MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

These teams are human after all. Losses happen.

What will separate these teams packed into the MaxPreps NorCal Top 25 is how they respond in the playoffs, and whether those still rolling can keep it up.

Casa Grande (Petaluma) had its 21-game winning streak halted and had a chance to move to No. 1 after St. Francis suffered two losses.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings 1. (10) Bellarmine (San Jose) 24-6
The Bells steamed into the West Catholic Athletic League championship game at Santa Clara this week on the wave of an eight-game winning streak, and then made it a tidy nine with a 12-2 victory over rival Serra (San Mateo). This run also included great pitching and defense and wins over previous No. 1 St. Francis (Mountain View) 1-0, Riordon (San Francisco) 4-0, St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 2-1 and St. Francis again 3-0 in the semifinals of the WCAL. Justin Calomeni is 8-1 with a 1.21 ERA, Sam Fontaine is 7-0 and 0.00 and Kevin Crane is 5-3 and 2.29.



2. (3) Serra (San Mateo) 24-6
The Padres rolled into the West Catholic Athletic League championship game with a five-game winning streak, last losing 13-3 to rival St. Francis and then falling to Bellarmine in the title bout 12-2. Serra tied St. Francis for the WCAL title and got to the WCAL title game by beating Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 5-0 and Valley Christian (San Jose) 6-5.

3. (2) Granada (Livermore) 20-1
The Matadors finally tasted defeat, falling to California (San Ramon) 5-0 in East Bay League action. It gets no easier with De La Salle on Friday and Monte Vista (Danville) and Livermore on the road next week to close out regular-season play. Granada went 17-10 last season, so the jump is considerable.

4. (1) St. Francis (Mountain View) 25-4
The Lancers rolled much of the season before encountering speed bumps with losses in three of their previous four games — to Bellarmine 1-0, Valley Christian (San Jose) 5-4 and Bellarmine again 3-0 in the WCAL semifinals. It's not wise to write this group off with pitchers John Gavin and Michael Strem, and a host of others that powered a 26-5-1 team last spring. Other St. Francis wins include Campolindo (6-3), De La Salle (Concord) (6-4) and St. Mary's (Stockton) (8-2).

5. (4) De La Salle (Concord) 15-6
The Spartans beat Monte Vista (Danville) 10-6 to keep pace in the East Bay standings, rolled Edison (Fresno) in a nonleague game and then beat San Ramon Valley (Danville) in league action. The final three games are against No. 3 Granada (Livermore), Livermore and California (San Ramon). De La Salle has early losses to No. 2 Serra (4-2) and to previous No. 1 St. Francis (6-4) with quality wins over preseason No. 1 Campolindo (2-0) and St. Mary's-Stockton (10-0).

6. (8) Turlock 25-1
The Bulldogs of the Central California Conference have won 25 consecutive games since losing to Lincoln (Stockton) 1-0 in an opener. Turlock looms as the favorite in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I South field with action starting next week. Tyler Murphy is 9-1 with an 0.76 ERA and Nick Voumard is 11-1 with a 0.86.

7. (5) Davis 21-6
The Blue Devils of Yolo County are top ranked by The Sacramento Bee and primed for a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I title run, which would be the program's third under veteran coach Dan Ariola since 2000. Davis won the Delta Valley Conference with a 3-2 spirited win over rival Elk Grove on a Matt Trask walk-off hit and great starting pitching from Bobby Young. Trask is the ace whose team starts the playoffs on Wednesday at Sacramento City College.



8. (6) Elk Grove 22-5
Ranked second by The Sacramento Bee, the Thundering Herd beat Davis 12-2 then lost to Davis 3-2 in the Delta Valley Conference title game, and there's plenty of talent here to make a run at the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North title (the program has six such titles since last decade). Leaders Rowdy Tellez and Dom Nunez are flanked by senior pitchers David Smith and Micheal Wright. Elk Grove opens against Vintage (Napa) on Monday.

9. (11) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 21-2
The Gauchos had their 21-game winning streak halted by Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 4-2 and still loom as a North Coast Section title contender. Anthony Bender is 7-0 with an 0.19 ERA, Charlie Parnow is 5-0 with a 1.00 and Dominic Garihan 4-0 and 0.38.

10. (12) Campolindo (Moraga) 14-6-1
The MaxPreps NorCal preseason No. 1 team has won nine in a row and is warming up for a North Coast Section D-II four-peat with 15 returning starters and a ton of scholarship talent, including pitchers Trent Shelton (Oregon State) and Matt Ladrech (Cal).

11. (NR) Valley Christian (San Jose) 17-11
The Warriors of the WCAL are gearing up for a repeat run as Central Coast Section Division I champions, riding a five-game winning streak into the WCAL playoffs before falling to Serra (San Mateo) 6-5. Theron Kay is 9-2, including a 4-0 win over Mitty (San Jose), a game in which he also homered.

