The Easter break included the Boras Classic held in Sacramento and the Fresno Easter Classic in Fresno. Only rain ruined the party in Sacramento as a Boras champion was not crowned. It will be at a later date.
NorCal Top 20 high school baseball rankings
1. Buchanan (Clovis)
Record: 15-2 |
Last week: 1
Update: The Bears are the top-ranked team in the Central Section and by The Fresno Bee. They went 4-0 in the Fresno Easter Classic behind slugger
Drew Smith with wins over Frontier of Bakersfield, 4-2, and Bullard of Fresno 13-3 to go with an 8-7 win over Davis of Yolo County. This is the class of the Tri-River Athletic Conference.
2. Woodcreek (Roseville)
Record: 15-1 |
Last week: 8
Update: Top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee, the Timberwolves have won 15 consecutive games and reached the finals of the Boras Classic, which wasn't played due to rain. The Boras wins included 7-6 over Clayton Valley Charter of Concord, 6-2 over San Ramon Valley of Danville and 6-0 over Franklin of Elk Grove in the semifinals as
Austin Nye and
Zack Malone combined to strike out 13. The showdown with Archbishop Mitty of San Jose for the Boras title is pending.
3. Saint Francis (Mountain View)
Record: 17-2 |
Last week: 5
Update: The Lancers are the top-ranked team in the Bay Area News Group polls on the strength of a 12-game winning streak, including big wins in the tough West Catholic Athletic League. Saint Francis beat Monte Vista of Danville 3-2 in extra innings as
Elias Duncan homered and
Wyatt King scored on a
Derek Gile hit. Two other non-league wins include 10-0 over Lincoln of Stockton and 4-3 in extra innings over Bear Creek of Stockton.
4. De La Salle (Concord)
Record: 13-3 |
Last week: 4
Update: The Spartans went 3-1 in the All Faiths Classic in Las Vega, falling to Christian Brothers of St. Louis, 6-5, followed by a 6-0 win over Juan Diego Catholic of Utah as
Cal Randal and
Tyler Wood combined to strike out 13 with a one-hitter. The East Bay Athletic League is as good as it gets in Northern California.
5. California (San Ramon)
Record: 15-3 |
Last week: 10
Update: The Grizzlies beat Dublin 9-4 and Granada of Livermore 1-0 as
Nic Bronzini tossed a three-hitter in the shutout with 14 strikeouts. California is a member of the rugged East Bay Athletic League.
6. Foothill (Pleasanton)
Record: 15-2 |
Last week: 3
Update: The Falcons played once last week, a 3-2 loss to East Bay Athletic League member Dougherty Valley of San Ramon and remain 5-1 in league play.
Braeden Sloan, Woodcreek
Photo by Anthony Brunsman
Record: 14-4-1 |
Last week: 11
Update: The Warriors beat Live Oak of Morgan Hill 15-3 as
Hunter Fujimoto drove in four and
P.J. Mountzouridis hammered a three-run home run with four RBI. The week also included a 4-1 win over Wilcox of Santa Clara as
Alec Belardes struck out 10. This is a contender in the stacked West Catholic Athletic League.
8. Franklin (Elk Grove)
Record: 16-5 |
Last week: 9
Update: Ranked second by The Sacramento Bee behind Woodcreek, the Wildcats opened the Boras Classic with a 3-2 win over Stockdale as Jordan Lopez drove in the winning run, and there was the 2-0 win over Palo Alto as
Nolan Stevens sparkled again as the staff ace before Franklin fell to Woodcreek in a semifinal.
9. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose)
Record: 13-5 |
Last week: 16
Update: The Monarchs bounced back from a rough stretch in the rough-and-tumble WCAL with a strong showing in the Boras Classic. Mitty beat Liberty of Bakersfield 10-5 as
Jarren Advincula had a bases-clearing triple, followed by a 7-5 win over St. Mary's of Stockton. In a semifinal, Mitty beat Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa 11-4 as Advincula drove in three.
10. Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa)
Record: 15-2 |
Last week: 7
Update: The Cardinals went 2-1 in the Boras Classic, falling to Mitty 11-4 in a semifinal after beating Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 5-1 and Mountain View 8-0, a game in which
Tanner Bradley struck out eight in six innings in allowing just one hit. This is the class of the Redwood Empire.
