MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 high school baseball rankings

In sizing up the MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 baseball rankings, it's important to note that some teams in the greater Bay Area play two games a week while those within the Sac-Joaquin Section often play three in a week. Who has the best pitching? The deepest staff? Isn't that the general theme for all levels of the game?

We appreciate teams that schedule exceedingly tough, and teams that do generally will not fall far after competitive losses.

St. Francis holds onto the top spot and has played the part of monster program. Granada and Serra hold steady at No. 2 and 3 with slight changes the rest of the way, and some newcomers too.

MaxPreps Northern California Top 25 Baseball Rankings

1. (Last week 1) St. Francis (Mountain View) 19-1
The Lancers are rolling, having won their last four games by a combined 33-1 score, including 11-0 over Bellarmine (San Jose) and 10-0 over Valley Christian (San Jose) in the West Catholic Athletic slate last week. Mark Cardinalli had 4 RBIs against Valley Christian and Michael Strem tossed a three-hitter with six strikeouts, walking one. Against Bellarmine, Kort Peterson, Austin Guibor and Cardinalli each had two RBIs and Josh Gavin struck out seven and allowed one hit. Strem is 7-0. 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 include Riordon (San Francisco) and Mitty (San Jose).

2. (2) Granada (Livermore) 14-0
The Matadors beat Amador Valley (Pleasanton) and California (San Ramon) 7-0 in East Bay League action. Dan Whitney had two RBIs, and Jacob Payne and Ryan Flayler were superb on the hill in striking out seven against Amador Valley. Craig Woolson had three RBIs and Anthony Olmo struck out four to earn the win against California. Games this week are De La Salle (Concord) and Monte Vista (Danville).

3. (3) Serra (San Mateo) 16-3
The Padres beat Archbishop Riordon (San Francisco) 6-0 and Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco) 9-0 to move to 6-1 in the WCAL, a game behind top-ranked St. Francis. In the Banner Island Classic, Serra downed Monte Vista (Danville) 11-5. Mickey McDonald drove in three against Riordon and Orlando Razo allowed two hits, struck out four and walked one for the win. Against Sacred Heart Cathedral, Jordan Paroubeck had four RBIs and Matt Gorgolinski earned the win. Games this week are against Bellarmine and St. Ignatius (San Francisco). Other losses were to preseason No. 1 Campolindo (Moraga) 3-1 and to Mitty (San Jose) 2-1.

4. (5) Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 10-4
The Dons lost to No. 2 Granada 5-0 after falling 1-0 to top-ranked St. Francis in the finals of the Elite 8 Classic, so the competition has been beyond fierce. Amador Valley beat Monte Vista (Danville) 10-9 to remain a game back of Granada in the East Bay League standings. Games this week California (San Ramon) and San Ramon Valley (Danville). A win earlier was over De La Salle 3-2.

5. (6) De La Salle (Concord) 9-4
The Spartans beat Monte Vista 10-8 and San Ramon Valley (Danville) 4-2 in East Bay League action in what is shaping up to be a great race. Andrew Buckley struck out five and Justin Hooper two in relief against San Ramon Valley. De La Salle has early losses to No. 3 Serra (4-2) and to top-ranked 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 against No. 2 Granada and Livermore.

6. (10) Granite Bay 9-5
The Grizzlies of Placer County are top-ranked by The Sacramento Bee, off to a 3-0 start in defending their Sierra Foothill League championship with a sweep of rival Roseville. The highlight was a no-hitter by Sacramento State-bound ace Gabe Meza for a 3-0 victory, backed by wins over Roseville of 6-5 and 2-1. Meza struck out 11 in the no-hitter. The Grizzlies have also topped defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champion Franklin (Elk Grove) 5-2, Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 2-0 and then-Bee No. 2 Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 8-1, with losses to Bellarmine (6-4) and Campolindo (13-0).

