New Baseball State Top 20

Josh Ballard of No. 18 Clayton Valley stops at second after hitting a double at O.co Coliseum. His team is in this week’s loaded CIF North Coast Section Div. II semis. Photo: Paul Chin.

Note: Check out this week’s Inside the Baseball State Top 20, which looks at our attempt to see as many top teams in person during the closing weeks of the season and mentions many more top performances from players off of top 20 teams. This feature is for Gold Club members only. To join our team today, please CLICK HERE.

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Here are this week’s rankings (after games of Saturday, May 25; previous ranking in parentheses):

1. (1) Granada (Livermore) 24-1
The Matadors remained in the driver’s chair to be State Team of the Year with a 7-1 triumph over Deer Valley of Antioch in the CIF North Coast Section Division I quarterfinals. They meet 18-10 Amador Valley of Pleasanton in the semis.

2. (2) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood) 26-4
A 5-0 shutout of Santa Margarita advanced the Wolverines into the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals. They need Granada to lose and then to win the CIFSS D1 title to be No. 1 in the state.

3. (3) St. Francis (Mountain View) 29-4
With the Lancers blanking San Mateo Serra 10-0 to wrap up the championship of the CIF Central Coast Section Division I playoffs, they effectively eliminated a bunch of teams that might have had a shot at the final No. 1 state ranking.

4. (4) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 28-4
There’s a slight chance that the Broncos could hop St. Francis for the final No. 1 ranking (if Granada and Harvard-Westlake lose), but they would have to go unbeaten and not lose a game in the double-elimination CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs.

5. (5) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 27-3-1
The Lions crushed Northview of Covina 14-4 in the CIFSS Division VI quarterfinals and will play San Dimas on Tuesday in the semis. They could still end up as high as No. 2 for the final rankings, but will not be able to pass St. Francis.

6. (9) Clovis North (Fresno) 27-6
Coach Chris Patrick’s squad won the first CIF Central Section Division I title in the five-year history of the program after a 13-2 romp past Stockdale of Bakersfield in last Thursday’s title game.

7. (14) Elk Grove 27-5
A 4-2 victory over Franklin of Elk Grove advanced the Thundering Herd to this weekend’s CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title series against three-time defending champ St. Mary’s of Stockton.

8. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 24-3
The Monarchs have to slip one spot this week because the Huntington Beach team they were upset by in the CIFSS Div. I playoffs did not last another round.

9. (NR) Granite Hills (El Cajon) 24-8
Like Rancho Bernardo, the Eagles also opened up the new CIF San Diego Open Division playoffs with a pair of wins. They also have been in the top 10 previously this season.

10. (NR) Marina (Huntington Beach) 21-8
The Vikings are playing new No. 19 Loyola of Los Angeles in Tuesday’s CIFSS D1 semifinals. We moved them this high, however, because one other team from their Sunset League, Los Alamitos, also is still going.

11. (17) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 25-2
With Campolindo (win over San Mateo Serra), Clayton Valley (win over Buchanan) and College Park, the CIF NCS D2 semifinalists are an impressive group and helps the top-seeded Gauchos climb in this week’s rankings.

12. (18) Campolindo (Moraga) 19-6-1
The Cougars continued their recent hot play with 2-0 win against Washington of Fremont in CIF NCS D2 quarterfinals.

13. (8) Serra (San Mateo) 27-7
This is where the Padres fall after their 10-0 loss to No. 3 St. Francis in the CCS D1 final. They did win earlier in the week 6-0 over San Benito of Hollister in the semifinals.

14. (6) Fountain Valley 24-5
The Barons may have been upset in last week’s CIFSS D1 playoffs by Santa Margarita, but they can still be ranked high due to winning the Sunset League title over two teams (Marina, Los Alamitos) that are still going in that bracket.

15. (20) Serra (Gardena) 26-5
Dominic Smith pitched a five-hitter and Denz’l Chapman had an inside-the-park homer during a 6-2 win over Garden Grove in CIFSS D3 playoffs.

16. (16) Bellarmine (San Jose) 25-7
By virtue of their winning the WCAL league title over No. 3 St. Francis plus having 15 shutouts, it’s pretty safe to say the Bells will be somewhere in the top 15 of next week’s final rankings.

17. (NR) Carlsbad 25-6
The Lancers go back into the mix after winning twice as the top seed in the CIF San Diego Division I playoffs.

18. (NR) Clayton Valley (Concord) 22-4
Owning a win over Buchanan of Clovis and making the CIF NCS D2 semifinals puts the Eagles into the top 20. They face No. 12 Campolindo in the semifinals.

19. (NR) Loyola (Los Angeles) 22-10
Here’s the place and time for getting teams with double-digit losses into the top 20. The Cubs are in the CIFSS D1 semis and they were co-champs of the same league with No. 2 Harvard-Westlake.

20. (NR) St. Mary’s (Stockton) 20-12
After all the hoopla with Turlock and its 26-game win streak, there’s the Rams once again back in the CIF Sac-Joaquin D1 finals. They’re not favored to beat No. 7 Elk Grove, but they sure know how to win big games down the stretch and it wouldn’t be an upset if they make it four section titles in a row.

Teams That Dropped Out:
Previous No. 10 El Toro (Lake Forest); No. 11 Buchanan (Clovis); No. 12 Redlands East Valley (Redlands); No. 13 Clovis; No. 15 Turlock; No. 19 Whitney (Rocklin).

Teams On The Bubble
There are 21 teams listed. To see the list, please go to the new Cal-Hi Sports baseball message board. CLICK HERE.

Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow him on Twitter: @CalHiSports