11. San Ramon Valley (Danville)
Record: 12-5 |
Last week: 17
Update: The Wolves had nice wins in the Boras Classic before falling to Woodcreek, 6-2. They beat Clovis West of Fresno 3-2 and Stockdale of Bakersfield 10-4 and loom as a threat in the EBAL along with Foothill, De La Salle, California and Granada. San Ramon Valley has a 3-2 win already over De La Salle.
12. Stockdale (Bakersfield)
Record: 16-3 |
Last week: 2
Update: The Mustangs have lost three in a row after a sizzling 15-0 start, but the losses are to quality teams: 3-2 to Franklin of Elk Grove, 10-4 to San Ramon Valley and 2-1 to Mountain View — all in the Boras Classic. Stockdale is 7-0 in the Southwest Yosemite League.
13. Bullard (Fresno)
Record: 16-4 |
Last week: 19
Update: The Knights went 2-1 in the Fresno Easter Classic, beating Placer 11-0, falling to top-ranked Buchanan 13-3 and beating North of Bakersfield 12-0. Bullard is 6-1 in the County/Metro League.
14. Palo Alto
Record: 17-3|
Last week: 6
Update: The Vikings had a 13-game winning streak halted by Franklin of Elk Grove, 2-0, in the Boras Classic, then beat Granite Bay 7-3 before falling to Clovis West 11-4 and beating Sacred Heart Cathedral of San Francisco 12-5 as
Charlie Bates drove in three and
Henry Bolte and
Andre Hyrkin each drove in two runs. Palo Alto is 8-0 in the De Anza League.
15. Clayton Valley Charter (Concord)
Record: 12-4 |
Last week: 12
Update: The Ugly Eagles opened the Boras Classic with a 7-6 loss to new No. 2 Woodcreek of Roseville, fell to Clovis West 8-2 and then beat Granite Bay 8-2 and Oak Ridge of El Dorado Hills 11-2. The last game included two RBI each by
Jerry Coakley,
Jacob Krieg and
Carl Rice. CVC is in the running for championship honors in the Diablo-Foothill League.
16. Elk Grove
Record: 12-7 |
Last week: 13
Update: The Thundering Herd went 2-2 in a national invitational event in San Diego, beating Torrey Pines of San Diego 6-4 and Sage Creek of Carlsbad 4-0 before falling to Granite Hills of El Cajon 12-2 and Poway 7-1. The Delta League includes Franklin, Elk Grove and Jesuit.
17. McClatchy (Sacramento)
Record: 15-2 |
Last week: 14
Update: The Lions needed some out-of-area competition as they were rolling through the Metropolitan League and found it in a Southern California event. McClatchy went 1-2 in the event and then bombed Burbank of Sacramento 18-0 and 13-0 in a return to league play.
18. Bellarmine College Prep (San Jose)
Record: 13-4-1 |
Last week: 15
Update: Another contender in the rugged WCAL, the Bells have gone 6-0-1 in their last seven outings with three shutouts. In a 1-0, 11-inning win over Riordan of San Francisco,
Kyler Bacosa struck out 13 in eight innings.
19. Clovis West (Fresno)
Record: 11-4 |
Last week: 18
Update: The Eagles went 2-2 in the Boras Classic, falling to higher-ranked San Ramon Valley 3-2, beating Clayton Valley Charter 8-2, beating Palo Alto 11-4 and falling to St. Mary's of Stockton 3-2. Clovis West is a contender in the Tri-River League race that includes top-ranked Buchanan.
20. Marin Catholic (Kentfield)
Record: 16-3 |
Last week: 27
Update: The Wildcats have won 10 of their last 11 games and last week beat Branson of Ross 7-1 and 6-1, Novato 14-0 and Campolindo 4-1. They are in the mix for the Marin County League race with Redwood of Larkspur.
The Next 1021.
Acalanes (Lafayette), 11-5
22.
Vanden (Fairfield), 19-2
23.
Pleasant Valley (Chico), 17-1
24.
Jesuit (Carmichael), 12-8
25.
Vista del Lago (Folsom), 14-4
26.
Whitney (Rocklin), 16-3
27.
Leigh (San Jose), 14-5
28.
Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory (San Francisco), 11-8-1
29.
Wilcox (Santa Clara), 13-7
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
