High School Baseball Notebook
April 1, 2008

By Jeff Simpson

Crespi Rolls To National Classic Title

Southern California played host last week to the most anticipated event of the 2008 high school season: the 19^th annual Anderson Bat National Classic.

Crespi High of Encino, Calif., outlasted a strong 16-team field to take home the title. The Celts (10-3), who lost in the final in 2004, rose to No. 16 in the PG Crosschecker top 50 high school rankings by winning four straight games, including three against Top 50 schools. They defeated No. 4 Jupiter (Fla.) High (15-2) and No. 12 St. John’s College Prep (5-2) of Washington, D.C., before knocking off heavily favored and No. 7-ranked Orange Lutheran High of Orange, Calif., 7-2 in the final, played at Cal State Fullerton.

Orange Lutheran (12-2) had scored 40 runs in winning its first three games, but had trouble solving Crespi sidearming righthander E.C. McSweeney, who worked the first five innings. He kept Orange Lutheran off balance throughout, striking out four and allowing just a single run.

More than anything, Orange Lutheran’s defense led it down in the final game as it committed five errors in the first three innings. But its pitching staff, led by a talented starting trio of righthanders Gerrit Cole (2-1, 0.61; 23 IP, 41 K) and Brandon Maurer (5-0, 1.06), and lefthander Aaron Gates (4-1, 1.64), also ran out of gas towards the end of the event and Crespi took full advantage. Gates, a Pepperdine recruit, was the loser in the final.

While the National Classic resulted in an all-California final, teams from several other states participated. One of the more interesting teams was Calvert Hall High of Towson, Md., which went 33-0 in 2007, won its first two games this season and was ranked No. 1 by Baseball America entering the tournament. The Cardinals were also at No. 21 in the PG Crosschecker rankings, but dropped out of the top 50 altogether after an unimpressive week. They were overmatched in their first three games and nearly went winless before pulling out their final game of the tournament against West Linn (Ore.) High.

St. John’s College Prep and No. 30 James River High of Midlothian, Va., two other teams from the Mid-Atlantic region, both went a respectable 2-2 at the event.

With a 4-9 record entering the National Classic, Seminole Ridge High out of Loxahatchee, Fla., was anything but a pre-tournament favorite. But the Hawks went 3-1 overall, losing only to Orange Lutheran 16-11 in the semifinals. It defeated St. John’s College Prep in the consolation final, as well as No. 29 Aptos (Calif.) High and El Dorado High of Placentia, Calif., earlier in the tournament.

In another big high school tournament with national implications played in nearby Anaheim, No. 32 Mater Dei High of Santa Ana, Calif., won five straight games en route to the Anaheim Lions Tournament championship.

The Monarchs knocked off four California schools, Capistrano Valley High, Temescal Canyon High, Katella High, Cypress High and eventually Valencia High, 8-5, in the championship game. While already one of the top teams in Southern California this year, Mater Dei is loaded with underclassmen and is primed to be a Top 10 team nationally next year. No. 18 Woodrow Wilson High, Lakewood High and Thousand Oaks High were a few of the many top programs from California that competed in this year’s Anaheim Lions Tournament.

American Heritage Still No. 1

Florida’s American Heritage High (16-1) was ranked No. 1 by PG Crosschecker to start the 2008 season and continued as the No. 1 team entering April. The Patriots high-powered offense had hit a staggering 42 home runs already this year, led by senior first baseman Eric Hosmer (.512-7-15), senior outfielder Joey Belviso (.511-10-23) and junior shortstop Devin Marrero. (.509-6-25). The trio of lefthander Ryan Kahn (4-0, 0.88), and righthanders Juan Carlos Sulbaran (6-0, 1.58) and Gregory Conver (3-1, 1.59) has led the way on the mound.

Despite dropping the championship game of its own Easter Tournament to Newbury Park (Calif.) High 8-7, Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas maintained its spot at No. 2 in the PG Crosschecker Top 50.

Bishop Gorman (17-1) previously handled the competition with ease at the Cleats Invitational in Scottsdale, Ariz., and has been manhandling its competition all year. Through 18 games, the Gaels had outscored their opponents by a combined 200-55. Juniors Jeff Malm (.582-4-31) and Joey Rickard (.537-6-25) are pacing the Gaels’ high-powered offense. On the mound, Arizona-bound righthander Donn Roach (3-0, 1.07) and Paul Sewald (3-0, 2.86) have joined with Malm (2-1, 2.14) and Rickard (4-0, 2.38) to give the Gaels one of the deeper pitching staffs in the country.

Another Florida school, H.B. Plant High of Tampa, maintained its position at No. 3. Junior phenom Mychal Givens (6-0, 0.48), a top prospect as both a pitcher and shortstop, and senior righthander David Bergin (6-1, 1.91) have led the Panther pitching staff so far this year. At the plate, senior outfielder/first baseman Preston Tucker (.431-7-36) and senior catcher Jared Womack (.543-4-27) have led a Panthers offense that had outscored their opponents 178-37 on the year.

Florida Title Up For Grabs

The race for the state 6-A title should be a very interesting one in Florida this year with five teams in the top 28 spots in the PG Crosschecker rankings. Leading the way is No. 4-ranked Jupiter High, which moved up in the rankings despite dropping a game at the National Classic to eventual champion Crespi High 9-6.

Two schools from the Orlando area, No. 8-ranked Lake Brantley High (15-1) and No. 14-ranked Winter Springs High (13-2), have both started strong. Senior righthander Bryan Brown (4-0, 0.00) had yet to allow an earned run this year in 32 innings of work for Winter Springs. He joins with fellow another Central Florida recruit, righthander Anthony Figliolia (5-1, 0.48), to lead a pitching staff that has posted a team ERA of 0.48.

In the Tampa Bay area, two perennial powers, No. 22 Alonso High and defending state champion and No. 28 Sarasota High, are looking strong in their bid for a championship. Senior lefthander Alex Panteliodis (7-0, 1.30) has been the top starter for the Alonso pitching staff in the early going.

In the Florida 5-A ranks, No. 37 Tampa Jesuit High (17-2) was off to a very strong start and is the only school to put a blemish on Plant’s record so far this year.

No. 1 American Heritage is a 3-A school.

Around the Country

Just about every state will have started the 2008 high school season by this time next week. The highest-ranked team that was waiting the season as March turned to April is ninth-ranked Don Bosco Prep of Ramsey, N.J., which kicked off its season April 1.