The stretch drive is near for high school baseball with sectional playoff rounds leading to the first CIF Northern California Regional playoffs, meaning Central Section teams such as top-ranked Buchanan may rumble with the best in other sections.
The Central Section, North Coast, Central Coast and Sac-Joaquin all have powerhouse teams in these rankings.
NorCal Top 20 high school baseball rankings1. Buchanan (Clovis)
Record: 18-2 |
Last week: 1
Update: The Bears are the top-ranked team in the Central Section and by The Fresno Bee. Buchanan beat rival Clovis last week to remain in charge of the Tri-River Athletic Conference, winning 10-0, 6-5 and 3-2.
Evan Wallace played big at the plate in the three wins and Jayden Mandal tossed a two-hitter in the 10-0 effort.
2. Woodcreek (Roseville)
Record: 17-1 |
Last week: 2
Update: Top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee, the Timberwolves have won 17 consecutive games, including beating Bella Vista of Fair Oaks 12-6 and 8-1 in the Capital Valley Conference.
Jake Harvey had four hits and a homer in the first game and three RBI and a triple in the second contest as pitchers
Noah Madsen and
Zack Malone continued to pitch well. Woodcreek reached the finals of the Northern California portion of the Boras Classic, which wasn't played due to rain.
3. Saint Francis (Mountain View)
Record: 20-2 |
Last week: 3
Update: Top ranked by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Bay Area News Group, the Lancers have a 15-game winning streak, including big wins outside the rugged West Catholic Athletic League. Nonleague wins last week included a 7-5 effort over Benito of Hollister and 7-0 over Washington of Fremont as
Derek Gile had a three-run triple and
Wyatt King homered. The week was capped by a 4-0 win over Palo Alto as
Blake Rogers tossed a one-hitter with eight strikeouts.
4. De La Salle (Concord)
Record: 16-3 |
Last week: 4
Update: The Spartans are in the running for the East Bay Athletic League crown with a 3-0 week that included a 4-0 win over Foothill of Pleasanton as
Cal Randal pitched 4.1 innings, striking out five.
5. Valley Christian (San Jose)
Record: 17-4-1 |
Last week: 7
Update: The Warriors are in the WCAL with Saint Francis and are in the title chase. In nonleague play last week, Valley Christian beat Gilroy 10-0 as
Louie Zulaica had four hits and
Easton Kreshel earned the win on the mound. The week ended with a 5-0 win over Carlmont of Belmont.
Alec Beladres, Valley Christian
Photo by Larry Kauk
Record: 19-5 |
Last week: 8
Update: Ranked second by The Sacramento Bee behind Woodcreek, the Wildcats beat Delta League rival Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove 7-0 and 4-0.
Nic Abraham tossed a one-hitter with seven strikeouts in the first game and
Jordy Lopez dazzled in a two-hitter with 10 strikeouts in the second contest.
Hasani Johnson is the school record holder with 23 stolen bases in a single season.
7. California (San Ramon)
Record: 16-4 |
Last week: 5
Update: The Grizzlies are also in the running for the EBAL title that includes De La Salle. California had one game last week, a 9-0 rout of Livermore behind three pitchers and
Teddy Booras, who drove in two.
8. Foothill (Pleasanton)
Record: 17-3 |
Last week: 6
Update: The Falcons are contenders in the deep EBAL with De La Salle and California, among others. The loss last week was 4-0 to DLS and the win was a 7-4 effort over San Ramon Valley of Danville as
Evan Bilter drove in three and homered, and he had five hits in a 10-3 win over Livermore.
9. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
Record: 15-5 |
Last week: 9
Update: The Monarchs hail from the WCAL with Saint Francis and Valley Christian. They reached the finals of the NorCal Boras Classic (not played due to rain) and moved to 9-0 in nonleague play with a 7-2 win last week over Santa Cruz as
Matteo Blandino had three hits.
10. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa)
Record: 16-2 |
Last week: 10
Update: The Cardinals capped the week with an 8-1 win over Ukiah as
Landen Rota allowed one hit in five innings of work, following a 3-2 win over the same club. This is the class of the Redwood Empire.