7. (4) Elk Grove 12-3
The Thundering Herd belted Grant (Sacramento) 12-1 with MaxPreps preseason All-American Rowdy Tellez crushing a monstrous home run that landed over the centerfield fence and onto the mound of the junior varsity field as veteran scouts eyed each other and offered, "Did you see that" sort of nods. Other wins in Delta Valley Conference play included 14-1 over Franklin (Elk Grove) and Laguna Creek (Elk Grove) 8-0 before falling to Davis 2-1 to cap a grueling four-game week. 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), the only team to hand state No. 1 Mater Dei a loss this spring. Another win is 6-5 over then Sacramento Bee-ranked No. 2 Oak Ridge.

8. (19) Lincoln (Stockton) 14-1-2
The Trojans are the only team to defeat NorCal-ranked Turlock, 1-0 in an opener, have an 8-4 loss to Lodi and also a statement 5-4 victory in the Banner Island Classic over Jesuit (Carmichael), which is ranked third by The Sacramento Bee. Lincoln still stands as the favorites in the competitive San Joaquin Athletic Association that includes Lodi (7-0 in league play), and the teams play twice this week.

9. (20) Turlock (Calif.) 17-1
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 an 8-0 record, including last week's 7-5 and 10-2 wins over Atwater. Austin Bush drove in four in the second game and Tyler Murphy struck out six for the win to move to 6-0. Games this week include Pitman (Turlock) and Escalon in the Dick Windemuth Easter Classic title game.

10. (6) Jesuit (Carmichael) 11-4
The Marauders went 4-1 in the Bishop Gorman Easter Classic in Las Vegas then went 2-1 against Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) to open Delta River League action before falling to Lincoln (Stockton) 5-4 on a walk-off hit in the Banner Island Classic. Jesuit on Monday beat Folsom 9-1. In beating Oak Ridge 2-0, sophomore pitcher Chris Loeb struck out eight. Jesuit has wins over Valley Christian (San Jose) (7-3), St. Mary's (Stockton) (4-2) and Davis (8-2). Games this week are against Folsom.

11. (7) Valley Christian (San Jose) 13-6
The Warriors lost to St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 3-2 and 10-0 to top-ranked St. Francis. Valley Christian resumes West Catholic Athletic League play this week against Mitty (San Jose) and Riordon (San Francisco).

12. (9) Bellarmine (San Jose) 15-5
The Bells fell to top-ranked St. Francis 11-0, beat Palo Alto in a nonleague game 1-0 and resumed WCAL play with a 3-0 effort over Riordon. Against Palo Alto, James Gaffey had the RBI with Justin Calomeni, Conor Ridley and Joe Schymeinsky all pitching. Bellarmine is tied for second in the WCAL with Valley Christian, both trailing 6-1 WCAL leaders St. Francis and Serra. Games this week include Serra and Sacred Heart Cathedral.

13. (17) Davis 9-5
The Blue Devils of Yolo County are off to a 5-0 start in the Delta Valley Conference as they seek to secure the program's fourth such tie or outright crown in six seasons. The highlight was beating previous Sacramento Bee No. 1 and MaxPreps No. 4 Elk Grove 2-1 on a Matt Trask bases-loaded infield hit to score Joe Murray in the bottom of the seventh. Trask was superb on the hill, too, as was reliever Jake Miille. Davis plays defending Sac-Joaquin Section D-I North champion and Bee-ranked Franklin (Elk Grove) twice this week and also Grant (Sacramento). An early win includes 4-3 over Pleasant Grove and a loss was 8-2 to Jesuit.

14. (12) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 15-1
The Gauchos beat Rancho Cotate (Rohnert Park) 3-2 and Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 2-1 with more superb pitching and timely hitting. The team was coming off four consecutive one-run wins. Charlie Parnow and Longaker Casey drove in runs against Newman and Anthony Bender struck out six for the win to move to 5-0. Games this week in the North Bay League are Montgomery (Santa Rosa) and Maria Carrillo (Santa Rosa).

15. (11) Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 12-4
The Eagles won the 16-team Boras Classic North title over then-Sacramento Bee No. 1 Elk Grove, started the Delta River League 3-0 with a sweep of Sheldon (Sacramento), then fell to national power Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 8-0 in the Boras finals. Pleasant Grove had a runner reach third base with fewer than two outs in each inning, but couldn't cash in. Wins include 11-1 over Elk Grove and 11-0 over Franklin (Elk Grove).

