Sometimes you have lots of movement and other weeks you have practically none.
Just one new team is in the rankings this week, as it definitely appears that the best SoCal teams have ramped up their play in anticipation of the playoffs. Teams from the Southern and Central sections are set to finish their schedules this week and the San Diego Section will do the same a week later.
As soon as brackets become available we will post them.
Remember to check out the
Freeman Rankings for more California baseball rankings.
MaxPreps Southern California Baseball Rankings
Ryan Schroth and Orange Lutheran found a way to break Mater Dei's 22-game win streak, and moved up to seventh this week.
Photo by Heston Quan
1 state, 1 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Monarchs lost but still keep the top spot. It's a simple combination of factors: They clinched the Trinity League title, then lost in a rematch to Orange Lutheran, another highly ranked team. And the team trailing them, Harvard-Westlake, dropped a league contest, so they couldn't go to No. 1. And Oaks Christian lost to Mater Dei. So it was easy. And after winning 22 in a row, it's a matter of time before a team loses, no matter how good.
2. (2) Harvard-Westlake (Studio City), 21-4 (7-3 Mission League)Freeman Ranking: 5 state, 9 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Wolverines split with Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks), winning 2-1 in nine innings and losing 10-7. They are two games behind Loyola with two left in the Mission League, so they need to beat St. Francis twice to even have a shot, then need a ton of help from Chaminade, which plays Loyola. Why did they not fall after losing, either? They beat Oaks Christian as well.
3. (3) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village), 22-3-1 (8-0 Tri Valley League)
Brandon Evans, Oaks Christian
Photo by Vince Pugliese
15 state, 59 national
Division: Southern Section IV
The
Lions keep winning, but we can't move them above two teams they lost to, and you must also consider that their league is not at the caliber of the Mission or Trinity. They stifled Grace Brethren twice last week, winning 9-0 and 4-0. That makes them league champs ahead of the two games this week with Oak Park.
4. (5) Fountain Valley, 23-2 (12-1 Sunset League)Freeman Ranking: 3 state, 3 national
Division: Southern Section I
The
Barons took down Edison, 5-4 and 7-3, and that gives them the league title. There was a duplicate win on their schedule, though, so the record only improved slightly. Still, this squad has been consistently great and will be a force in the playoffs. Second-place Marina is the opponent in the final week of the regular season.
5. (7) Serra (Gardena), 21-5 (8-0 Del Rey League)Freeman Ranking: 27 state, 108 national
Division: Southern Section III
The
Cavaliers made it 11 wins in a row by winning 7-1 over St. Paul and winning another over the same school by forfeit. By winning one of two in the final week against Cathedral, Serra will wrap up the Del Rey League title and will go into the playoffs appearing to reach the potential we saw early in the season.
6. (8) Loyola (Los Angeles), 19-8 (9-1 Mission League)Freeman Ranking: 41 state, 198 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Cubs just need one win in their final two games against Chaminade, or a Harvard-Westlake loss in one of two games, to win the Mission League title. They have 12 straight wins and are looking formidable as the playoffs approach.
7. (10) Orange Lutheran, 17-7 (8-5 Trinity League)Freeman Ranking: 7 state, 14 national
Division: Southern Section I
The
Lancers split two with Mater Dei, and that's certainly cause for a rankings bump. They lost 2-1 but won 4-3, and that sets them up to finish strong as they face last-place St. John Bosco for the final two games of the season.
8. (4) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego), 22-4 (10-1 Palomar League)Freeman Ranking: 9 state, 22 national
Division: San Diego Section Open
The
Broncos reached 13 victories in a row but fell to Westview, 6-4, after
winning 9-0 earlier in the week. Even though they have a three-game lead
with four left, the Broncos better be careful, because three of those
games are against second-place Poway.
9. (11) Bonita (La Verne), 23-3-1 (10-0 Hacienda League)Freeman Ranking: 32 state, 136 national
Division: Southern Section III
The
Bearcats bounced back from a loss to Oaks Christian by taking a pair from Walnut, winning 2-1 and 12-1. They've got two with Diamond Bar this week, a team that was in the rankings earlier. Bonita needs to win one of the two games to secure the outright league title, as Diamond Bar comes in at 8-2 in league play.
10. (13) El Toro (Lake Forest), 18-6 (9-0 South Coast League)Freeman Ranking: 6 state, 11 national
Division: Southern Section I
The
Chargers are league champs and already should be making their playoff plans. They beat up on Tesoro by taking 13-0 and 2-0 decisions last week, and their final two of the season against Dana Hills.
11. (16) Carlsbad, 21-4 (11-0 Avocado West League)Freeman Ranking: 22 state, 88 national
Division: San Diego Section I
The Lancers keep climbing. By winning 5-0 and 6-1 over El Camino last week, Carlsbad grabbed the top spot in the San Diego U-T rankings. They've now won 12 in a row and this week brings the ultimate test: They have three with La Costa Canyon (crosstown rival) and come in with just a one-game lead.
