College Baseball Poll - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper

PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release: Tuesday (July 1, 2003)

CHATSWORTH H.S. NO. 1 IN FINAL EASTON SPORTS COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER (www.baseballnews.com) POLL

TUCSON, Ariz. — Chatsworth High School (Chatsworth, Calif.) captured the No. 1 position in the final Easton Sports’ National High School poll of the 2003 season compiled by Collegiate Baseball newspaper.

Chatsworth defeated Carson, 3-0, to win its third CIF-City Section championship in five years. The team finished with a 33-1 record, which, according to Head Coach Tom Meusborn, is among the best final records in CIF-City Section history and is a school record for wins.

The team’s only loss was to Sabino H.S. of Tucson, Ariz. RHP Justin Cassel tossed a one-hitter and struck out nine in the championship game. During the playoffs, he pitched 20 scoreless innings and ended the playoffs with three wins and a save. Cassel broke the school record for wins in a season with 15, finishing the year 15-0 with 8 shutouts and 114 strikeouts in 99 innings.

"Without question this is the best team I have ever had," Meusborn said. "This team had the most intangibles. They competed and put the team first and themselves second. There were no selfish players."

As a team, Chatsworth hit .360 and broke the school record for home runs in a season with 41.

Poll Notes…La Quinta (Westminster, Calif.), which was No. 1 in the nation during the early part of the season, inched its way back up to No. 3 in the final poll. Ian Kennedy led La Quinta to the Southern Section Div. IV championship by pitching a three-hitter to defeat Garden Grove Pacifica, 2-1.

Round Rock, Texas, a top contender for the majority of the season, lost the 5A championship game to Elkins, 5-4. Elkins scored five early runs off All-American John Danks. Elkins then held on as  Round Rock could only push across four runs. This was the second year in a row that Elkins won the state championship. Round Rock dropped to No. 18.

La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) moved up to No. 7, finishing its season as the CIF-San Diego Section Div. I champions. They defeated Rancho Bernardo, 5-4 and ended the season 32-1. J.H. Rose (Greenville, N.C.) moved in at No. 13. They beat Charlotte Myers Park for the North Carolina 4A state championships. It was the school’s fourth state championship.

After several days of rain, Colquitt County and East Coweta were finally able to decide the Georgia 6A title. Colquitt County won the series and ended the season ranked No. 24. Midway (Hewitt, Tex.) captured the 4A Texas state title, finishing 35-4-1 and No. 25 in the poll. The team had 12 wins at home and 23 victories on the road in addition to posting an 8-1 mark against 5A schools this season.