16. (14) Campolindo (Moraga) 7-6-1
The Cougars of the Diablo Foothill League beat Palo Alto 10-4 and Las Lomas (Walnut Creek) 7-3. Games this week for the preseason MaxPreps NorCal No. 1 team are against Alhambra (Martinez) and Dougherty Valley (San Ramon).

17. (16) San Benito (Hollister) 16-3
The Haybalers of the Monterey Bay League downed Palma 5-1 and 8-0 with Zachry Moeller driving in two in the first game and Robert Soto tossed three shutout innings of no-hit ball in addition to collecting two hits, scoring three runs and stealing three bases in the second game. Games this week include Christopher (Gilroy) and Monte Vista Christian (Watsonville).

18. (22) College Park (Pleasant Hill) 9-3-1
The Falcons of the Diablo Valley League backed up their 5-2 win over then-No. 2 NorCal-ranked Serra by beating Monte Vista (Danville) 6-2 and Palo Alto 12-1. Joe DeMers struck out seven and walked none for the win in the 12-1 game with Anthony Baleto driving in three runs. The two games this week are against Northgate (Walnut Creek).

19. (25) Rocklin 9-5
The Thunder of Placer County beat Nevada Union (Grass Valley) three times — 9-0, 6-5 and 9-1 to start 3-0 in the Sierra Foothill League that also includes NorCal-ranked Granite Bay and Woodcreek (Roseville). Wins earlier include Davis 3-2 and Oak Ridge.

20. (NR) Whitney (Rocklin) 17-0
The Wildcats of the Capital Athletic League are off to the best start of any team in the 197-member Sac-Joaquin Section, already the most wins in school history. It hasn't been a brutal schedule as compared to other NorCal-ranked teams, though Antelope of the CAL is quite strong, and the teams face off twice this week.

21. (21) Woodcreek (Roseville) 11-3
The Timberwolves of the Sierra Foothill League went 2-1 against Del Oro (Loomis), winning with pitching in 3-0 and 4-1 efforts. In the first game, Oregon-bound ace Stephen Nogosek struck out 12. Woodcreek plays rival Roseville three times this week.

22. (NR) St. Mary's (Stockton) 7-11
Oh, what to do with the Rams? The three-time defending Sac-Joaquin Section champions have played a brutal schedule, perhaps the toughest in Northern California. It started with a 1-0 win over national heavy Mater Dei, the Monarchs' only loss this season. There's also a 2-1 victory over Rocklin and close setbacks to Serra (4-2), Valley Chrsitian (San Jose) (2-1) and Jesuit (4-2), but some beat downs to Elk Grove (10-1) and De La Salle (10-0). And there's also an 8-1 win Saturday over WCAL heavy Mitty (San Jose) in the Banner Island Classic.

23. (13) St. Ignatius (San Francisco) 14-6
The Wildcats beat Valley Chrsitian 3-2 then fell to Mitty 9-2 in WCAL action. Matt Krook, Jason Lock and Christian Santos each drove in runs against VC. One early WCAL loss was 2-1 to Serra, and the teams play this week. There's also a game against Bellarmine.

24. (24) Benicia 19-2
The Panthers are rolling in the Solano County League after belting Vallejo 10-0 and 12-2. Evan Burford had two hits, drove in a run, scored twice in the 10-0 win with Kyle Blakeman smacking two doubles with two RBIs and two runs. Benicia plays Fairfield twice this week.

(TIE) 25. (NR) Antelope 15-1
A power in football and basketball and now in baseball under coach Javi Valdivia, with only a Capital Athletic League setback to Whitney. Two CAL showdowns loom this week with that very Whitney club.

(TIE) 25. (25) Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 7-7
The Trojans went 1-2 against then-Bee No. 2 Jesuit, now ranked No. 9 in this rankings. First was a 7-2 win over the Marauders and then setbacks of 8-4 and 2-0. This week is no easier with three games against Pleasant Grove. Losses include to Sierra Foothill powers in NorCal-ranked Rocklin, 3-1, and Granite Bay, 8-1, and to then Bee No. 1 Elk Grove 6-5.