MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

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The showcase event was as good as advertised at Cal as a crowd of some 2,500 packed into Evans Diamond on Saturday to watch power pitchers perform.

De La Salle won 3-0, moving up to No. 2 in these rankings, a spot ahead of College Park. The headliners were pitchers Joe DeMers of College Park and Justin Hooper of De La Salle, and neither disappointed as a sea of radar guns by scouts lifted and aimed with every pitch.

The rematch could happen in the upcoming North Coast Section Division I playoffs.

Click here to see the MaxPreps California Computer Rankings.


1. Saint Francis (Mountain View) (Last week 3) 22-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Lancers inched back to the top spot after a fast few weeks, including winning the Boras Baseball Classic with a 3-2 victory over powerhouse JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano) and winning the WCAL regular-season championship. Devon Canty and Johnny Mendoza have played well.

2. De La Salle (Concord) (6) 14-6
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Spartans beat previous No. 1 College Park 3-0 in a gem as Justin Hooper struck out the side in the seventh inning and had 10 overall in tossing a two-hitter with no walks. Blake Ogburn clubbed a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning.

3. College Park (Pleasant Hill) (1) 18-4
Section: North Coast
League: Diablo Valley
Update: The Falcons lost 3-0 to De La Salle in a preview of a potential NCS Division I playoff showdown. Joe DeMers was strong again, though the senior ace lost for just the first time this season in suffering his first setback in 21 starts.

4. Los Gatos (2) 26-4
Section: Central Coast
League: Santa Clara Valley
Update: The Wildcats lost twice to rival Palo Alto but remain ahead of Valley Christian due to a head-to-head victory. Los Gatos is off this week before CCS Open playoff action starts.

5. Valley Christian (San Jose) (4) 21-6
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Warriors open WCAL playoff action this week behind steady pitchers Mark Quinby and Patrick Wicklander, among others.

6. Serra (San Mateo) (5) 18-5
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Padres lost to St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 1-0 to cap WCAL regular-season play and draw that same team in a WCAL playoff opener.

7. Elk Grove (7) 17-9
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Thundering Herd are ranked No. 1 by The Sacramento Bee and head into this week's D-I playoffs as a major contender behind twin leaders Nick Madrigal and Ty Madrigal, slugger Dylan Carlson and infielders Carlos Moseley and Brooks Day.

8. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (8) 23-4
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Sierra Foothill
Update: The Trojans had a week off to digest two late-season losses to Folsom and head into the D-I playoffs as the No. 1 seed. Program seeks its first section title.

9. Jesuit (Carmichael) (13) 19-8
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Marauders tied Elk Grove and Franklin for Delta honors and head into the D-I playoffs a major contender. Tanner Dodson is the team's top player.

10. Franklin (Elk Grove) (9) 22-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Wildcats tied Elk Grove and Jesuit for league-title honors and opened the D-I playoffs with a 9-0 victory over Napa. Next is Vacaville.

11. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (11) (18-9)
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Monarchs lost to higher-ranked Valley Christian 3-0 and Saint Francis 13-3 but still loom as a real threat in the WCAL playoffs that start this week.

12. Monte Vista (Danville) (14) 13-7
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: Noah Cort earned the 3-0 win over California (San Ramon), and it was a team effort to slip past Granada (Livermore) 11-10. Games loom against ranked De La Salle and Livermore.

13. Hillsdale (San Mateo) (16) 26-1
Section: Central Coast
League: Peninsula Athletic
Update: The Knights beat San Mateo 2-0 after Ro Mahanty homered and tossed a one-hitter with 11 strikeouts. The league playoffs start this week.

14. Heritage (Brentwood) (17) 18-4
Section: North Coast
League: Bay Valley
Update: The Patriots remain unbeaten in league play behind aces Kevin Milam and Austin Manning.

15. Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose) (15) 17-9
Section: Central Coast
League: West Catholic Athletic
Update: The Bells finished .500 in the WCAL and open the league playoff scramble looking for momentum and wins.

16. St. Mary's (Stockton) (18) 17-11
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-City Athletic
Update: The Rams capped the regular season with a 5-1 victory over Tracy behind Karsten Lee, who struck out seven. This is your D-I South favorite. They open against Turlock.

17. Lincoln (Stockton) (19) 21-6
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Tri-City Athletic
Update: The Trojans open the D-I South playoffs against Beyer (Modesto) on Thursday.

18. Vanden (Fairfield) (20) 19-7
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Solano County Athletic
Update: The Vikings clinched the league title and seek more as the Division II playoffs loom.

19. Casa Grande (Petaluma) (21) 17-5
Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Update: The Gauchos beat Santa Rosa 10-0 on an Eric Parnow no-hitter as Brian Hupke and Casey Longaker combined for six RBIs. The regular-season concludes this week.

20. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) (22) 18-4
Section: North Coast
League: North Bay
Update: The Cardinals beat Ukiah 6-3 to avenge an earlier loss and next face No. 19 Casa Grande and once-ranked Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa).

21. Davis (24) 15-12
Section: Sac-Joaquin
League: Delta
Update: The Blue Devils beat Rocklin 4-3 in a D-I playoff opener and seek much more as the defending champions.

22. San Ramon Valley (Danville) (10) 14-6
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Wolves dipped to .500 in league play, one of the toughest conferences in Northern California. Two home games loom this week.

23. Livermore (23) 13-7
Section: North Coast
League: East Bay
Update: The Cowboys lost to De La Salle 4-3 and beat Amador Valley 3-0 behind Brian Martinez. Games this week are against Monte Vista and California.

25. Redwood (Larkspur) (25) 16-3
Section: North Coast
League: Marin County
Update: The Giants roar into the final week of the regular season with a 16-0 rout of Terra Linda (San Rafael). They are 11-0 at home.

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Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. He co-hosts with Mike Finnerty the weekly Bee Preps Show that airs on ComcastSportsNet California and can be found on sacbee.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and through facebook.com/sacbeepreps.