Bay Area News Group baseball rankings: Final regular-season Top 20
Bay Area News Group Top 20
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
No. 1 ST. FRANCIS (26-4)
Previous ranking: 1
What’s happened since the last ranking: Lancers beat top 10 teams Sacred Heart Cathedral and Valley Christian en route to winning the WCAL playoffs. They should be the No. 1 seed when pairings for the Central Coast Section playoffs are announced Wednesday.
Up next: TBA.
No. 2 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (23-6-1)
Previous ranking: 2
What’s happened since the last ranking: Warriors stay at No. 2 after a thrilling 12-6 win in 12 innings over Bellarmine in the WCAL semifinals, and a hard-fought 2-1 loss to St. Francis in the championship game.
Up next: TBA
No. 3 PALO ALTO (24-5)
Previous ranking: 5
What’s happened since the last ranking: Vikings are the highest-ranked public school team after beating Wilcox 4-2 for the SCVAL De Anza Division title. Rowan Felsch’s fifth homer of the season was the big blow.
Up next: TBA
No. 4 CLAYTON VALLEY CHARTER (20-4)
Previous ranking: 6
What’s happened since the last ranking: An impressive two-game sweep of No. 16 Acalanes makes Ugly Eagles the top team in the East Bay for now. C Ryder Helfrick is the 26th-best prospect in the 2023 class in Baseball America’s latest rankings.
Up next: Today vs. Dublin, North Coast Section (NCS) playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 5 FOOTHILL (22-4)
Previous ranking: 8
What’s happened since the last ranking: Falcons climb three spots after back-to-back victories over California and De La Salle. Jackson Flora and Tyler Gebb pitched complete games. Opponents get to face them again next season, as both are juniors.
Up next: Today vs. Monte Vista, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 6 DE LA SALLE (20-6)
Previous ranking: 3
What’s happened since the last ranking: Spartans slip to No. 6 after losing the EBAL championship game to Foothill 4-1. It was De La Salle’s third loss in five games. In that five-game stretch, the team ERA is 4.28 and opponents have scored 10 unearned runs.
Up next: Today vs. Freedom, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 7 BELLARMINE (21-8-1)
Previous ranking: 4
What’s happened since the last ranking: It’ll be interesting to see how the CCS seeding committee handles the Bells after losses to Valley Christian and Salinas last week. The defeat against Valley Christian in the WCAL semifinals likely won’t hurt, but a 7-5 setback to Salinas (12-14) might have consequences.
Up next: TBA
No. 8 CALIFORNIA (21-5)
Previous ranking: 7
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Grizzlies shut out for the first time this season in a 3-0 loss to Foothill in the EBAL semifinals. Cal outhit Foothill 6-5.
Up next: Today vs. Alameda, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 9 COLLEGE PARK (16-8)
Previous ranking: 10
What’s happened since the last ranking: UCLA-bound ace Michael Barnett should be well-rested after pitching only 3⅔ innings since his one-hitter against Cardinal-Newman on May 7. The Falcons come in having won nine in a row.
Up next: Today vs. Granada, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 10 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (17-10-1)
Previous ranking: 9
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Fightin’ Irish lost to St. Francis 8-3 in the WCAL playoffs. Before that, they had won four in a row, including victories over Bellarmine and Mitty.
Up next: TBA
No. 11 CARLMONT (20-6-1)
Previous ranking: 11
What’s happened since the last ranking: Brady Greene went 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBIs as the Scots extended their win streak to six games with a 9-1 win over Sequoia. Carlmont has two victories apiece over Sequoia and Capuchino during this six-game streak.
Up next: TBA
No. 12 BERKELEY (19-6)
Previous ranking: 12
What’s happened since the last ranking: Berkeley scored eight runs in the second inning and rolled past Alameda 10-3 in the WACC Foothill championship game. Junior EJ Fairchild homered for the Yellowjackets.
Up next: Today vs. Heritage, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 13 LIVE OAK (18-8)
Previous ranking: 20
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Acorns have won eight of nine since their 10-7 start. Junior RHP Landon Stump has taken over as ace of the pitching staff. The UCLA commit is 6-2, 2.22 ERA and has 92 strikeouts in 56⅔ innings.
Up next: TBA
No. 14 LEIGH (19-8)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
What’s happened since the last ranking: Leigh returns to the rankings thanks to a pair of impressive wins over Santa Teresa. Jonathan Son had four hits and Zach Sarginger three RBIs as the Longhorns routed Santa Teresa 12-5 on Friday.
Up next: TBA
No. 15 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (18-10)
Previous ranking: 13
What’s happened since the last ranking: Mitty will go into the CCS playoffs having lost five of eight and with a pitching staff that gave up at least 10 runs in four of those defeats. The Monarchs dropped a 10-3 decision to Sacred Heart Cathedral in their most recent game last Tuesday.
Up next: TBA
No. 16 ACALANES (15-9)
Previous ranking: 14
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Dons were rolling along with seven wins in nine games until losing their last two regular-season contests to Clayton Valley. Now they open the NCS playoffs at Liberty and could see Clayton Valley next if they win today.
Up next: Today at Liberty, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 17 SAN RAMON VALLEY (15-10)
Previous ranking: 16
What’s happened since the last ranking: Wolves travel to Pittsburg for their first-round NCS game despite being seeded five spots higher than the Pirates. NCS has a rule that league champions are at home for their first playoff game. Pittsburg won the BVAL playoffs.
Up next: Today at Pittsburg, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 18 WILCOX (20-9)
Previous ranking: 18
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Chargers beat Los Gatos 4-3 in eight innings in the SCVAL De Anza playoffs but lost to Palo Alto 4-2 in the championship game. They stay right where they are in the rankings.
Up next: TBA
No. 19 PITTSBURG (19-8)
Previous ranking: Not ranked
What’s happened since the last ranking: The Pirates were 4-6 in the BVAL, but they woke up for the playoffs. Senior Gio Fuentes pitched a one-hitter in the opening round against Antioch, and Pittsburg was off and running, beating Liberty and Freedom.
Up next: Today vs. San Ramon Valley, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.
No. 20 LIBERTY (19-6)
Previous ranking: 17
What’s happened since the last ranking: Liberty has already lost to Acalanes once this season, 7-3 at home on March 9.
Up next: Today vs. Acalanes, NCS playoffs, 5 p.m.