MaxPreps 2017 top 25 national high school baseball rankings

Video: Hagen Danner Baseball Highlights
Huntington Beach standout came up big in the Oilers' win over Orange Lutheran.

The first major showdown between top teams in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national high school baseball rankings went to Huntington Beach, which upset Orange Lutheran in a battle between the top two teams in Orange County.

Orange Lutheran entered the game No. 3 in last week's rankings while Huntington Beach was No. 8. However, the Oilers got a big outing from Hagen Danner, who belted a home run and a double, and also got a pitching win in a 7-2 victory over the Lancers.

The win upped Huntington Beach to No. 6 in this week's rankings while Orange Lutheran fell to No 7.

The top two teams remain the same with No. 1 Archbishop McCarthy winning its two games last week and No. 2 Buchanan winning its three outings.

Three teams dropped out this week and they were replaced by Horizon, Oak Grove and Colleyville Heritage.


1. (Last week No. 1) Archbishop McCarthy (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 4-0
The Mavericks put up their second and third shutouts of the season with a 15-0 win over St. Brendan (Miami) and an 8-0 win over Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood) on Friday. Joe Perez was 3-for-3 with a double, a home run and four RBIs against St. Brendan. Luis Tuero also had a home run. Against Chaminade-Madonna, Perez went 2-for-2 with a double and a home run with three RBIs in that win. The Mavericks had a key test with Westminster Christian (Miami) on Monday.

2. (2) Buchanan (Clovis, Calif.), 6-0
The Bears made it six in a row to start the season and 19 in a row dating back to last year. Buchanan blanked Sunnyside (Fresno) 4-0, edged Bullard (Fresno) 3-2 and knocked off Tulare Western (Tulare) 8-1. Carson Olson struck out nine for the win against Sunnyside while Miguel Ortiz hit a home run. Hunter Reinke struck out five against Tulare Western and Jamal O'Guinn went 3-for-4 with an RBIs.

3. (4) Steinbrenner (Lutz, Fla.), 5-0
The Warriors upped their winning streak to 19 in a row dating back to last year with a 5-0 win over Wharton (Tampa) and a 4-1 victory at Freedom (Tampa). Patrick Morris struck out nine and gave up two hits against Wharton while CJ Van Eyk went 2-for-4 with two RBIs against Freedom.

4. (5) South Hills (West Covina, Calif.), 3-0
The Huskies advanced to the semifinals of the Frozen Ropes Tournament with a 3-0 win over Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) and a 4-2 win over Los Altos (Hacienda Heights). Brandon Dieter went six innings and struck out five in the win over Los Osos. Karlos Morales went five innings and gave up one hit with seven strikeouts against Los Altos.

5. (6) Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Fla.), 4-0
The Eagles won their only game last week, edging Cypress Bay (Weston) 2-1. Brandon Kaminer got the win. A big showdown looms on March 15 when Stoneman Douglas takes on Venice.

6. (8) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 4-0
The Oilers picked up their biggest win of the young season with a 7-2 win over previous No. 3 Orange Lutheran (Orange). Hagen Danner had a huge game going 3-for-3 with four RBIs, three runs scored, a double and two home runs. He also pitched six innings for the win, giving up two runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Huntington Beach also beat Poly (Riverside) 7-1 earlier in the week.

7. (3) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 2-1
The Lancers lost an Orange County battle against Huntington Beach, falling 7-2 on Saturday. Garrett Mitchell had a double and Zachary Lew had a triple in the loss. A previous win over Santiago (Corona) was changed to a scrimmage.

8. (10) Barbe (Lake Charles, La.), 8-1
The Buccaneers went 4-0 at the Tarver Ford Tournament, beating Catholic-B.R. (Baton Rouge) 10-5, Leesville 14-0, Wesetgate (New Iberia) 10-0 and Notre Dame (Crowley) 12-2.
9. (11) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 6-1
The Huskies rebounded from their first loss last week with three straight wins. Hamilton dropped Highland (Gilbert) 7-3, Desert Vista (Phoenix) 3-2 and Desert Ridge (Mesa) 11-1. Nick Brueser went 4-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs, two doubles and a home run against Highland. Cole Bellinger hit one out against Desert Ridge.

10. (7) Johnson (San Antonio), 9-1
The Jaguars went 3-1 over the weekend, dropping a 4-2 contest to Brandeis (San Antonio) while beating Boerne Champion 2-1, Uvalde 14-2 and New Braunfels 3-2.

