MaxPreps Southern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

The top teams have settled in nicely in the rankings, as none of the top seven teams made any movement. Keep winning, keep staying - that's the lesson.

San Fernando enters the rankings this week, marking the first time a Los Angeles City Section team makes the list. Also, Diamond Bar, West Ranch, Valencia (Placentia) and Mission Viejo make appearances.

With league play it's much harder for teams to make astronomical jumps, and much easier to fall hard with a loss. With the exception of a few outstanding rivalries, we will have to wait until the playoffs to get a buffet of big-time matchups.

MaxPreps Southern California Baseball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 17-1 (7-0 Trinity League)
The Monarchs aren't going to stop winning any time soon, evidently. They drove to Stockton and blasted Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) in the Boras Classic final, 8-0, behind Mr. Clutch Jacob Erickson. They also took a pair of league wins over Servite, 7-1 and 2-0. Austin Grebeck is batting .443 and Ryan McMahon is hitting .424. League contests against Santa Margarita are on the docket this week for the Monarchs, ranked second in the Xcellent 25.

2. (2) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), 16-3 (2-2 Mission League)
The Wolverines fell in the LA Times rankings, even though they took two games from South (Torrance) and one from Verdugo Hills. The pitching has been amazing, with five shutouts in the last eight contests. Mission League play finally recommences, and Alemany will be the opponent twice for Harvard-Westlake, ranked third in the Xcellent 25.

3. (3) Fountain Valley, 18-1 (7-0 Sunset League)
The Barons are 21st in the Xcellent 25 and showed last week that they can win the close ones too. They dispatched Huntington Beach 12-11 after blowing a 6-0 lead, emerging victorious on a walk-off win. Then they took a 9-8 triumph in another game against Huntington Beach. The offense is going bonkers, scoring in double figures in five of the last six games, with the other being the nine-run output. Next up are three league games with Newport Harbor.

4. (4) Canyon (Anaheim), 14-2 (6-1 Century League)
The Comanches only played once, and they played well, beating Villa Park 2-0 while allowing five hits. Next up is a rematch with El Dorado, which gave Canyon a 2-1 loss earlier this season. Two league games with Esperanza also await this week.

5. (5) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 13-4 (2-0 Eastern League)
The Dons are now in league play and continue to do damage with pitching and defense. They beat Mira Mesa 3-2 in eight innings behind Stephen Gonsalves and then dispatched Patrick Henry 5-3. Scripps Ranch and St. Augustine are on the schedule this week.

6. (6) Bonita (La Verne), 16-2-1 (4-0 Hacienda League)
The Bearcats continued their great season by beating Northview 3-2 in 11 innings and JW North 8-0. It took a run in the top of the seventh to send the Northview game into extra innings and Jacob Blunt went 4-for-5. Now league play is on the schedule and that means two with West Covina.

7. (7) Orange Lutheran, 14-4 (5-2 Trinity League)
The Lancers have come on strong and they kept the momentum going by taking two from JSerra Catholic, 7-1 and 5-0. Dalton Frize was 2-for-3 in the shutout win and Travis Blue was 3-for-4 in the 7-1 win. That makes seven straight victories for the Lancers, who will face Servite twice this week.

8. (9) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), 14-3-1 (2-0 Tri Valley League)
The Lions took two wins against Bishop Diego (Santa Barbara), 4-1 and 7-3. They showed lots of guile in the Boras Classic and will continue their season with a pair of games against Nordhoff (Ojai) this week.

9. (10) El Toro (Lake Forest), 13-5 (6-0 South Coast League)
The Chargers are atop the SCL and it has a lot to do with a pair of wins against a quality Capistrano Valley squad. In the 10-8 triumph, they broke a 7-all tie in the top of the seventh with three runs and got help from Gavin Collins and Chase Schroeder, who combined for five hits and three RBIs. In a 4-1 victory they got a stellar pitching performance from Ryan Kayoda. Two games with Mission Viejo await this week.

10. (11) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 15-3 (3-0 Palomar League)
The Broncos got off to a great start in league play by blasting Torrey Pines by scores of 12-0, 2-0 and 13-8. Matt Osborne went the distance for a shutout in the 12-0 win, Parker Bugg did the same in the 2-0 win and Alex Jackson and Casey Henderson each knocked in four runs in the 13-8 triumph. Three games with Canyon Crest Academy are on the schedule this week.

11. (14) San Clemente, 17-3 (5-1 Sea View League)
The Tritons took two from Laguna Hills, winning 3-0 and 5-4. Marshall Pautsch and Cody Maples combined on a one-hitter in the 3-0 win and Kolby Allard gave five shutout innings in the other win. Two games with San Juan Hills are on the schedule this week.