12. (18) Canyon (Anaheim), 20-5 (12-4 Century League)Freeman Ranking: 8 state, 19 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Comanches won a trifecta last week, emerging victorious 3-1 over Brea Olinda, then 11-4 and 9-4 over Villa Park. Two games with Foothill are left on the schedule, and it's going to determine the league title, as Canyon and El Dorado are tied at the top.
13. (6) Granite Hills (El Cajon), 19-7 (8-3 Grossmont Hills League)Freeman Ranking: 12 state, 47 national
Division: San Diego Section Open
The
Eagles trail Grossmont by one game in the league standings but it looks
like it will be a two-horse race from here on out. Grossmont pinned two
losses on Granite Hills earlier, and there will be one more rematch.
This week, though, the Eagles have Westmont first before that rematch.
San Diego U-T has the Eagles ranked seventh in the area, well below
teams that have not been in our rankings.
14. (19) Redlands East Valley, 20-4-1 (10-3 Citrus Belt League)Freeman Ranking: 72 state, 490 national
Division: Southern Section II
The Wildcats won 7-3 and 11-5 over Eisenhower to keep pace with crosstown rival Redlands. They have two games left with Cajon, a team in the middle of the pack, and they better win twice because Redlands faces last-place and winless in league Eisenhower.
15. (20) San Clemente, 22-6 (8-2 Sea View League)
Marshall Pautsch, San Clemente
Photo by Jordan Anast
10 state, 34 national
Division: Southern Section II
The
Tritons got back to winning low-scoring games, taking 2-1 and 1-0 results against Dana Hills. The SVL title will come down to this week's two games against Aliso Niguel. Win one of the two and San Clemente has the title itself. Lose both and they'll be watching the Wolverines celebrate.
16. (21) Quartz Hill, 19-6 (11-1 Golden League)Freeman Ranking: 115 state, 779 national
Division: Southern Section III
The
Rebels won 15-0 and 9-3 over Littlerock to get back on the winning train in the Golden League. They have a one-game lead over Knight and if they win both this week against last-place Antelope Valley, the title is theirs.
17. (12) Cypress, 20-7 (7-3 Empire League)Freeman Ranking: 18 state, 74 national
Division: Southern Section II
The
Centurions didn't help themselves in the league title race by splitting
with Pacifica, winning 3-0 but losing 2-1. Now that means Pacifica and
Valencia are one game behind, and Cypress faces Valencia this week
twice. So a sweep guarantees the league title, while a split could make
things dicey.
18. (22) Grossmont (El Cajon), 20-6 (9-2 Grossmont Hills League)Freeman Ranking: 11 state, 45 national
Division: San Diego Section I
The
Foothillers beat West Hills 5-2 and then kept the momentum going with a 4-1 triumph over Valhalla. The U-T has them ninth in the local rankings, though.
19. (14) Agoura, 19-9 (10-3 Marmonte League)Freeman Ranking: 69 state, 477 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Chargers dropped a 3-2 decision to Simi Valley and will make up a postponed second game against Simi Valley to close out the season.
20. (15) Temecula Valley, 17-5 (10-3 Southwestern League)Freeman Ranking: 26 state, 107 national
Division: Southern Section II
The
Golden Bears split a pair of games with Great Oak, winning 8-5 and losing 6-0. Now Murrieta Valley comes on the schedule for two games to close the schedule. One win can secure the league title.
21. (9) Buchanan (Clovis), 23-4-1 (11-2 Tri-Rivers League)Freeman Ranking: 16 state, 61 national
Division: Central Section I
The Bears hit a little snag in the schedule, but they certainly didn't lose to bad baseball teams. Far from it. True, they lost a league contest to Clovis, 4-3. And they lost 8-2 to Clayton Valley (Concord) at the Oakland Coliseum, and that team is 17-3. They also won 2-1 over Clovis, and that is a 20-8 squad. So it's hardly a time to panic there in the Central Section, but the playoffs certainly won't be a breeze.
22. (23) Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita), 15-10 (7-6 Trinity League)Freeman Ranking: 21 state, 85 national
Division: Southern Section I
The
Eagles took a pair of games from JSerra Catholic, winning 8-4 and 10-0. There are two games against Servite that should be on the schedule, but as of now they are not there.
Griffin Canning tossed six shutout innings in the 10-0 triumph.
23. (24) Lakewood, 20-8 (8-2 Moore League)Freeman Ranking: 33 state, 143 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Lancers have a half-game lead over Long Beach Poly in the league title race and get Cabrillo and Compton to finish out the season. Poly plays Jordan.
24. (NR) El Dorado (Placentia), 17-8 (12-4 Century League)
Austin Fresquez, El Dorado
Photo by Heston Quan
20 state, 79 national
Division: Southern Section I
The Golden Hawks are tied with Canyon atop their league and they jump into their rankings thanks to their rankings from the LA Times and the Freeman Rankings. Those numbers are enough to overcome last week's 2-0 loss to El Modena. El Dorado has a pair with Brea Olinda this coming week.
25. (17) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego), 17-7 (5-3 Eastern League)Freeman Ranking: 34 state, 147 national
Division: San Diego Section I
The
Dons lost 7-2 to Patrick Henry to continue a gradual slide. They will try to bounce back with a pair of games against Scripps Ranch this week.
