wilmington, N.C.), 28-2
North Carolina Class 3A state champions. Season complete.
11. (19) Andrean (Merrillville, Ind.), 35-1
Results: Defeated South Bend 8-3. Plays Yorktown Saturday
Stats: Michael Doolin got the win, his 12th of the season, giving up three runs on five hits with nine strikeouts. Matt Lelito had a double and a home run. Doolin also pitched against Yorktown, giving up four hits and striking out nine.
This week: Edgewood on June 18 in Class 3A state championship game.
12. (11) Calvary Christian (Clearwater, Fla.), 25-4
Florida Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
13. (12) Jesuit (Tampa, Fla.), 27-5
Florida Class 6A state champion. Season complete.
14. (13) Venice (Fla.), 26-6
Florida Class 7A state champions. Season complete.
15. (14) Parkview (Lilburn, Ga.), 36-4
Georgia Class AAAAAAA state champions. Season complete.
16. (17) Valley Christian (San Jose, Calif.), 29-4
California Central Coast Section Open Division champion. Season complete.
17. (18) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 26-7
Arizona Class 6A state champion. Season complete.
18. (20) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City, Calif.), 27-6-1
Season complete.
19. (21) Notre Dame (SO) (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 24-7
Season complete.
20. (22) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 26-4
Season complete.
21. (32) Carroll (Southlake, Texas), 33-11
Results: Defeated Lake Travis 6-2 in semifinals, defeated Ridge Point 17-0 in state finals.
Stats: Yanluis Ortiz went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI against Lake Travis. Cade Manning was 3-for-4 with a double and four runs scored against Ridge Point.
This week: Texas Class 6A state champions. Season complete.
22. (15) Georgetown (Texas), 40-5-1
Results: Defeated Sharyland 8-2 in semifinals. Lost to Colleyville Heritage 14-2 in Class 5A state championship game.
Stats: Noah Thompson was 2-for-3, while
Zach Whittenton was 2-for-2 with a double and two RBI.
Ty Tilson also had two RBI against Sharyland.
This week: Season complete.
23. (16) Lake Travis (Austin, Texas), 37-5
Results: Lost to Carroll (Southlake) 6-2 in Class 6A state semifinal.
Stats: Brett Baty struck out nine in the loss.
This week: Season complete.
24. (23) Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), 36-5
Season complete.
25. (24) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 25-7
Season complete.
The Next 25
26. (25) Desert Oasis (Las Vegas), 34-7
Nevada Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
27. (26) Delbarton (Morristown, N.J.), 26-3
Results: Defeated St. Augustine Prep 4-3 in Non-Public A championship game.
Stats: Anthony Volpe hit a home run.
Shawn Rapp got the win in relief of
Jack Leiter (7 strikeouts) and also had the game-winning RBI.
This week: New Jersey Non-Public A champion. Season complete.
28. (27) Benedictine (Richmond, Va.), 28-2
VISAA Division 1 champion. Season complete.
29. (28) St. John's (Washington, DC), 30-3
WCAC champions. Season complete.
30. (29) Plant City (Fla.), 30-2
Florida Class 8A state champion. Season complete.
31. (31) La Mirada (Calif.), 26-7
Season complete.
32. (36) Yucaipa (Calif.), 26-6
Season complete.
33. (37) McGill-Toolen (Mobile, Ala.), 32-8-1
Alabama Class 7A state champions. Season complete.
34. (38) Silo (Okla.), 33-0
Oklahoma Class 2A state champions. Season complete.
35. (39) Loganville (Ga.), 35-6
Georgia Class AAAAA state champions. Season complete.
36. (33) Ridge Point (Missouri City, Texas), 32-4-1
Results: Defeated Boyd (McKinney) 5-2 in semifinals. Lost to Carroll 17-0 in state finals.
This week: Season complete.
37. (34) Boyd (McKinney, Texas), 31-15
Results: Lost to Ridge Point (Missouri City) 5-2 in Class 6A semifinals.
This week: Season complete.
38. (35) Cypress Ranch (Houston), 34-6-1
Season complete.
39. (40) Miami Springs (Fla.), 26-2
Season complete.
40. (41) American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.), 29-3
Season complete.
41. (42) Parkway (Bossier City, La.), 31-6
Season complete.
42. (43) Mountain View (Meridian, Idaho), 27-2
Idaho Class 5A state champion. Season complete.
43. (44) North Gwinnett (Suwanee, Ga.), 31-8
Season complete.
44. (45) Tattnall Square Academy (Macon, Ga.), 34-3
Georgia Class 1A Private state champion. Season complete.
45. (46) Bob Jones (Madison, Ala.), 42-10
Season complete.
46. (50) Eastlake (Chula Vista, Calif.), 26-4-1
California San Diego Open Division champion. Season complete.
47. (NR) Edwardsville (Ill.), 36-5
Results: Defeated St. Charles North 3-2 in Class 4A state championship game.
This week: Illinois Class 4A state champions. Season complete.
48. (NR) Lake Braddock (Burke, Va.), 24-3
Results: Defeated Centreville 5-4 in first round of Class 6A state tournament.
This week: James River in semifinals on Thursday.
49. (NR) Hickory (Chesapeake, Va.), 23-1
Results: Defeated Prince George 3-1 in first round of Class 5A state tournament.
This week: Stafford in semifinals on Thursday.
50. (NR) Regis Jesuit (Aurora, Colo.), 25-6
Colorado Class 5A state champion. Season complete.
