MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

It's the final relay throw of the season with coaches frantically waving runners home one last time in a mad dash to home plate for high school baseball teams in Northern California.

Some sections have crowned champions while most are still in play. Granada (Livermore) remains No. 1 for a second consecutive week. No. 2 St. Francis (Mountain View) won a title for the first time since 2001, No. 3 Elk Grove seeks an eighth title and No. 4 Casa Grande (Petaluma) and No. 5 Campolindo (Moraga) could square off in a Division II showdown. MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings

1. (Last week 1) Granada (Livermore) 24-1
The Matadors backed up their No. 1 ranking here with yet another victory, downing Deer Valley (Antioch) 7-1 in the North Coast Section Division I semifinals. Kyle Campiotti drove in three runs and Jacob Payne struck out nine to improve to 12-1. Next is Amador Valley (Pleasanton) on Wednesday in a semifinal.

2. (2) St. Francis (Mountain View) 30-4
The Lancers belted West Catholic Athletic League rival Serra (San Mateo) 10-0 to win a Central Coast Section D-I title for the first time since 2001. Junior left-hander John Gavin tossed a one-hitter with eight strikeouts. All told, St. Francis peeled off playoff wins of 2-0, 3-0, 8-3 and 10-0.

3. (4) Elk Grove 27-5
The Thundering Herd won the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North title for the sixth time since 2002 under coach Jeff Carlson, beating Delta Valley Conference rival Franklin (Elk Grove) 4-2. Elk Grove also beat Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 5-0 and sports a 5-0 playoff mark as it heads into Friday's Game 1 showdown with three-time defending Section D-I champion St. Mary's (Stockton) at Sacramento City College. Aces David Smith and Micheal Wright are senior leaders along with Dom Nunez and Rowdy Tellez, who has two home run bombs at Sac City.

4. (6) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 26-2
The Gauchos are 4-0 in the postseason and now face College Park (Pleasant Hill) in the North Coast Section D-II playoffs on Wednesday. A 6-foot-3, 200-pound senior, Anthony Bender is 10-0 with an 0.26 ERA, allowing no earned runs in 11 outings.

5. (8) Campolindo (Moraga) 20-6-1
The winning streak is now 14 after downing Montgomery (Santa Rosa) 2-0 and Washington (Fremont) 2-0 in the North Coast Section D-II playoffs. Next is Clayton Valley (Concord) in a Wednesday semifinal in the ongoing quest to four-peat. Campolindo was the preseason NorCal No. 1.

6. (5) Bellarmine (San Jose) 25-7
The Bells beat St. Francis and Serra to take the WCAL tournament title to soar to No. 1 in these rankings then bowed out of the Central Coast Section D-I mix with a 6-4 setback to Palo Alto.

7. (3) Serra (San Mateo) 27-7
The Padres fell to WCAL rival St. Francis 10-0 in the Central Coast Section D-I finals. Serra came in having rolled Homestead (Cupertino) 11-1 and San Benito (Hollister) 6-0.

8. (6) De La Salle (Concord) 18-7
The Spartans are coming off North Coast Section D-I playoff rout of Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 12-0 and now prepare for Logan (Union City) on Wednesday in a semifinal.

9. (9) St. Mary's (Stockton) 20-12
The Rams endured a brutal early schedule, including a 1-0 win over Mater Dei (Santa Ana). The recent run includes a nine-game winning streak with two victories over Turlock. The ace is Joe Caffese, who is 10-3 with a 1.32 ERA. He has wins over Mater Dei (1-0), Monte Vista (8-1) and Turlock (5-1) with setbacks to Valley Christian (San Jose) 2-1 and De La Salle (10-0). He has won nine consecutive starts.

10. (15) Clayton Valley (Concord) 23-4
The Eagles have North Coast Section D-II playoff wins over Marin Catholic (Kentfield) 4-1 and Newark Memorial (Newark) 4-0 and now take on No. 5 Campolindo in a semifinal on Wednesday. Ace Ryan Snyder is 13-2.

11. (18) Pacific Grove 31-0
The Breakers beat Menlo School 10-4 to win the Central Coast Section D-III title to secure the best single-season mark in NorCal history, according to Cal-Hi Sports. They bettered the 30-0 mark by Maxwell from 2011. What's more, Pacific Grove has the second single-season record in state history, behind 35-0 Chatsworth of LA City Section in 2004. Junior ace Chris Clements went 14-0 with a 0.91 ERA, striking out 92 in 77 innings.

