MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

Have you heard of the West Catholic Athletic League?

It's the best league running in Northern California, from football to basketball to the dramatic baseball scenes playing out this spring with headliner teams and talents.

Occupying the top spots in this week's MaxPreps NorCal Top 25 are WCAL heavies in Serra (San Mateo) and St. Francis (Mountain View), with No. 7 Valley Christian (San Jose), No. 8 Bellarmine (San Jose), No. 13 St. Ignatius (San Francisco) and No. 14 Mitty (San Jose) all in the running for league and section title honors.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings

1. Serra (San Mateo) 13-2
The Padres of the ever-brutal West Catholic Athletic League rallied to beat rival St. Francis (Mountain View) 10-9 and then peeled off wins over El Camino (South San Francisco) 5-4, Carlmont (Belmont) 11-2 and St. Mary's (Albany) 7-2. The losses were to preseason No. 1 Campolindo (Moraga) 3-1 and to Mitty (San Jose) 2-1. In beating St. Francis, Sean Watkins earned the win in relief.

2. St. Francis (Mountain View) 15-1
The collapse against Serra stings but how will the Lancers respond? Expect a boom from here. Wins this season include Campolindo (6-3), De La Salle (Concord) (6-4) and St. Mary's (Stockton) (8-2), the only team to beat state No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) this season.

3. Granada (Livermore) 10-0
The Matadors have won close games over Logan (Union City) 1-0 and Berkeley 1-0, and there have been routs in belting Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 13-2, Dublin 10-0, Enochs (Modesto) 20-1 and Tracy 11-1. Last week close wins were over Foothill (Pleasanton) 5-2 and Albany 5-1 for a 2-0 start in the East Bay League standings. This week is the 44th Alhambra Easter Tournament.

4. Elk Grove (8-2)
The Thundering Herd has wins over preseason heavies Valley Christian (San Jose) 4-0 and 10-1 over three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion St. Mary's (Stockton), the only team to hand state No. 1 Mater Dei a loss this spring. Another win is 6-5 over Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) before a 3-0 start in the debut Boras Baseball Classic until a seventh-inning meltdown in an 11-1 loss to Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) in the Northern Regional finals. The other loss was to preseason No. 1 Campolindo 4-2. The Herd is led by preseason All-American Rowdy Tellez and four-year starting infielder Dom Nunez.

5. De La Salle (Concord) 4-3
The Spartans have close losses to the top two teams in this ranking, Serra (4-2) and St. Francis (6-4), to open the season with quality wins over preseason No. 1 Campolindo (2-0) and St. Mary's (Stockton) (10-0). DLS is in the National Classic Tournament at Esperanza High this week.

6. Jesuit (Carmichael) 4-1
The Marauders opened the season with a 4-2 loss to Tokay (Lodi) and have wins over Valley Christian (San Jose) (7-3), St. Mary's (Stockton) (4-2) and Davis (8-2). Jesuit is in the Bishop Gorman Tournament this week in Las Vegas behind ace Julian Barron and leading hitters Josh Falco, Alex Larivee and Jordan Hanlin.

7. Valley Christian (San Jose) 10-4
The Warriors are tied atop the muscle-bound WCAL at 4-1 with rivals St. Francis and Serra after beating Bellarmine (San Jose) 3-0 and Sacred Heard Cathedral (San Francisco) 3-0. Last week also included a 2-1 win over St. Mary's (Stockton), the team that handed Mater Dei (Santa Ana) its lone loss. Losses are to Elk Grove (4-0) and Serra (5-3). This week is the Crown Classic with ace Theron Kay (5-0).

8. Bellarmine (San Jose) 10-3
The Bells are a game out of first in the WCAL, the top league in Northern California. Losses recently were to No. 1 Serra (4-3) and Valley Chrisitian (3-0) with wins over Mitty (San Jose) 2-0 and Santa Cruz (13-0). Against Mitty, Corby Punian had a two-run homer and Justin Calomeni earned the win. This week is the Cunningham Easter Classic.

9. Granite Bay 5-5
The Grizzlies of Placer County and the Sierra Foothill League have rousing victories over defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champion Franklin (Elk Grove) 5-2 and Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 2-0 with losses to Bellarmine (6-4) and Campolindo (13-0). Play at Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) on Thursday.

10. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 11-3
The Eagles won the Northern Regional part of the 16-team Boras Baseball Classic, erupting for eight runs in the eighth inning to beat Sacramento Bee No. 1 Elk Grove 11-1 behind ace/slugger Josh Adams, a UC Santa Barbara commit. Another win includes an 11-0 rout of Franklin (Elk Grove). Pleasant Grove opens defense of its Delta River League title this week against Sheldon (Sacramento).

