THE SUMRALL BOBCATS!!!!!!!
Xcellent 25 Baseball Rankings: Sumrall back on top
Bobcats finished 2009 high school season ranked No. 1 in the country; move up to top spot in prep Top 25 after Bishop Gorman's two losses in Florida.
Monday, March 29, 2010
By: Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com Sumrall took nearly three months to rise to the top of the Xcellent 25 National Baseball Rankings in 2009. In 2010 it only took five weeks.
Bishop Gorman losing twice at the National Grand Slam Tournament in Florida, No. 2 Sumrall moved into the No. 1 spot thanks to a spotless record that included three tournament wins in Florida two weeks ago.
Sumrall also has the matter of a 56-game win streak that is slowly creeping toward the national all-time mark of 68, set by Archbishop Molloy from 1963 to 1966. Two straight state championships also boost the Bobcats' resume.
Sumrall is not the only unbeaten among the top 10 teams, however. Menchville opened its season with five straight wins while Wando is 11-0 and Roswell is 12-0. Germantown Academy also made a big jump to the No. 9 spot after a strong week in Florida. In California, Serra is undefeated and on the rise.
Bishop Gorman also wasn't the only traditional power to suffer a loss last week. Two-time Tennessee state champion Farragut also lost a pair of games while Owasso fell to Lake Wales in a tournament in Florida.
Two teams in the Xcellent 25, Walsh Jesuit and Rocky Mountain, have yet to begin their seasons due to poor weather conditions.
MAXPREPS XCELLENT 25 HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL NATIONAL RANKINGS
1. (2) Sumrall (Miss.), 14-0
The Bobcats continued their winning ways with three victories last week. Luke Lowery struck out 12 in a 4-2 win over St. Patrick (Biloxi, Miss.) early in the week while Chase Lewallen was 3-for-3 with three RBI and a double in an 8-2 win over St. Patrick later in the week. Sumrall also topped Picayune (Miss.) 13-3 with Connor Barron going 3-for-3 with four RBI and Jackson Posey adding two doubles and three RBI. The Bobcats' win streak has reached 56 games in a row.
Is Sumrall the best high school baseball team ever in the Pine Belt?
April 12, 2010
Sure looks that way
As I've said in the past, I believe strongly in what numbers and statistics say. And in the matter of whether or not Sumrall is the best team this area has ever seen, my answer is unequivocally, absolutely yes.
Let me first state the obvious – there hasn't been another team in Mississippi history to win as many games in a row as the Bobcats. That alone should be enough to convince anyone who disagrees, but for those who need more, keep reading.
As of now, Sumrall has won back-to-back state titles and are poised to three-peat. Taking into consideration the fact that the Bobcats are only losing four seniors (three starters) to graduation after this season, there's no reason to think the streak (wins and/or state titles) will end next year.
My point is, the book hasn't been closed on this team yet, but even though we're still just part of the way through the story, there's more than enough evidence for me to believe they're the best team this area's ever seen.
Contact Jason Munz at jmunz@hattiesburgamerican.com.
