Bishop Gorman Moves To No. 1

Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas, No. 2 since the start of the season, has taken over the top spot in the PG Crosschecker top 50 high school rankings. The Gaels, winners of 26 of their first 27 games, supplanted Florida’s American Heritage High, which had held the No. 1 spot from the outset before dropping its second game of the season.

To say the Gaels have dominated their competition this year is an understatement. With a team batting average of .432 and a team ERA of 2.22, no team in the country has been able to match the Gaels dominance at the plate and on the mound.

Two juniors—USC-bound first baseman/lefthander Jeff Malm (.573-6-50) and outfielder/lefthander Joey Rickard (.561-7-32, 22 SB)—lead the offensive attack for the Gaels. With 56, Rickard leads the nation in runs scored, according to the Max Preps website. Several other players are also making big contributions at the plate, including sophomore catcher Neil Lawhorn (.482-3-28), senior first baseman Brandon Garcia (.438-8-38) and senior catcher John Rickard (.417-7-38). The Gaels are averaging more than 12 runs a game and dismantled its strong crosstown rival Durango High 24-4 on April 14.

While offense has been a major part of the team’s success, the Gaels pitching staff has been a big factor as well. Led by Arizona-bound righthander Donn Roach (6-0, 1.45), the Gaels feature one of the best and deepest pitching staffs in the country. About 30 scouts saw Roach’s most recent start, when his fastball was clocked in the 94-95 mph range. Bishop Gorman, whose team remains largely intact from the squad that participated in last year’s American Legion World Series, has also gotten reliable pitching performances from senior righthander Paul Sewald (4-0, 2.43), along with Malm (3-1, 2.24) and Joey Rickard (6-0, 2.33).

Unbeaten Owasso Surges To No. 2

Perennial Oklahoma power Owasso High, winners of its first 22 games, moved into the No. 2 spot in the country in the latest PG Crosschecker rankings. Senior lefthander Brian Flynn (6-0, 0.46, 46 IP/87 SO) has been dominant in the early going, averaging nearly two strikeouts per inning. At the plate, the Rams have been led by senior infielder James Stanfield (.471-9-37) and two-way standout Austin Kirk (.462-2-15; 4-0, 1.08).

After a disappointing 2007 season that was marred by several key injuries, No. 3 Lake Brantley High (21-1) looks like it may be the team to beat in the Florida 6-A ranks. The Patriots, featuring senior first baseman/righthander D.J. Hicks and senior righthander Greg Larson, both potential Top 10 round picks in this year’s draft, and top junior shortstop Nick Franklin, have cruised almost unscathed through the competition in a very strong year for the Greater Orlando area.

Preseason No. 1 American Heritage High (21-2) dropped its second close game of the season at the National Grand Slam tournament to perennial power Palm Beach Central High, 4-3. Even with another loss, the powerful Patriots still have to be considered a favorite to finish No. 1 overall at year’s end. Senior outfielder Joey Belviso (.542-13-31) continues to pile up big numbers for the Patriots, while senior first baseman Eric Hosmer (.492-9-19) and junior shortstop Deven Marrero (.493-8-30) are right on his heels for a team that is averaging more than 10 runs a game. A trio of seniors leads the way on the mound for the Patriots: lefthander Ryan Kahn (6-0, 0.83), and righthanders Gregory Conver (5-1, 1.13) and Juan Carlos Sulbaran (7-0, 1.56).

Fifth-ranked Moody High (23-2) of Corpus Christi, Texas, continues to roll through its competition and is the favorite to win the state 4-A championship but will most likely run into crosstown rival Calallen High (28-1) on its way to the state final in Round Rock. A three-game series between the two Corpus Christi schools last year saw more than 17,000 fans pack into Whataburger Field, home of the town’s Double-A franchise.

Florida Heating Up

There were plenty of changes in the latest Top 50 rankings, just in terms of Florida schools. Five schools, including Lake Brantley, are ranked from the 6-A classification alone.

