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College Baseball Poll - Collegiate Baseball Newspaper PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release: Tuesday (March 28, 2006) NOVA H.S. NO. 1 IN EASTON SPORTS COLLEGIATE BASEBALL NEWSPAPER POLL TUCSON, Ariz. — Nova High School (Davie, Fla.) has captured the No.1 spot for the first time this season in the Easton National High School poll. Nova, last year’s 5A Florida state champions, has started the season 17-0. Last season they finished with a 31-1 record. With this season’s wins Coach Pat McQuaid has recorded 48 wins and only one loss going against talented Florida baseball teams and nationally ranked teams. The team has been a powerhouse in Florida with its strong pitching. This season’s top three pitchers are JJ Housey (7-0), Randy Whithers (4-0) and Donnie Amos (3-0). Offense isn’t bad either with Withers (.532, 27 RBI), Amos (.535, 6 HR, 29 RBI), Housey (.456) and SS Kevin Nelson (.460, 17 SB) leading the way. Msgr. Pace (Opa Locka, Fla.) drops from the No. 1 position to No. 2. So far this year they have one loss but are still ranked No. 1 in the Florida 4A state poll. Moving up to the No. 4 spot is Agoura High School (Agoura, Calif.). They have started their season undefeated behind the great pitching efforts of Jason Stoffel (4-0, 0.875 ERA, 1 SV) and Robert Stock (3-0, 1.89 ERA, 1 SV). Stock also is batting .749 with four home runs. The Woodlands (The Woodlands, Tex.) improved to No. 5 and are 17-1 overall and 6-0 in District play. They have a team ERA of 0.95 in 18 games led by Kyle Drabek (5-0, 0.00 ERA, 51 K, 30 IP), Steven Maxwell (5-0, 1.97 ERA) and Jared Stevens (3-0, 0.00 ERA). Top hitters are Drabek with a .450 BA, 6 home runs and Derek Smith (.432 BA, 2 HR, .540 on base percentage). They remain the No. 1 6A team in the state of Texas. Northwest Rankin (Brandon, Miss.) remains strong, however, with two losses on the season moves down to No. 6. The pitching staff has posted a 1.21 team ERA led by Todd McInnis (0.53), Jordan King (1.01) and Daniel Cowart (0.94). Top hitter has been Anthony Doss with a .447 BA. No. 8, Bellarmine Prep (San Jose, Calif.) has remained undefeated with a 13-0 record. Three pitchers have lead the way with Erik Goeddel (4-0, 0.41 ERA, 28 K in 18 IP), Nate Garcia (3-0, 1.39 ERA, 29 K, 25 IP) and Ben Ruder (3-0, 2.32 ERA, 13 K, 15 IP). Top hitter for the Bells is Shane O’Neal, who has posted a .564 BA with 7 doubles, 4 home runs and 23 RBI. Jesuit (New Orleans, LA) moves to No. 9 with a perfect 19-0 record. Owasso HS, Okla., improved to No. 10 also with a perfect record at 13-0. The team has been playing in Florida tournaments recently. In a game against Lakeland HS, Fla., LHP Chris Armstrong got the victory in a shortened 5 inning game after striking out 13 of 15 batters and hitting a home run to aid his cause. Also in the first three games against Florida teams, Pete Kozma hit two home runs, two triples, one double and had 7 RBI while sophomore OF Jared Huneyer hit two home runs, a triple, a double and 4 RBI. One homer was a grand slam. Just starting the season is Joliet Catholic (Joliet, Ill.) which comes in at No. 11. They are 3-0. In 21 innings Joliet pitchers have only given up two runs. No. 13 Florida Christian (Miami, Fla.) is 12-2 with several players leading the way on offense in Ryan Jackson (.488, 4 HR, 16 RBI), Arturo Alonso (.410, 2 HR, 11 RBI), Ramon Melendez (5 HR, 17 RBI) and Chris Leon (.359, 11 RBI). No. 15 is James Monroe (Bronx, N.Y.). They are the No. 1 team in New York City area and have started the season undefeated. Rafael Cabreja has hit 8 home runs in 12 games with 20 RBI. LHP Danny Almonte is undefeated at 2-0 and had 10 hits in 10 at bats at one point in the 12-game stretch. He was hitting .625 with 2 home runs and 19 RBI. No. 16 Brenham (Brenham, Tex.) has posted a 19-1 overall record and is 5-0 in District play. They are No. 1 in the Texas 4A baseball. St. John Vianney (St. Louis, Mo.) 2-1 dropped to No. 17 after a disappointing loss to Mehlville in a recent tournament. They were up 9-5 going into the last inning and had an untypical defensive meltdown, according to Coach Steve Bieser, losing the game 10-14. They easily won the first two games of the tournament and several players had multiple hit games. DH Conley remained at No. 18 with an 8-1 record. RHP Alex White has been dominate on the mound, posting a 3-0 record with a 0.62 ERA, allowing only nine hits in 24 innings with 42 strikeouts. At the plate, he was hitting .650 with five doubles and one home run. No. 22 Riverside Poly (Calif.) posted a 7-1 record and is 3-0 in their league. Russell County (Seale, Ala.) at No. 24 has won 8 games in the past two week. 3B Adam Coe has belted 12 HRs and is hitting .590. No. 26 Jefferson HS (West Virginia) began its season with a 3-0 record. The team has two grand slams already. Brian Collins hit one in the sixth inning in a game against Goretti, Md., helping the team to a 15-5 win. Westley Jenkins hit a grand slam in the first inning of a game against Urbana, Md. After three early losses in the season, No. 28 Mansfield H.S. (Texas) has won 7 games in a row the last two weeks. The team has a .349 batting average and RHP Jordan Walden is 4-0 with a 0.64 ERA. They recently won the Innis Coca Cola tournament. Batesville, Ark., remains at No. 29 with an 8-1 record. Evan Eary pitched a one hitter against Bentonville, Ark. No. 30 is undefeated Fallbrook H.S. (San Diego, Calif.). They have beaten three top teams in the San Diego area. In seven games, Fallbrook has 24 home runs and has scored 83 runs. Dropped from the poll are Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 9-2-1, Houston (Germantown, Tex.) 7-6, and La Cueva (Albuquerque, NM) 8-2.
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