MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

The final stretch of the regular season for Northern California high school baseball programs is here. Some leagues are down to the wire to decide a champion.

Be sure to check out Joe Davidson's article about the top 15 baseball teams in California prep history.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings

1. (last ranking 1) Elk Grove (21-4)
Top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee, the Thundering Herd have won 16 consecutive games, including beating rival Davis 6-4 in eight innings in the first of two meetings to decide the Delta Valley Conference championship. Elk Grove went 5-0 last week, including beating previous No. 12 Franklin (Elk Grove) 6-5 in nine innings and Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) 7-6 in 12 innings and capping the week with a 6-1 victory over Temecula Valley for the Boras Classic championship as Dylan Carlson broke it open with a two-run double. The Herd beat No. 2 St. Francis to win the Boras North title.

2. (2) St. Francis (Mountain View) (21-3)
The Lancers have split with No. 1 Elk Grove and are leading the West Catholic Athletic League with wins over No. 3 Valley Christian (San Jose) 1-0 and No. 11 Bellarmine (San Jose) 2-0. John Gavin is the ace.

3. (3) Clayton Valley Charter (Concord) (21-1)
The Ugly Eagles beat Berean Christian 7-0 and 7-2 behind Gabe Taylor and Ethan Utler. Taylor and Austin Cannedy are the aces. The lone loss entering the week was 3-0 to No. 1 St. Francis.

4. (4) Valley Christian (San Jose) (18-7)
The Warriors remain in the West Catholic Athletic League race, just behind No. 2 St. Francis. Valley Christian lost to St. Francis 1-0. Kyle Marinconz homered in a 4-2 win over St. Ignatius (San Francisco).

5. (5) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) (19-4)
The Eagles have won 10 consecutive games and close out the Delta River League season with three games against Sheldon (Sacramento), possessing visions of a league title. Nicco Toni has been strong at catcher and the staff includes Brett Elgin, Dalton Gomez and Matt Stafford.

6. (8) College Park (Pleasant Hill) (18-3)
The Falcons have won 13 of 14 games entering the week, losing only to No. 8 California in that stretch. College Park plays No. 2 Clayton Valley Charter twice this week to decide the Diablo Valley Athletic League title. A scheduled game against No. 1 Elk Grove has been scratched as Sac-Joaquin Section rules prohibits its member schools from playing teams outside their section after the regular season.

7. (11) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) (20-5)
The Monarchs are in the thick of the West Catholic Athletic League race that includes No. 1 St. Francis and No. 4 Valley Christian, teams Mitty plays this week. CJ Romero pitched well and Luke Rasmussen homered in a 2-1 victory over St. Ignatius (San Francisco).

8. (13) San Ramon Valley (Danville) (15-5)
The Wolves are competing for the East Bay Athletic League title with rivals California (San Ramon) and De La Salle (Concord), with all three tied for first place. San Ramon Valley beat California 7-4, scoring five in the final inning, and plays De La Salle on Friday.

9. (6) California (San Ramon) (16-4)
The Grizzlies beat Monte Vista (Danville) 9-2 behind Austin Chauvin and lost to No. 7 San Ramon Valley 7-4 after surrendering five runs in the seventh inning.

10. (7) De La Salle (Concord) (15-5)
The Spartans beat Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 6-2 and No. 14 Davis 8-5 behind Michael McAdoo. They play No. 7 San Ramon Valley on Friday.

11. (13) Bellarmine (San Jose) (20-6)
The Bells lost to No. 1 St. Francis 2-0 despite a strong outing by ace Corby Punian. Bellarmine beat Riordan (San Francisco) 7-0. An early loss this week was to No. 13 Serra, 2-0.

12. (9) Campolindo (Moraga) (17-4)
The Cougars lost to Alhambra (Martinez) and beat Dougherty Valley (San Ramon) 7-0 to remain comfortably in front in the Diablo Foothill League.

13. (22) Serra (San Mateo) (15-10)
The Padres of the West Catholic Athletic League have won five consecutive games, all by shutout, including 2-0 over No. 11 Bellarmine this week behind a gem from sophomore John Besse, who tossed a two-hitter.

14. (15) Davis (15-10-1)
The Blue Devils play No. 1 Elk Grove twice this week to decide the Delta Valley Conference championship. The top pitchers are Matt Trask and Brett Bloomfield and the anchor shortstop is Ryan Kreidler, who has an offer from UCLA with a lot more growing interest.

15. (10) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) (16-9)
The Trojans are battling No. 5 Pleasant Grove for the Delta River League title with three games this week against No. 17 Jesuit (Carmichael). The teams have split. Tyson Solis and Austin Root have played well.

16. (12) Franklin (Elk Grove) (16-9)
The Wildcats lost to No. 1 Elk Grove 6-5 and 11-3 but beat previously ranked Grant (Sacramento) 10-2 and 4-0 to clinch a Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoff berth. Cameron Keup has been the ace.

17. (NR) Jesuit (Carmichael) (15-9-1)
The Marauders are back in the rankings after splitting with No. 15 Oak Ridge in two games this week with a third looming. The front-line pitchers are Chris Loeb, Tanner Dodson and James Heinrichs, meaning this is a team that could make a real run in the Sac-Joaquin Section D-I playoffs.

18. (19) Rocklin (16-10)
The Thunder are in the thick of the Sierra Foothill League race, closing the regular season with three games against No. 19 Granite Bay. The first game this week was a 1-0 victory by Rocklin behind a Logan Webb gem.

19. (18) Granite Bay (14-11)
The Grizzlies are in the Sierra Foothill League race, closing the regular season with three games against rival Rocklin. Mitch Hart pitched admirably in a 1-0 loss to No. 18 Rocklin. Connor Briare has also had a good season, as has infielder Devin Lehman.

20. (NR) Granada (Livermore) (14-6)
The Matadors are on a six-game winning streak, including a 4-0 victory over No. 8 San Ramon Valley behind a four-hitter fromRobert Chioino and Casey Soltis.

21. (21) Benicia (21-4)
Veteran coach Jim Bowles earned his 300th career victory last week for a team looking to win the Sac-Joaquin Section D-II title as Solano County Athletic League champions.

22. (NR) Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa) (20-2)
The Pumas debut in the rankings because of pitching and defense, including beating Vanden (Fairfield) 4-0 and Northgate twice, 11-3 and 7-5.

23. (NR) Manteca (21-3)
The Buffaloes are 13-1 in the Valley Oak League, and champions, after beating Sierra (Manteca) 4-0 to cap league play. Lucas Vaughn is 10-0 for a program seeking a Sac-Joaquin Section D-IV title.

24. (23) Turlock (20-5)
The Bulldogs locked up the Central California Conference title behind ace Blake Cederlind and Nick Gonzales.

25. (24) Los Gatos (23-5)
A longtime football power, Los Gatos is in a 1-2 race with Wilcox (Santa Clara) for the De Anza Legue championship heading into the regular season's final week. Sophomore Hunter Bigge leads the team with 25 RBIs.

Joe Davidson has covered high school sports for The Sacramento Bee since 1988. Follow him on Twitter: @SacBee_JoeD and on www.sacbee.com

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