11. Casa Grande (Petaluma) 11-1
The Gauchos of the North Bay League opened the season with a 4-2 loss to Wood (Vacaville) and haven't lost since, prevailing with rallies or dominant pitching and defense. Wins last week included Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa) 3-2 and Windsor 4-3 to start league play on top. Anthony Bender is 3-0 with an 0.00 ERA.

12. Campolindo (Moraga) 4-5
Never mind the record. Check out the schedule. The Cougars of the Diablo Foothill League started the season preseason No. 1 before losing to eventual No. 1 St. Francis 6-4 and then beating current No. 1 Serra 3-1 before falling to De La Salle (2-0) and Casa Grande (9-3) and then beating Elk Grove 4-2. Campolindo also has a 13-0 win over Granite Bay and enters the Anaheim Lions Tournament this week as a major contender.

13. St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 11-5
The Wildcats are within striking distance of the leaders in the WCAL, suffering losses of 3-1 to Serra, 2-1 to Bellarmine and 6-1 to St. Francis with wins over Riordon (San Francisco) 7-0 and 8-7 over Sacred Heard Cathedral (San Francisco).

14. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 11-5
The Monarchs are in the thick of the WCAL race, having beaten new No. 1 Serra 2-1 behind C.J. Romero before falling to Bellarmine 2-0.

15. Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 6-3
The Trojans have wins over Del Campo (Fair Oaks) 4-2, Franklin (Elk Grove) 5-2 and Castro Valley 9-1. Losses include Elk Grove (6-5) and Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 6-4. Play Sierra Foothill League and Sacramento Bee highly ranked Rocklin and Granite Bay this week. The ace is Austin Root.

16. Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 7-2
The Dons bound into this week's Elite 8 Tournament at St. Francis after wins over Livermore (5-0) and De La Salle (3-2). Daniel Jackson has played well after a slow start this season with injuries, cranking a homer against De La Salle.

17. San Benito (Hollister) 11-2
The Haybalers of the Monterey Bay League are off to a 7-1 conference start, just ahead of Palma (Salinas). San Benito opened the season with a 3-0 win over Valley Christian (San Jose). Open Crown Classic Tournament play against Clayton Valley (Concord) on Monday.

18. Deer Valley (Antioch) 7-2
The Wolverines of the Bay Valley League beat Sacramento Bee-ranked Pioneer (Woodland) 8-6 in the Boras Baseball Classic before falling to eventual Northern Regional champion Pleasant Grove 4-2, then recovered with a 5-4 win over Rocklin. Tyler Vistalli is 4-0 after beating Rocklin.

19. Franklin (Elk Grove) 5-6
The defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champions are used to slow starts, including a 1-5 effort last season. This season, losses to Pleasant Grove (11-0), Granite Bay (5-2) and Oak Ridge (5-2) are mixed in with a win over Rocklin (11-3). Open Delta Valley Conference play this week against Davis on Thursday.

20. Davis 7-5
The Blue Devils have wins over Pleasant Grove (4-3) and Yuba City (5-3) with setbacks to Rocklin (3-2) and Jesuit (8-2), and there was a competitive showing in the Fresno Easter Classic. Davis lost in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North finals to Franklin last season and opens Delta Valley Conference play against those same Wildcats this week.

21. Woodcreek (Roseville) 8-2
The Timberwolves won the Gina Montes SureWest Easter Invitational with an 11-6 victory over Sierra Foothill League rival Roseville, highlighted by Alex Montes cranking a two-run homer. He is the son of Gina Montes. Oregon-signee ace Stephen Nogosek had a 14-strikeout gem in a 3-1 victory earlier against River Valley (Yuba City).

22. Lincoln (Stockton) 9-1-1
The Trojans of the San-Joaquin Athletic Association are off to a rousing start in the Sac-Joaquin Section as a looming D-I threat.

23. Turlock 12-1
The Bulldogs of the Central California League opened the season with a 1-0 victory over Lincoln (Stockton) and are in clear control of the CCL with a 6-0 showing after beating Golden Valley (Merced) 17-1 and 5-1. Aces Tyler Murphy (5-0) and Nick Voumard (5-1) lead the way.

24. Benicia (Calif.) 15-2
The Panthers are off to a 5-0 start in the Solano County League standings, ahead of Fairfield, Bethel (Vallejo) and Vanden. Steven Daini and Ryan Bohnet are each 4-0 as co-aces.

25. Rocklin 5-5
The Thunder of Placer County under veteran coach Roc Murray hail from the same Sierra Foothill League that includes regional powers Woodcreek and Granite Bay. Austin Dick has been the steady ace, and he had a good showing in a 3-2 victory over Davis. Rocklin lost to Deer Valley 5-4 in the Boras Baseball Classic before closing with a 9-3 rout of Yuba City. Open SFL play this week with a nonleague game against Oak Ridge on Thursday.