Defending 6-A champion and 14^th-ranked Sarasota High and No. 45 Jupiter High (17-4) have been considered the favorites for the better part of the year. The notable newcomer is No. 24 Park Vista High (23-1), which had run off 22 straight wins after dropping its second game of the season. No. 40 Alonso High, led by senior lefthander Alex Panteliodis (8-1, 1.89), looks like the 6-A team to beat this year out of the Tampa area.

Tampa’s H.B. Plant High (21-2), meanwhile, dropped four spots to No. 7 after a 4-2 loss to Brandon High April 9. Despite the loss, the Panthers are a clear favorite in the race for the state 5-A championship. Offensively, outfielder Preston Tucker (.468-8-42) and catcher Jared Womack (.519-4-32), both seniors, lead the charge offensively while junior phenom Mychal Givens (7-0, 1.03) is getting it done on the mound for the Panthers.

The race for the Florida 3-A state title should be an interesting one. Aside from American Heritage, No. 16 Clearwater Central Catholic High (19-2) continues to roll through its competition. Senior righthander Ryan Weber, a veteran of international competition with Team USA’s national youth and junior squads, may be one of the few pitchers in the country who has the stuff to slow down the powerful American Heritage lineup.

Prospect-Rich California

A number of potential first-round picks in this year’s draft lead the top-ranked teams from California.

Sixth-ranked Orange Lutheran High (16-2), led by righthander Gerrit Cole, continues to be the top team in the state. The trio of Cole (5-1, 0.57; .345-6-21), righthander Brandon Maurer (6-0, 0.90) and lefthander Aaron Gates (5-1, 1.65) gives the Lancers arguably the best three-man pitching staff in the country.

No. 13 Woodrow Wilson High (17-3-1) stumbled a little leading up to the last national ranking, but seems to have righted the ship with a series of wins in the first two weeks of April. Senior outfielder Aaron Hicks (.490, 25 SB), a possible first-rounder, and senior infielder Zach Wilson (.507-3-24) pace a Bruins offense that plays in one of the toughest hitting parks in the country in Blair Field in Long Beach.

Another potential first-round pick, catcher Kyle Skipworth (.621-8-31), almost singlehandedly led his 34^th-ranked Patriot High team (17-1) into the rankings. Earlier this month, Skipworth broke the California state high school record of 18 consecutive hits, while reaching base 24 straight times. Skipworth and teammate Matt Lollis (.538-5-33) have been key cogs in a Warriors offense that is hitting .385 as a team and averaging more than nine runs per game.

Around the Country

The race for the Texas 5-A championship should be an interesting one, as usual. Several new teams moved into the rankings this week, including No. 15 Plano West High (25-0), No. 29 Rowlett High (22-2) and No. 46 Katy High (20-5). A total of eight Texas 5-A teams are currently ranked in the Top 50 with No. 12 Atascocita High (24-2) leading the way. Preseason favorites Cy-Fair High and Georgetown High both fell out of the top 50 this week.

In Georgia, No. 11 Brookwood High (16-1) has continued to cruise in the regular season and looks like the favorite for the state 5-A title. Walton High, the defending 5-A champion, continued its season-long struggle and dropped out of the rankings after starting the season at No. 10. One of Walton’s chief rivals, No. 17 Kell High (13-2-1), continues to cruise after dropping two games early in the season. Another area school, No. 31 Harrison High (17-1), entered the rankings this week. After starting the year 15-0, the Hoyas finally fell to defending 5-A runner-up Kennesaw Mountain, 6-2, on April 3. Preseason No. 59 Lassiter High (12-6) looked to be down and out early when it started the season 4-6, but had since run off eight straight wins, including victories over Marietta rivals Kell High and Walton High in conference play.

Virginia’s No. 16 Paul VI Catholic High stretched its winning streak to 16 after knocking off preseason No. 6 St. John’s College Prep of Washington, D.C., 5-4, on April 12. The Panthers are favored to win their second VISAA Division I state championship since 2004.

No. 25 Malvern Prep of Malvern, Pa., cruised to a 20-0 record to start the year. Headlined by a strong group of juniors, Malvern will get a chance to solidify its status in the Top 25 with two big games this week against Pennsylvania’s Germantown Academy and Maryland’s Calvert Hall, two of the nation’s top private schools.

--JEFF SIMPSON