12. (NR) Tracy 16-11
The Bulldogs of the Sac-Joaquin Section won the San Joaquin Athletic Association by a game over Lodi and Lincoln (Stockton), and Lincoln is the team that beat Turlock and has a win over Jesuit (Carmichael). The ace here is Jonah Wesely, who has six wins and a 1.03 ERA, and No. 2 man John Jaeger has nine wins and an 0.26 ERA. Tracy opens D-I South play Thursday at Pacific.

13. (9) Lincoln (Stockton) 21-4-1
The Trojans, who lost the San Joaquin Athletic Association title to Tracy with setbacks of 6-5 and 4-2, finish regular-season play at Vacaville on Saturday and then jump into the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I South postseason by opening against Enochs (Modesto). Lincoln is the only team to beat No. 6 Turlock and it has a walk-off victory over Jesuit.



14. (14) St. Mary's (Stockton) 16-12
The Rams are rolling into the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoffs as three-time defending champions. The ace is Joe Caffese, who has eight wins and a 1.55 ERA. Earlier efforts included a win over Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 1-0 and losses to Serra (San Mateo) 4-2, Jesuit (Carmichael) 4-2 and Valley Christian (San Jose) 2-1.

15. (19) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 19-8
The Trojans of the Sac-Joaquin Section have won 12 consecutive games and clinched the Delta River League championship, tying Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove), but gaining the No. 1 seed by virtue of winning two of three against the the Eagles. Outfielder F.P. Santangelo, infielder Alec de Watteville and pitchers Austin Root and Tommy Hummer have led the charge for the D-I North title contenders.

16. (22) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 21-7
The Eagles have won eight of nine down the stretch, including Jesuit 2-0 and 10-4 to defend a piece of the Delta River League title, thanks in large part to Josh Adams. The UC Santa Barbara commit beat Jesuit the first time on the mound and the second time with his bat, smacking two solo home runs. Pleasant Grove plays Rocklin in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I opener.

17. (20) Woodcreek (Roseville) 20-6
The Timberwolves won the competitive Sierra Foothill League in holding off rivals Granite Bay and Rocklin. Aces are Tyler Milani and a refreshed Stephen Nogosek. Woodcreek is the defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division II champion now in the D-I scramble, and it takes on the Elk Grove-Vintage winner next week at Sacramento City College.

18. (17) Pacific Grove 26-0
The Breakers of the Mission Trail League in Monterey County continue to roll as the lone unbeaten team in Northern California. They don't play the power-packed schedule of others in these rankings, nor do they hail from one of the toughest leagues, but perfection counts.

19. (13) Jesuit (Carmichael) 20-7
The Marauders entered the week tied for first place in the Delta River League and exit it in third place, having lost two of three to Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove). Still, this is a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North contender under coach Joe Potulny and pitchers Julian Barron and Chris Loeb.



20. (23) Whitney (Rocklin) 26-1
The Wildcats are the heavy favorite to win the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II playoffs behind hitters J.R. Robinson and Trevor Abrams and aces Josh Little and Robinson, who are a combined 14-1.

21. (NR) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 17-11
The Monarchs are back in these rankings after a strong showing down the stretch in the West Catholic Athletic League, including a 6-4 win over No. 2 Serra (San Mateo), a 6-3 setback to No. 1 Bellarmine and a 4-0 loss to No. 11 Valley Christian (San Jose) in the WCAL playoffs.

22. (18) College Park (Pleasant Hill) 15-5-1
The Falcons of the Diablo Valley League have an early win over Serra (San Mateo) 5-2 and posted wins of 17-0 and 13-0 over Ygnacio Valley (Concord) and 1-0 over Clayton Valley (Concord) before falling to Clayton Valley 7-2. The final three regular-season games are against El Cerrito and twice against Mt. Diablo (Concord).

23. (21) Granite Bay 17-9
The Grizzlies of Placer County were just a short time ago ranked No. 1 by The Sacramento Bee. They are second-place finishers in the brutal Sierra Foothill League and now head into the D-I playoffs for the first time after years of success in D-II. Gabe Meza is the ace.

24. (16) Lodi 17-10
The Flames finished tied for second with Lincoln (Stockton) in the San Joaquin Athletic Association behind Tracy and enter the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I South playoffs as a contender. Two wins are against Lincoln.

(TIE) 25. (24) Benicia 24-3
The Panthers of the Sac-Joaquin Section loom as a Division II favorite along with Del Campo (Fair Oaks). They open with Oakmont (Roseville) in a playoffs, no easy chore.



(TIE) 25. (25) Foothill (Palo Cedro) 27-4
The Cougars of the Northern Section won the Sacramento River League title under coach Todd Buck a year after going 29-2. This is the top team in the North part of the state. Colton Landreth is 8-1 and Chase Larsen is 7-0.