Team Rankings
When you travel to Las Vegas and win a high-profile four-day tournament and beat in the championship game the school that prepared hall of famers Barry Larkin and Ken Griffey Jr. for the big leagues, you deserve to rise in the rankings.
Valley Christian went through its early season offensive doldrums. The Warriors have come out of their slump in a big way. Since a 5-4 loss to Serra on April 1, they've reeled off a 7-0-1 record and have at least 10 runs in four of those wins.
No team is playing better right now.
And that's why they are ranked atop this week's PeninsulaPrepBaseball.com poll.
The Warriors (15-4-1) take the top spot ahead of Serra (17-4), which had been atop the rankings for the last five weeks.
More intriguing than the top five, which featured the same five teams as a week ago, positions six through 13 could have been picked out of a hat. All of them have their strengths and all have their foibles. They've all had their ups to the season and their downs.
This is how we see it at this point of the year. With four weeks to go in the regular season, we believe there will be even more changes in the coming weeks as they continue to compete against each other.
| Rank | Team | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Valley Christian (15-4-1) | The Warriors went to Las Vegas and not only lived to tell about it, but also won three games and tied another against a handful of high-profile teams. The early-season offensive woes are in the past and no one ever questioned the pitching. Watch out for this team the rest of the way. Valley is poised for a CCS run. |
| 2. | Serra (17-4) | Three outs from knocking off De La Salle, the Padres couldn't close the deal. The 5-2 loss to the Spartans leaves a bad taste in their trek to Sacramento, which saw them win two of four games. Final weeks of the WCAL season should be riveting. The Padres are getting big season from Josephson, Bradshaw and Minton. We see no reason for that not to continue. |
| 3. | Saint Francis (15-4) | A week off came just as the Lancers' bats were just starting to come alive for the first time all season. Coach Erik Wagle is hopeful the downtime won't hinder the offensive uptick. With Landon Kim and Nick Chow, the St. Francis rotation is solid. |
| 4. | St. Ignatius Prep (10-7-2) | The Wildcats opened the Boras Baseball Classic with two wins on the first day, only to falter over their final two games, thanks in large part by their inability to come through with the bases loaded and less than two outs. Still, never forget St. Ignatius Prep has played the Peninsula's toughest schedule. |
| 5. | Menlo-Atherton (13-6) | The Bears are still the team to beat in the PAL Bay Division, but Friday's loss to Capuchino and Declan Mendel thwarted their chance to run away and hide from the rest of the league. Now, they figure to be in a rock fight the rest of the way. Menlo-Atherton still has series looming with Sequoia, The King's Academy and Hillsdale down the stretch. |
| 6. | Mitty (10-10) | It's all a matter of perspective. Mitty going 2-2 in Sacramento seems much more palatable than than St. Ignatius Prep or Serra posting the same mark there. Maybe it's because the Monarchs were teetering. Without their best position player and top starter, they still find a way. Grayson Munoz's power bat is must-see baseball. He'll need to continue playing big for the Monarchs. |
| 7. | Carlmont (9-9) | The Scots have won four straight, all against ranked teams, and boast perhaps the best offense in the Bay Division. Whether they have enough pitching -- or time -- to make a title push after their midseason funk remains to be seen. We like their senior leadership, though.Two games with Cap this week will reveal a lot. |
| 8. | Bellarmine (9-8) | A week off for the Bells. A week to compemplete a 2-0 victory over St. Ignatius Prep two Fridays ago. And a week to think about a 5-4 loss to Carlmont the next day. Which moment resonates more for Bellarmine, which needs to find some consistency over the next two weeks. |
| 9. | Menlo School (10-7) | The Knights now stand atop the PAL Ocean Division after sweeping a series from Terra Nova and posting their seventh straight win. They pitch well enough, play defense most of the time and get solid pitching. More important, they scrap offensively. An early-may series with Woodside looks like their last real challenge in the Ocean. |
| 10. | Hillsdale (9-6) | The win over Sequoia on Friday allowed the Knights to split a critical series with the Ravens. Hillsdale has all the pieces: athleticism, offense and a pitching rotation featuring Jake Belloni and Robby Gilbert (with help from Hugo Guzman). But can the Knights sustain a late-season run over the next three weeks? | 11. | Terra Nova (11-5-1) | An 0-3 week sees the Tigers tumble in the rankings and out of first place in the Ocean Division. They are a young team -- maybe a year ahead of schedule -- but no one questions the Tigers' talent. You don't win 11 straight games without being good. A favorable schedule the rest of the way should help Terra Nova regain its mojo. | 12. | Capuchino (11-9) | Declan Mendel has proven in his last two starts -- both complete-game shutouts -- he has the ability to carry the Mustangs on his back, or more specificially, his right arm. That said, he gives Capuchino the ability to win anytime he takes the mound, regardless of the opponent. We'll learn a lot about Cap this week when it faces Carlmont for two big games. |
| 13. | The King's Academy (7-6) | Three losses in four games -- all PAL Bay Division contests -- since returning from spring break have the Knights reeling. No one questions their 3-4-5 hitters. Plata, Johnson and Trotter might be the Bay's most lethal trio. Meanwhile, Myung and Choi at the top of the order have been very good. It's the other four spots where more production is needed. |
Creepers: Sequoia (9-7). Sacred Heart Cathedral (10-10)
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