High School Baseball Notebook
April 29, 2008

By Jeff Simpson

Florida, Nevada Schools Set the Tone

The top two teams in PG Crosschecker’s Top 100 preseason high school rankings are sitting at 1-2 again in the latest prep rankings. Bishop Gorman High of Las Vegas (30-2) and American Heritage High of Planation, Fla. (25-2) hold down the top two spots, though in reverse order of their preseason ranking.

Bishop Gorman High stayed in the top spot, despite dropping an April 24 game to Sierra Vista High of Las Vegas, 7-4. The Gaels continue to roll on the strength of a potent offense led by two juniors, first baseman Jeff Malm (.573-6-57) and outfielder Joey Rickard (.552-9-39, 69 runs). As a team, the Gaels have bumped their team average to .429, while averaging more than 12 runs per game. On the mound Arizona-bound righthander Donn Roach (7-0, 1.28) continues to lead a pitching staff that has a combined 2.19 ERA.

Second-ranked American Heritage High has not lost a game since April 2 and has become a heavy favorite to win the Florida 3-A championship. The state playoffs kick off this week.

The trio of senior outfielder Joey Belviso (.529-15-34), senior first baseman Eric Hosmer (.479-10-22) and junior shortstop Deven Marrero (.483-8-34) continues to lead one of the most talented high school teams to come along in years. The Patriots are hitting .388 as a team and have hit 66 home runs on the season.

On the mound, senior lefthander Ryan Kahn (7-0, 0.67), and senior righthanders Gregory Conver (6-1, 1.00) and Juan Carlos Sulbaran (8-0, 1.60) have become a powerful starting trio, while Hosmer has been electric as a closer with a mid-90s fastball. The Patriots have a 1.49 staff ERA.

American Heritage’s biggest challenge in the Florida playoffs is expected to come from No. 11 Clearwater Central Catholic High (24-2), especially if senior righthander Ryan Weber is on the mound. Weber doesn’t have electric stuff but is a proven winner. He has been one of the most successful pitchers in USA Baseball’s national youth and junior programs at the international level over the last two or three summers.

Playoffs Open in Florida, Texas

The Florida state 6-A playoffs and the Texas state 5-A playoffs are set to begin, and a case can be made that they are the most competitive classifications in the country this year.

Five 6-A schools in Florida currently rank in PG Crosschecker’s Top 50, led by No. 5 Lake Brantley High (23-2) and defending state champion and No. 7 Sarasota High (24-2). No. 38 Jupiter High (24-5) climbed as high as No. 4 in the March 31 ranking and should be a team to watch for. A surprise entry in the 6-A chase this year is No. 14 Park Vista High (26-1), which has run off 25 straight wins, including a 3-0 victory over Jupiter High on April 8.

In Texas, 10 5-A schools currently sit in the Top 50. No. 10 Plano West High (28-0) remains undefeated and will look to run the table, a formidable task. Despite a bit of a disappointing season to date, 2007 state champion and pre-season No. 5 Cy-Fair High of Houston will be a team to watch for after recently winning its district title. Of the 10 ranked Texas 5-A schools, five hail from the Greater Houston Area. No. 20 Atascocita High (26-3) leads the charge.

California Update

California’s No. 4-ranked Orange Lutheran High (19-3) continues to be led by the formidable pitching trio of righthanders Gerrit Cole (6-1, 0.59) and Brandon Maurer (6-1, 1.36), and lefthander Aaron Gates (6-1, 1.93), all potential draft picks.

The Lancers are the top-rated team in California, but No. 12 Los Alamitos High (20-3) will be a team to watch closely as the CIF sectional playoffs approach. Senior outfielder Matt Avery (.412-5-28) leads a talented offense for Los Alamitos, while junior Beau Wright (7-0, 1.14) and senior Kyle Simon (6-2, 1.39, 5 SV) lead a pitching staff that has posted a collective 1.89 ERA.

No. 26 Patriot High of Riverside continues to post one of the best records in the state, in large part because of the performances of two seniors. Projected first-round catcher Kyle Skipworth (.597-12-43), who set a state record earlier this year with 18 hits in a row as part of an overall streak in which he reached base in 25 straight plate appearances, and first baseman Matt Lollis (.549-6-37) are pacing a Warriors offense that is hitting .398 as a team.

Perennial power Woodrow Wilson High of Long Beach (21-5-1) has struggled at times this season and dropped to No. 34. But it should still be a team to watch in post-season play as outfielder/righthander Aaron Hicks (.507-3-20; 4-1, 1.54) and infielder Zach Wilson (.476-4-33) are two of the top prospects in California.

Rest of the Country

In Louisiana, Lafayette’s No. 39 Acadiana High (28-5-1) earned the No. 1 seed in the state 5-A playoffs over No. 46 Barbe High of Lake Charles (31-7), a traditional state power. Seniors Tyler Frederick (.418-5-18) and Tyler Yockey (.355-8-31) lead the Acadiana offense.

A few Mid-Atlantic schools have made their mark of the national rankings. Pennsylvania’s No. 17 Malvern Prep (28-1) has cruised through its competition with big wins over Maryland’s Calvert Hall High and Pennsylvania’s Germantown Academy in the last two weeks.

In Northern Virginia, No. 9 Paul VI Catholic High (21-1) is in the driver’s seat of the competitive Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, a league that also includes pre-season No. 6 St. John’s College Prep.

One school to keep a close eye on down the stretch is No. 24 George Washington High (30-0), which has dominated the competition in New York City and looks primed for another league championship.

--JEFF SIMPSON