MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

It was Easter Week last week for the heavies in the MaxPreps Northern California Top 25. Some competed in tournaments and others competed against each other in practices with a light week or a stretch with no games.

All NorCal teams will have a curious interest in Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) on Saturday when the Eagles take on national power Mater Dei (Santa Ana) in the finals of the Boras Baseball Classic finals at Pacific on Stockton. It's as close to a state championship as we'll get in this state. Pleasant Grove won the 16-team North Regional and Mater Dei claimed the 16-team South Regional.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings

1. (Last week 2) St. Francis (Mountain View) 17-1
The Lancers beat Amador Valley 1-0 in the finals of the St. Francis Elite 8 Spring Tournament, and thank goodness Michael Strem made the trip. The standout senior had the RBI and he struck out 10 for the title win to move to 6-0 on the mound with an 0.51 ERA in 41.1 innings of work. Other St. Francis wins include Campolindo (6-3), De La Salle (Concord) (6-4) and St. Mary's (Stockton) (8-2), the only team to beat state No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) this season. Games this week in the brutal West Catholic Athletic League include Bellarmine (San Jose) and Valley Christian (San Jose).

2. (3) Granada (Livermore) 12-0
The Matadors beat Alhambra (Martinez) 11-1 to take the 44th annual Alhambra Easter Tournament championship after earlier beating Albany 5-1 and Arroyo (San Lorenzo) 11-2. Casey Soltis and Jordan Thraikill and Ryan Kirby each had two RBIs in the title win and Jacob Payne struck out eight to earn the victory. Granada plays California (San Ramon) this week.

3. (1) Serra (San Mateo) 13-3
The Padres lost to College Park 5-2, snapping a four-game winning streak that included a spirited late rally to beat St. Francis (Mountain View), thus the climb to No. 1. Serra resumes West Catholic Athletic League action this week against Riordon (San Francisco), Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) and Monte Vista (Danville) in the Banner Island Classic at Pacific in Stockton. Other losses were to preseason No. 1 Campolindo (Moraga) 3-1 and to Mitty (San Jose) 2-1.

4. (4) Elk Grove (10-2)
The Thundering Herd of the Sac-Joaquin Section beat Monterey Trail (Sacramento) 14-3 in its lone game, days after falling to Pleasant Grove in the Boras Classic North Regional finals. Other wins include heavies Valley Christian (San Jose), 4-0, and 10-1 over three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division I champion St. Mary's (Stockton). Another win is 6-5 over Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) before a 3-0 start in the debut Boras Baseball Classic. The other loss was to preseason No. 1 Campolindo 4-2. Elk Grove caps this week's play in the Delta Valley Conference at Davis on Friday.

5. (16) Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 9-3
The Dons Beat St. Mary's (Stockton) 5-4 in the Elite 8 Tournament, then topped Newark Memorial 4-1 before falling to top-ranked St. Francis 1-0. A big win earlier was over De La Salle 3-2. Games this week include No. 2 Granada and Monte Vista (Danville).

6. (5) De La Salle (Concord) 7-4
The Spartans went 3-1 in the National Classic Tournament in Southern California, falling to Huntington Beach in the opener 7-1 and beating Pacific (Garden Grove) in the Consolation Championship, 5-2, with Andrew Buckley earning the win with five innings of work. De La Salle has early losses to Serra (4-2) and St. Francis (6-4) with quality wins over preseason No. 1 Campolindo (2-0) and St. Mary's-Stockton (10-0). Games this week are Monte Vista (Danville) and San Ramon Valley (Danville).

7. (6) Jesuit (Carmichael) 7-3
The Marauders went 3-1 in the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic in Las Vegas, falling to the host school 3-2 in the opener and closing by beating Bellflower 7-6, Juan Diego Catholic (Draper, Utah) and Irvine 16-10. Jesuit has wins over Valley Christian (San Jose) (7-3), St. Mary's (Stockton) (4-2) and Davis (8-2). The Marauders play Delta River League rival Oak Ridge three times this week.

8. (7) Valley Christian (San Jose) 13-4
The Warriors won the Crown Classic with defense and superb pitching, beating Washington (Fremont) in the finals 4-0. In other games in the event, Valley Christian beat Santa Cruz 2-0 and Wilcox (Santa Clara) 3-2. Tied for first in the brutal WCAL at 4-1, VC plays St. Ignatius (San Francisco) and St. Francis (Mountain View) this week.

9. (8) Bellarmine (San Jose) 13-4
The Bells reached the finals of the Cunningham Easter Classic by beating San Lorenzo Valley (Felton) 5-0, Monte Vista (Danville) 4-3 and then falling to Foothill (Pleasanton) 3-1. Bellarmine is a game out of first in the WCAL with losses to Serra 4-3 and Valley Christian 3-0. This week includes top-ranked St. Francis and a nonleague game against Palo Alto.

10. (9) Granite Bay 6-5
The Grizzlies of Placer County beat Oak Ridge in a nonleague game 8-1 and open Sierra Foothill League play this week with three games against cross-town rival Roseville. Early wins include defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champion Franklin (Elk Grove) 5-2 and Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 2-0 with losses to Bellarmine (6-4) and Campolindo (13-0).

11. (10) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 9-4
The Eagles had the week off and open defense of their Delta River League championship with a three-game set against Sheldon (Sacramento). Pleasant Grove won the Northern Regional part of the 16-team Boras Baseball Classic, erupting for eight runs in the eighth inning to beat Sacramento Bee No. 1 Elk Grove, 11-1, behind ace/slugger Josh Adams, a UC Santa Barbara commit. Another win includes an 11-0 rout of Franklin (Elk Grove). Pleasant Grove takes on state No. 1 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) on Saturday at Pacific in Stockton for the Boras Classic title.

