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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 5:57 p.m., Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Punahou finishes No. 24 in USA Today poll

USA Today

Four-time state baseball champion Punahou finished No. 24 in the USA Today Super 25 rankings.

Punahou, which beat Pearl City for the state title, finished 29-3.

Seton Hall Prep of West Orange, N.J., finished No. 1.

Final season rankings

1. Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J. (32-1)

Previous ranking: 1. Result: Won third consecutive Non-Public A state championship, beating St. Josephs (Metuchen) 10-1 in the final. RHP Rick Porcello (10-0, 1.18 ERA), who was taken in the first round of first-year-player draft by the Detroit Tigers, fired a five-hitter, and LF Joe DeMarzo had an RBI. Season complete.

2. West Lauderdale, Collinsville, Miss. (38-2)

Previous: 2. Won Class 4A state championship.

3. Owasso, Okla. (35-3)

Previous: 3. Won Class 6A state championship.

4. Calvert Hall, Baltimore (33-0)

Previous: 4. Won third consecutive MIAA A Conference tournament champion.

5. Horizon, Scottsdale, Ariz. (31-3)

Previous: 5. Won Class 5A, Division I state championship.

6. Bishop Moore, Orlando (31-1)

Previous: 7. Won Class 4A state championship.

7. Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (35-6-1)

Previous: 8. Won second consecutive Class 4A state championship.

8. Sarasota, Fla. (28-3)

Previous: 9. Won Class 6A state championship.

9. Wilson, Long Beach (32-3)

Previous: 10. Won CIF-Southern Section, Division I championship.

10. Chatsworth, Calif. (30-4)

Previous: 11. Won CIF-City Section Championship Division title.

11. Cullman, Ala. (48-7)

Previous: 12. Won Class 5A state championship.

12. South Caldwell, Hudson, N.C. (31-3)

Previous: 13. Won Class 4-A state championship.

13. Jesuit, New Orleans (33-6)

Previous: 14. Won Class 5A state championship.

14. Valley Christian, San Jose, Calif. (33-4)

Previous: 15. Won CIF-Central Coast Section, Division I championship.

15. Brophy Prep, Phoenix (30-4)

Previous: 17. Advanced to Arizona's Class 5A, Division I championship game.

16. James Monroe, Bronx, N.Y. (47-2)

Previous: 6. Result: Lost to then-unranked Tottenville (Staten Island) 4-2 in PSAL A final. Season complete.

17. Thousand Oaks, Calif. (25-5-1)

Previous: 18. Advanced to the CIF-Southern Section, Division I quarterfinals.

18. Moody, Corpus Christi, Texas (39-3)

Previous: 25. Results: Won Class 4A state championship, beating Mesquite Poteet 9-1 in final. Game MVP Miguel Gonzalez, a junior right-hander, went 5 innings, allowing four hits with five strikeouts. Jacob Perales hit a solo homer, and teammates Rudy Flores and Andrew Perez added two-run shots. Also beat Canyon Randall 5-2 in semifinals. It was the program's second state title in 10 state tournaments and first since winning the 5A crown in 2004. Season complete.

19. Bartlett, Tenn. (40-5)

Previous: 19. Won Class AAA state championship.

20. Cy-Fair, Houston (32-7)

Previous: Not ranked. Results: Won Class 5A state championship, beating Harlingen (Texas) South 6-1 in final. Coach Woody Champagne's team closed on a 27-game winning streak. Beat then-No. 16 Klein Collins (Spring) 3-0 in semifinals. Season complete.

21. Hartsville, S.C. (29-4)

Previous: 21. Won Class 4A state championship.

22. Oakland, Murfreesboro, Tenn. (42-2)

Previous: 22. Won Class AAA's Region 4 and District 7 championships.

23. Norwell, Ossian, Ind. (35-0)

Previous: 23. Results: Won second Class 3A state championship in five years, beating Mater Dei (Evansville) 5-0 in final. Coach Kelby Weybright's club became Indiana's third to finish unbeaten. Also beat Andrean (Merrillville) 4-1 in semifinals and St. Joseph's (South Bend) 11-0 in quarterfinals. Season complete.

24. Punahou School, Honolulu (29-3)

Previous: 24. Won fourth consecutive state championship.

25. Tottenville, Staten Island, N.Y. (20-5)

Previous: Not ranked. Result: Won PSAL A championship, beating then-No. 6 James Monroe (Bronx) 4-2 in final. P John McNeil (7-0, 2.45 ERA) was 4-0, striking out 33 in 25 innings and allowed 17 hits and three runs in four playoff games. Season complete.

Dropped out: No. 16 Klein Collins (Spring, Texas) lost to then-unranked Cy-Fair (Houston) 3-0 in Class 5A state semifinals; and No. 20 Langham Creek (Houston) lost to Kingwood 9-8 in Game 3 of Class 5A, Region 3 best-of-three final series.

About the rankings: USA TODAY's Super 25 baseball rankings are compiled by Christopher Lawlor, who consults with a national network of prep sportswriters, scouts and coaches. Among the criteria considered are a school's strength of schedule, quality of competition in its state or league and quality of its players.

Regional rankings

East

1. Seton Hall Prep, West Orange, N.J. (32-1)

2. Calvert Hall, Baltimore (33-0)

3. James Monroe, Bronx, N.Y. (47-2)

4. Tottenville, Staten Island, N.Y. (20-5)

5. Amity, Woodbridge, Conn. (26-1)

6. Lincoln-Sudbury, Mass. (26-1)

7. Seneca Valley, Harmony, Pa. (22-2)

8. Don Bosco Prep, Ramsey, N.J. (27-2)

9. Eleanor Roosevelt, Greenbelt, Md. (24-2)

10. Immaculata, Somerville, N.J. (24-2)

South

1. West Lauderdale, Collinsville, Miss. (38-2)

2. Bishop Moore, Orlando (31-1)

3. Sarasota, Fla. (28-3)

4. Cullman, Ala. (48-7)

5. South Caldwell, Hudson, N.C. (31-3)

6. Jesuit, New Orleans (33-6)

7. Moody, Corpus Christi, Texas (39-3)

8. Bartlett, Tenn. (40-5)

9. Cy-Fair, Houston (32-7)

10. Hartsville, S.C. (29-4)

Midwest

1. Owasso, Okla. (35-3)

2. Norwell, Ossian, Ind. (35-0)

3. Blue Springs, Mo. (25-2)

4. Cretin-Derham Hall, St. Paul (26-4)

5. Lakota West, West Chester, Ohio (28-5)

6. Elkhorn, Neb. (27-5)

7. Neuqua Valley, Naperville, Ill. (35-8)

8. Free State, Lawrence, Kan. (22-3)

9. Edmond (Okla.) Memorial (29-6)

10. Mount Pleasant, Mich. (39-1)

West

1. Horizon, Scottsdale, Ariz. (31-3)

2. Bishop Gorman, Las Vegas (35-6-1)

3. Wilson, Long Beach (32-3)

4. Chatsworth, Calif. (30-4)

5. Valley Christian, San Jose, Calif. (33-4)

6. Brophy Prep, Phoenix (30-4)

7. Thousand Oaks, Calif. (25-5-1)

8. Punahou School, Honolulu (29-3)

9. North Medford, Medford, Ore. (27-3)

10. Richland, Wash. (24-2)