11. (13) JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), 0-0
Season opener is March 11 with doubleheader against Huntington Beach.

12. (14) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 0-0
The Broncos open their season March 7 against defending San Diego Section Division 1 champion Granite Hills (El Cajon).

13. (15) Shawnee (Okla.), 3-0
The Wolves are off to a strong start, outscoring their first three opponents 39-2, including a 23-1 win over Guymon on Saturday. AJ Barron was 4-for-4 with a triple and four RBIs in the win while Tanner Sparks was 2-for-5 with a home run and a double and five RBIs. Cole Payne hit one out in a 5-0 win over Duncan while Cale Reed homered in an 11-1 win over Guymon.

14. (16) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.), 3-0
The Knights opened with three straight wins, beating Randleman 5-3, East Rowan (Salisbury) 10-6 and Reidsville 10-5.

15. (17) Oxford (Miss.), 5-0
The Chargers won three games at the Mid-MS Classic, including a pair of wins over defending Alabama state champions. Oxford beat UMS-Wright Prep, the Class 4A state champion, 3-2, and topped Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa), the 6A champion, 10-8. Oxford also beat Northridge (Tuscaloosa) 8-6. Ben Bianco and Carson Stinnett both homered in the win over Hillcrest.

16. (19) Canterbury (Fort Myers, Fla.), 3-0
The Cougars have outscored opponents 39-0 to open the season. The defending Florida Class 3A state champions topped Southwest Florida Christian (Fort Myers) 10-1 in their opener. Danny Cunningham and Giovanni Digiacomo combined for a four-inning no-hitter in a 19-0 win over First Baptist Academy while Sam Keating threw a five-inning 10-0 no-hitter with 12 strikeouts against Community School of Naples.

17. (21) De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 2-0
The Spartans are 2-0 to start a brutal nonleague schedule that includes away games against JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano), Mater Dei (Santa Ana), Orange Lutheran (Orange) and a home game against St. Mary's (Stockton). The Spartans knocked off Elk Grove 6-1 on the road Friday in Sacramento. Cullen Kafka went five innings and struck out eight for the win.

18. (22) Venice (Fla.), 4-0
The Indians took a pair from southwest Florida powerhouse Bishop Verot (Fort Myers), winning 5-1 and 6-4. Mitch Donofrio had a home run and a double in the first game while Shane Shifflett was 2-for-4 with a double in the second game.

19. (12) Allatoona (Acworth, Ga.), 8-1
The Buccaneers had an up and down week, falling to Blessed Trinity (Roswell) 8-4 on Friday, but beating 2015 National Champion Parkview (Lilburn) 7-6 and Starr's Mill (Fayetteville) 9-4 on Saturday.

20. (9) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 6-1
The Senators went 2-1 during the week, beating Oxford (Ala.) 12-6, Spain Park (Hoover) 8-2 and losing to Hoover, 8-6. Sparkman also had a rematch with Cullman on Monday.

21. (23) Deer Creek (Edmond, Okla.), 0-0
The Antlers begin play on Monday vs. Sapulpa.

22. (24) Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 6-0-1
The Firebirds won three times last week, beating Saguaro (Scottsdale) 12-1, Williams Field (Gilbert) 12-4 and Nogales 10-2. Jacob Gonzalez, son of former Arizona Diamondback Luis Gonzalez, went 4-for-5 with three runs scored and three RBIs in the win over Saguaro. He added a 2-for-4 effort with a double, a home run and three RBIs against Williams Field and a 3-for-4 game with two doubles and two RBIs against Nogales.

23. (NR) Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 8-0
Horizon has the most wins of any Class 6A team in Arizona, including a win over Hamilton.

24. (NR) Oak Grove (Hattiesburg, Miss.), 6-0
Oak Grove is off to a strong start in Class 6A, including a win over rival Hattiesburg, one of the top 5A teams in the state.

25. (NR) Colleyville Heritage (Colleyville, Texas), 10-0-1
Alex Scherff already has a pair of wins for Heritage and Bobby Witt, son of former MLB pitcher of the same name, had a triple and a home run in a recent win over Mansfield.

Dropped out: No. 18 Bolles (Jacksonville, Fla.), No. 20 American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), No. 25 Redondo Union (Redondo Beach).