12. (11) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 13-1
The Gauchos beat Ukiah 2-1 and Santa Rosa 4-3 in the North Bay League race and are primed for more, winners of 13 consecutive games. Charlie Parnow and Longaker Casey each had RBIs and Parnow and Dominic Garihan combined for 13 strikeouts against Ukiah. Games this week are against Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) and Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa).

13. (13) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 13-5
The Wildcats beat Burlingame 2-0 and Santa Teresa (San Jose) 7-0 with Matt Krook striking out 10 against Burlingame and Jonathan Hernandez earning the win over Santa Teresa with a five-hitter. Jason Lock had four RBIs against Santa Teresa. SI resumes WCAL play against Valley Christian and Mitty, having lost earlier to Serra 2-1 and Bellarmine 6-1.

14. (12) Campolindo (Moraga) 6-6-1
The Cougars of the Diablo Foothill League tied Mission Viejo 4-4 at the Anaheim Lions Tournament, lost to Agoura 1-0 and beat Valencia 2-1 as the brutal scheduling continues. Campolindo has losses to St. Francis 6-4, De La Salle 2-0 and Casa Grande 9-3 with wins over Elk Grove (4-2) and Granite Bay (13-0). Beat Palo Alto, 10-4, and play Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) this week.

15. (14) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 11-5
The Monarchs were idle last week. They are in the thick of the WCAL race, having beaten previous No. 1 Serra 2-1 behind C.J. Romero before falling to Bellarmine 2-0. Games this week include Sacred Heart Cathedral and St. Ignatius, capped by St. Mary's on Saturday in the Banner Island Classic at Pacific in Stockton.

16. (16) San Benito (Hollister, Calif.) 14-3
The Haybalers of the Monterey Bay League beat Los Gatos 2-1 and Crater of Oregon 4-0 in the Crown Classic after opening with a 12-4 loss to Clayton Valley (Concord). The week was capped by a 6-3 win over Sac-Joaquin Section power Oakdale. League games this week include Palma twice.

17. (20) Davis 9-5
The Blue Devils are off to a 2-0 start in the rugged Delta Valley Conference that includes Elk Grove, beating Grant 4-2 and defending Sac-Joaquin Section Division-I North champion Franklin 5-2. Matt Trask earned the win against Franklin and is 4-1. He will start against Elk Grove on Friday. Davis has wins over Pleasant Grove (4-3) and Yuba City (5-3) with setbacks to Rocklin (3-2) and Jesuit (8-2).

18. (18) Deer Valley (Antioch) 9-4
The Wolverines of the Bay Valley League competed in the Righetti Tournament and posted wins over California (Whittier) 2-0, St. Bonaventure (Ventura) 7-5 and fell to Alemany (Mission Hills) 9-2 and Crespi (Encino) 4-3. The lone game this week is Freedom (Oakley).

19. (22) Lincoln (Stockton) 11-1-2
The Trojans of the Sac-Joaquin Section beat Chavez (Stockton) 15-3 and Tokay (1-0). Lincoln plays Bear Creek (Stockton) twice this week and takes on Sacramento Bee No. 2 Jesuit on Saturday in the Banner Island Classic.

20. (23) Turlock 15-1
The Bulldogs of the Central California League opened the season with a 1-0 loss to Lincoln (Stockton) and are in clear control of the CCL with a 6-0 start. Last week, Turlock won the Dick Windemuth Easter Classic, beating Gregori (Turlock) 8-5, Enochs (Modesto) 9-2 and Johansen (Modesto) 7-2. Nick Voumard struck out 12 in the title game to move to 6-1.

21. (21) Woodcreek (Roseville) 9-2
The Timberwolves of the Sierra Foothill League beat Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) 13-6 in their only game. Woodcreek is coming off a title win in the Gina Montes SureWest Easter Invitational and will open SFL play with a three-game set against Del Oro (Loomis) this week.

22. (NR) College Park (Pleasant Hill) 8-3-1
The Falcons of the Diablo Valley League are giddy with their 5-2 victory over previous No. 1 Serra in a week that also included wins over Harbor (Santa Cruz) 7-4 and Monte Vista (Danville) 6-2. Kevin Wildes had three RBIs against Serra and sophomore Joe DeMers struck out five to earn the victory. He walked none and also collected two hits with an RBI. College Park plays Palo Alto on Saturday.

23. (19) Franklin (Elk Grove) 6-7
The defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champions are used to slow starts, including a 1-5 effort last season. This season, losses to Pleasant Grove (11-0), Granite Bay (5-2) and Oak Ridge (5-2) are mixed in with wins over Rocklin (11-3). Franklin beat Laguna Creek 4-3 in extra innings on a suicide squeeze before losing to Davis 5-2 in Delta Valley Conference play.

24. (24) Benicia 17-2
The Panthers are off to a rousing 6-0 start in the Solano County League standings, ahead of Fairfield and Vanden. Steven Daini is 4-0 and Ryan Bohnet 5-0 as co-aces. Play Vallejo twice this week.

(TIE) 25. (25) Rocklin 6-5
The Thunder of Placer County beat previous No. 15 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 3-1 in their only game last week. Rocklin starts Sierra Foothill League action this week with a three-game series against Nevada Union (Grass Valley). Wins earlier include Davis 3-2. Ace Austin Dick has been superb.

(TIE) 25. (15) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 7-5
The Trojans have endured a brutal schedule, as good a slate as anyone in the Sac-Joaquin Section with recent losses to Rocklin (3-1) and Granite Bay (8-1) of the Sierra Foothill League. A three-game set this week against Jesuit will do wonders for team morale with wins.