12. (12) Franklin (Elk Grove) 18-15
The defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champions had a bumpy regular season but hit a new gear in the postseason. Franklin beat Rodriguez (Fairfield) 13-0, Delta River League champion Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 4-1, then lost to Elk Grove 9-6 before eliminating Sacramento Bee No. 1 Davis 12-3 and taking out Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) in a loser's bracket final. The end came against Elk Grove in the North finals, 4-2 despite the efforts of ace Connor Adams. Tyler Blake is headed to Sacramento State while sophomore shortstop Hank LoForte returns.

13. (11) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 24-9
The Eagles in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North playoffs beat Rocklin 2-1, Vacaville 5-2, Sacramento Bee No. 1 Davis 6-3 and fell to Elk Grove 5-0 in a winner's bracket game and to Franklin (Elk Grove) in the loser's bracket finale. Matt Stafford will return after winning eight games as will shortstop star Bronson Grubbs.

14. (13) Davis 22-8
The Blue Devils bowed out with losses of 6-3 to Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) and 12-3 to Franklin (Elk Grove) in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North playoffs. The Delta Valley Conference champions were led by ace Matt Trask, a UCLA commit who is only a junior.

15. (19) Del Campo (Fair Oaks) 25-7
The Cougars beat Benicia 2-0 to win the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II championship behind ace Sam Long, who struck out six. The junior will graduate early and head to Sacramento State for his scholarship tour next spring. Team leaders included Tyler Swank, Derek Rodigo and Jared Biggs.

16. (NR) Logan (Union City) 20-7
The Colts are riding a seven-game winning streak, including North Coast Section D-I playoff wins over Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 5-4 and California (San Ramon) 10-3. The leading arms are Alex Martinez (1.86 ERA), Ulysses Ramos (1.68 and Cesar Jimenez (0.47). Next is De La Salle on Wednesday.

17. (16) Valley Christian (San Jose) 18-12
The Warriors were not able to repeat as Central Coast Section D-I champions, falling to WCAL rival St. Francis 3-0. Valley Christian was led this season by Theron Kay.

18. (17) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 19-9
The Trojans won the Delta River League over Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) and Jesuit (Carmichael) but a 12-game winning streak came to a grinding halt to Franklin (Elk Grove) 4-1 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I opener, ending a fine career for Alec de Watteville and season for Tommy Hummer.

19. (NR) College Park (Pleasant Hill) 20-5-1
The Falcons are coming off North Coast Section D-II playoff wins over Livermore (1-0) and Maria Carillo (Santa Rosa) 4-3 and now take on No. 4 Casa Grande in a semifinal. Sophomore Joe DeMers, a 6-foot-2, 230-pounder, has a 1.11 ERA.

20. (NR) Willow Glen (San Jose) 18-10
The Rams beat defending Central Coast Section D-II champion St. Ignatius (San Francisco) to take the title, the program's first section crown since 1967. A throwing error allowed John Riley to score the winning run in the 11th inning.

21. (21) San Benito (Hollister) 23-7
The Haybalers beat Menlo (Atherton) 3-2 and Mitty (San Jose) 5-0 in Central Coast Section D-I play before falling to Serra (San Mateo) 6-0.

22. (20) Benicia 27-5
The Panthers beat Bella Vista to take the best two-of-three Sac-Joaquin Section D-II series and then fell to Del Campo in the title game 2-0 as Ryan Bohnet suffered his first loss after a 9-0 start.

23. (23) Woodcreek (Roseville) 20-7
The Timberwolves won the Sierra Foothill League championship before falling to Elk Grove 8-5 in extra innings in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I opener. Ace Stephen Nogosek, he of the 93 mph fastball, expects to get drafted. He's also an Oregon commitment.

24. (24) Jesuit (Carmichael) 20-8
The Marauders fell to Sacramento Bee No. 1 Davis 2-0 in a Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoff opener and return a wealth of talent, including pitcher Chris Loeb, a sophomore who struck out six against Davis.

25. (25) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 18-12
Survivors of the rugged WCAL, the Monarchs opened the Central Coast Section D-I playoffs with a walk-off homer by Luke Rasmussen to beat Salinas before falling to San Benito (Hollister) 5-0.