12. (15) Granite Hills (El Cajon), 14-4 (3-0 Grossmont Hills League)
The Eagles have only allowed two runs in their last four games. They took a pair of league contests against Steele Canyon (3-0 and 7-2) in addition to a 9-0 triumph over West Hills. Up next are West Hills and Grossmont.

13. (16) Redlands, 13-3 (6-1 Citrus Belt League)
The Terriers won two games over AB Miller, 13-2 and 5-1. They were up 13-0 before two seventh-inning runs against Miller, and were led by a 3-for-4 Jimmy Walker performance. Angel Landazuri got the win in the 5-1 triumph. Two games against Cajon await this week, and it's a chance to avenge a 5-4 loss.

14. (18) Quartz Hill, 14-5 (6-0 Golden League)
The Rebels are blasting their league, taking two from Palmdale, 14-3 and 11-0. They allowed just two hits in the shutout and Alec Smith was 4-for-4 with three doubles and four RBIs in the 14-3 win. Two contests with Lancaster are on the schedule this week.

15. (19) Serra (Gardena), 15-5 (2-0 Del Rey League)
The Cavaliers took a pair from Bishop Amat, winning 6-0 and 9-5. The 6-0 victory was a no-hitter by Solemon Bates (though we also have reports that it was one-hitter), and in the 9-5 win Robert Hunt went 3-for-3. Up next is two games against La Salle (Pasadena).

16. (7) Cypress, 14-5 (3-1 Empire League)
The Centurions certainly put a head-scratcher out there this week. They blew the doors off Western (Anaheim) 27-4, then lost to the same team 2-1 a couple days later. Weird indeed. They bounced back with a 9-2 triumph over Mira Costa to save face, though. Next up are two games with Tustin and then a Saturday contest with Chadwick.

17. (NR) Valencia (Placentia), 18-3 (4-2 Empire League)
The Tigers have won seven in a row, and they beat Kennedy (La Palma) 2-1 and 1-0 this past week. They also own triumphs over South Hills and Redondo Union. Next up are league games against Yorba Linda.

18. (NR) Mission Viejo, 15-5-1 (4-2 South Coast League)
The Diablos are unbeaten in their last eight contests, and took a pair from Tesoro last week. Tyler Clark is hitting .458 thus far and John Balliet has 26 RBIs already.

19. (13) Agoura, 14-7 (7-1 Marmonte League)
The Chargers went 1-2, but those losses were both by one run. They dispatched Thousand Oaks 4-2 but then lost 5-4 and then fell to Bishop Amat 4-3. Next up are two games with Moorpark and one with South (Torrance).

20. (21) Temecula Valley (Temecula), 13-3 (6-1 Southwestern League)
The Golden Bears split with Vista Murrieta, losing 3-1 and winning 1-0 in walk-off fashion. Mitch Kemp got the game-winning RBI. Two games with Chaparral await this week.

21. (17) Northview (Covina), 14-4 (3-1 Valle Vista League)
A tight 3-2 loss to Bonita (in 11 innings) slowed the Vikings but they rebounded by beating Bell 5-2. Two games with Wilson (Hacienda Heights) are on the schedule this week.

22. (24) Alemany (Mission Hills), 15-4 (3-1 Mission League)
The Warriors have won eight of nine and they are actually ahead of Harvard-Westlake in the Mission League standings. We will find out a lot about this squad this week, as the Warriors face Harvard-Westlake twice in league play. Last week they split with Chaminade and then beat Camarillo 12-3.

23. (NR) West Ranch (Valencia), 11-6 (5-2 Foothill League)
Sweep a team that was in the rankings, and you get ranked. That's the thought here with West Ranch, which took two from Canyon (Canyon Country), 11-3 and 13-8. They broke a 3-all tie with eight runs in the sixth in that 11-3 win. A home and home with Valencia (formerly ranked) awaits.

24. (NR) Diamond Bar, 15-2 (5-1 Hacienda League)
The Brahmas make their first appearance after winning 10 of their last 11, and the loss was to Serra. They whacked Diamond Ranch 13-3 and 8-0, banging out 16 hits in the shutout victory including three from Nolan Luzzi. Nonleague road games at Don Lugo and Kennedy (La Palma) await this week.

25. (NR) San Fernando, 20-2 (6-0 Valley Mission League)
We welcome our first and only Los Angeles City Section team, one that is on a hot streak and has been winning close games all year. The Tigers have won 10 straight games and will face Sylmar twice this week.