11. San Ramon Valley (Danville)
Record: 13-6 |
Last week: 11
Update: The Wolves beat Dougherty Valley of San Ramon 5-1 as
Donny Crook scored two runs and
Ruben Rivera earned the pitching win with seven strikeouts. San Ramon Valley is part of the stacked EBAL.
12. Stockdale (Bakersfield)
Record: 18-3 |
Last week: 12
Update: The Mustangs halted a three-game skid against powerhouse teams Franklin of Elk Grove, San Ramon Valley and Mountain View with routs of 16-5 and 15-4 over Bakersfield.
Nick Brown and
Austin Charles each homered in the first game and
Adam Enyart and Charles homered in the second game. Stockdale is on its way to winning the Southwest Yosemite League.
13. Bullard (Fresno)
Record: 19-4 |
Last week: 13
Update: The Knights beat Madera 11-0 and 7-1 in County/Metro League action behind complete-game pitching efforts from
Cameron Schnider (one-hitter) and
Jacob Ybarra (four-hitter).
14. Clovis West (Fresno)
Record: 15-5 |
Last week: 19
Update: The Eagles swept rival Central of Fresno 10-1, 11-2 and 3-1 to remain within a game of Buchanan in the Tri-River League race.
Nathan Baeza drove in three in the first game and struck out seven to earn the pitching win. In the finale,
Jacob Haros drove in a run and
Tyler Patrick struck out seven.
15. Clayton Valley Charter (Concord)
Record: 14-4 |
Last week: 15
Update: The Ugly Eagles beat Northgate of Walnut Creek 2-1 in extra innings and then 4-3 to remain within a game of Acalanes of Lafayette in the Diablo-Foothill League race. CVC and Acalanes cap the regular season with a two-game series.
16. Elk Grove
Record: 15-7 |
Last week: 16
Update: The Thundering Herd swept Delta League rival Davis 2-1, 11-10 and 10-3 to remain tied with Franklin in the loss column, though Franklin has three wins over Elk Grove. The Herd plays rival Jesuit three times this week.
17. McClatchy (Sacramento)
Record: 19-2 |
Last week: 17
Update: The Lions raced past Grant of Sacramento in Metropolitan Conference play with wins of 10-0 and 16-3 to set up two league showdowns with Metro unbeaten River City of West Sacramento.
18. Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose)
Record: 15-5-1 |
Last week: 18
Update: Another contender in the rugged WCAL, the Bells capped last week with nonleague wins of 10-0 over Homestead of Cupertino and Burlingame 8-0.
Nate Escalada,
Rowan Kelly and
Matthew Schutz each drove in two in the first game with
Kyler Bacosa striking out eight in three innings.
Andy Higgins tossed four innings of no-hit ball with four strikeouts in the second game.
19. Marin Catholic (Kentfield)
Record: 16-3 |
Last week: 20
Update: The Wildcats did not play last week. They have won 10 of their last 11 games and are in the mix for the Marin County League race with Redwood of Larkspur.
20. Colusa
Record: 23-0 |
Last week: NR
Update: The RedHawks of the Northern Section haven't played a powerhouse schedule like many others, but they play superb ball with strong pitching and timely hitting, and they are unbeaten.
Ethan Lay is 10-0 on the mound with 110 strikeouts in 58.2 innings with a remarkable 0.00 ERA with six runs allowed all season. He's had strikeout games of 14, 12, 12, 11, 11 and 13.
The next 1021.
Jesuit (Carmichael), 14-9
22.
Palo Alto, 18-5
23.
Rodriguez (Fairfield), 22-0
24.
Vanden (Fairfield), 20-2
25.
Whitney (Rocklin), 18-4
26.
Vista del Lago (Folsom), 16-5
27.
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco), 12-8-1
28.
San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno), 16-5
29.
Petaluma, 12-5
30.
Windsor, 15-4
Joe Davidson has covered high school sports in Northern California since 1984, including since 1988 at The Sacramento Bee. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD
