Final State Baseball Top 40

Gardena Serra players pose for a photo inside the L.A. Dodger dugout after their team won CIFSS D3 title and finished 27-5, good for No. 10 in state. Photo: Mark Tennis.

Elk Grove gets uplifted to No. 3 while others going up big-time include Campolindo, Serra of Gardena and Cypress. We have taken the time to expand the final overall rankings by double.

Note: The first Cal-Hi Sports e-book, “California: The Baseball Capital of the World” is now available on Amazon, iTunes and other on-line e-book stores such as Kobo and Barnes & Noble. You can download a 27-page free sample of the book into your phone on iTunes now. This covers all the reasons why our state is so great in the sport, from MLB to the Cal League, from colleges, high school (of course) and Little League. We also have lists of all-time top high school players from San Diego, Orange County, the Inland Empire, L.A. City, CIF Central Section, Sacramento, SF/Peninsula and Oakland/East Bay. It’s just $3.99 to order. CLICK HERE for the link to the book on Amazon.

For game reports, please go to our twitter page @CalHiSports and for other updates please visit our Facebook page. To subscribe to our weekly e-newsletter, click here. To browse through our various photo galleries, click here. To check out our YouTube channel, click here.

Note: Check out this week’s Inside the Baseball State Top 20 as we review the toughest choices and begin to look at the possible top teams for 2014. This feature is for Gold Club members only. To join our team today, please CLICK HERE.

Here are this season’s final rankings (previous ranking in parentheses):

1. (2) Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood) 26-4
Already named as our State Team of the Year, the Wolverines captured the CIF Southern Section Division I championship with a 1-0 win over Marina of Huntington Beach. During the season, they also reached the championship game of the NHSI in North Carolina where they lost to Mater Dei of Santa Ana and they defeated No. 4 Oaks Christian of Westlake Village while winning the Easton tournament.

2. (3) St. Francis (Mountain View) 29-4
It was a season to remember for the Lancers as they won their first CIF Central Coast Section championship in 12 years with a 10-0 win over Serra of San Mateo in the Division I finals. St. Francis started the season 24-1. All four of the losses came against teams that the Lancers also defeated during the season.

3. (7) Elk Grove 29-5
With a few surprising losses during the season, the Thundering Herd fell down the rankings a bit but with wins in their final eight games they grabbed the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship with a two-game sweep over the three-time defending champions from St. Mary’s of Stockton.

4. (5) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) 29-3-1
Led by Phil Bickford on the mound striking out 18, the Lions defeated El Rancho of Pico Rivera 4-0 for the CIFSS Division III championship, which also earned them the No. 1 spot at the end of the season in our Division III state rankings. Starting the season 2-2 with losses to Harvard-Westlake and Valencia, their only loss the rest of the season came against Mater Dei of Santa Ana at the Boras Classic.

5. (6) Clovis North (Fresno) 27-6
The Broncos finished as the top team in the CIF Central Section following the lead of the football team. Junior Jack Labosky led the way on the mound going 11-0 with a 0.61 ERA while also hitting .437 with wins over Clovis and Buchanan of Clovis.

6. (4) Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 30-5
Had the Broncos not lost a game in the double-elimination CIF San Diego Section Open Division playoffs, they clearly would have been No. 3 instead of No. 6 overall for the final rankings. Still, it was another great season after last year’s loss in the D2 section finals.

7. (8) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 24-3
With the No. 1 state ranking in their hands, the Monarchs suffered a surprising 2-1 loss to Huntington Beach in their first game of the CIFSS D1 playoffs to end their season. Winning the NHSI Invitational for the second year in a row with a win over Harvard-Westlake and beating Oaks Christian on their way to the Boras Classic title is still plenty to make Mater Dei one of the state’s highest ranked teams.

8. (12) Campolindo (Moraga) 21-6-1
Campo bounced back from an up-and-down preseason to win a fourth straight CIF North Coast Section Division II title. In the final game, the Cougars knocked off a 27-2 team from Casa Grande of Petaluma that had beaten them early in the season.

Dan Whitney is about to score a run for No. 9 Granada is one of the team’s 24 wins. Photo: Dan Badders (courtesy school).

9. (1) Granada (Livermore) 24-2
Stuck behind Mater Dei near the top of the rankings for most of the season, the Matadors had a chance to end No. 1 after the Monarchs’ early playoff exit but their own hopes of a section championship and that No. 1 ranking ended with a 9-7 loss to Amador Valley in the CIF North Coast Section Division I semifinals.

10. (15) Serra (Gardena) 27-5
The Cavaliers received a lot of notoriety this season from other rankings even though they’d never won anything before. That all changed two weeks ago with a 8-1 win over Mira Costa of Manhattan Beach in the CIFSS Division III championship. That win also was the team’s 17th in a row.

11. (13) Serra (San Mateo) 27-7
During the regular season, the Padres split a pair of games against No. 2 St. Francis to finish tied for first in the tough WCAL. Other key wins this season came against James Logan of Union City, De La Salle of Concord and St. Mary’s of Stockton while they also won two out of three against Bellarmine of San Jose.

12. (14) Fountain Valley 24-5
We like the Barons to be high for the final rankings because they won the title in the Sunset League (which also included CIFSS D1 finalist Marina as well as CIFSS D1 semifinalist Los Alamitos). The playoff loss was to Santa Margarita, but other wins came against El Toro and Cypress.

13. (16) Bellarmine (San Jose) 25-7
Strong pitching that helped the team tie the state record for shutouts with 15 also carried it to the WCAL tournament championship. St. Francis and Serra did better in the regular season and in the CCS playoffs.

14. (10) Marina (Huntington Beach) 22-9
It’s not how you start but how you finish which might have been the motto for the Vikings this season. They won nine games in a row, including those against Agoura and Loyola of Los Angeles, to reach the CIFSS Division I finals before losing a 1-0 heartbreaker against No. 1 Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood.

15. (NR) Cypress 26-8
Two wins over El Toro would set the stage for a solid season that saw the Centurions win the Empire League championship and the CIFSS Division II crown.

16. (11) Casa Grande (Petaluma) 27-3
Coach Paul Maytorena’s Gauchos did have a win earlier in the season against No. 8 Campolindo, but they were unable to defeat the Cougars a second time as they fell 8-0 in the CIF North Coast Section Division II finals. After losing the season opener, they won 21 games in a row.

17. (9) Granite Hills (El Cajon) 25-10
The Eagles reached the first-ever CIF San Diego Section Open Division championship game where they lost to No. 6 Rancho Bernardo. They had a win earlier in the season against the Broncos and also notched key triumphs over Cathedral Catholic of San Diego and La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad.

18. (NR) Grossmont (La Mesa) 26-8
Ranked right behind Granite Hills, the Foothillers tied for first place in Grossmont Hills League play but their CIF San Diego Section Division I championship won’t get them ahead of the Eagles in these rankings. Still, it was quite the turnaround season as Grossmont lost 20 straight games to end last season.

19. (NR) Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 18-10
For beating De La Salle of Concord 3-1 in the CIF North Coast D1 final, the Dons get into the final top 20. They were still 0-2 against Granada of Livermore in the regular season before knocking off the Matadors in the playoffs and thus can be lower than Granada for the final rankings.

20. (19) Loyola (Los Angeles) 22-11
One of a few teams that can say they defeated the No. 1 team in the state, the Cubs split a pair of games against Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood and finished tied for first in the Mission League with the Wolverines. In the playoffs, they had wins over Lakewood and Poly of Riverside before losing in the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals to Marina of Huntington Beach.

THE NEXT 20 TEAMS:

21. Clayton Valley (Concord) 22-5
Coach Casey Coakley’s crew notched a key win over Buchanan of Clovis in Oakland and reached the NCS D2 semifinals where it lost to eventual champion Campolindo.

22. Buchanan (Clovis) 25-6-1
After opening the season with a tie, the Bears won 12 in a row and had wins over Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove and Stockdale of Bakersfield but they were unable to defeat the Mustangs when it meant the most as they lost in the semifinals of the CIF Central Section Division I playoffs.

23. Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) 24-9
The highlight of the season for the Eagles was beating Elk Grove during the Boras Classic to reach the nationally-televised finals against Mater Dei.

24. Los Alamitos 19-11
The Griffins were only third in the Sunset League, but both Fountain Valley and Marina are higher in the state rankings. They also were placed in this spot for beating El Toro in the CIFSS D1 playoffs and then losing by just 3-2 to Harvard-Westlake in the semifinals.

25. El Toro (Lake Forest) 23-7
This team displayed top 10 talent throughout the season, but suffered through some hard-luck losses, including one to Los Al in the CIFSS D1 quarterfinals.

26. Agoura (Agoura Hills) 22-10
Champions of the Marmonte League, the Chargers reached the CIF Southern Section Division I quarterfinals before a loss to Marina of Huntington Beach. During the season, they had wins over Lakewood and Campolindo of Moraga.

27. Clovis 24-9
Playing in another of the best leagues in the state this season, the Cougars finished in third place in the Tri-River Athletic Conference but had wins over Buchanan of Clovis and Clovis North before losing to the Broncos in the CIF Central Section Division I semifinals.

28. Davis 22-8
The Blue Devils, who won the Delta Valley League title over eventual Sac-Joaquin Section champ Elk Grove, wind up in this spot for the final rankings due to a loss to Clovis.

29. San Fernando 33-3
With alum and comedian George Lopez cheering them on in at least one playoff game, the Tigers won their second CIF L.A. City Section Division I championship in the last three seasons.

30. De La Salle (Concord) 19-8
Facing a challenging Bay Area-filled schedule, the Spartans finished tied for second in the EBAL along with California of San Ramon behind Granada of Livermore and then made it to the finals of the CIF North Coast Section Division I playoffs. The Spartans also had back-to-back wins this season against Campolindo of Moraga and St. Mary’s of Stockton.

31. Temecula Valley (Temecula) 23-6
A team loaded with underclassmen, the Golden Bears earned their way to the CIFSS D2 finals at Dodger Stadium opposite Cypress with key wins over Aliso Niguel of Aliso Viejo and Los Osos of Rancho Cucamonga.

32. San Benito (Hollister) 23-7
The Haybalers opened the year with wins over Valley Christian of San Jose and Gilroy and avenged a loss to Archbishop Mitty of San Jose in the CCS D1 playoffs before losing to San Mateo Serra in the semifinals.

33. St. Mary’s (Stockton) 20-14
Most of the losses by the Rams, as usual, came in a super-tough schedule. At the end, they still had a chance for a fourth straight CIF Sac-Joaquin D1 title but lost in a two-game sweep to Elk Grove.

34. Turlock 28-3
A 26-game win streak after losing the season-opener to Lincoln of Stockton had the Bulldogs soaring in the rankings. In the end, they still have to be behind St. Mary’s due to losing to Rams in the playoffs.

35. Chaminade (West Hills) 19-12
The Eagles were the third-place team in the Mission League, but Harvard-Westlake and Loyola were the ones higher and they had two wins over the Cubs. Chaminade also posted a CIFSS D1 playoff win over Orange Lutheran.

36. Lutheran (Orange) 19-8
They did have two wins over St. Mary’s of Stockton to start the season and managed to get a win against Mater Dei, but at the end of the year the Lancers have to go into the rankings behind a Chaminade team that ended their season.

37. Carlsbad 25-8
Champions of the Avacado West League, the Lancers were unable to capture the CIF San Diego Section Division I championship as their season ended with a loss to Mira Mesa of San Diego. They can be higher than Mira Mesa in the rankings because the Marauders didn’t win the title (Grossmont did) and had 15 losses.

38. Stockdale (Bakersfield) 21-11
After sharing the Southwest Yosemite League championship with Centennial of Bakersfield, the Mustangs defeated Buchanan of Clovis to reach the CIF Central Section Division I finals where they lost to Clovis North.

39. College Park (Pleasant Hill) 20-6-1
With ace pitcher Joe DeMers playing basketball late into March, the Falcons still had a great season. They beat league rival Clayton Valley once, had a non-league win against Serra of San Mateo and lost by just one run to Casa Grande in the NCS D2 semifinals.

40. Valley Christian (San Jose) 18-12
Going 2-1 against Archbishop Mitty of San Jose and managing to get wins over both Bellarmine and St. Francis in the WCAL was enough to give the final spot in this top 40 to the Warriors.

Teams The Dropped Out From Top 20:
Previous No. 17 Carlsbad; No. 18 Clayton Valley (Concord); No. 20 St. Mary’s (Stockton).

Honorable Mention Overall Teams (2013 season):
There are 17 listed. Still more teams listed honorable mention in the final divisional state rankings. To see the full list, please go to the new Cal-Hi Sports baseball message board. CLICK HERE.

Mark Tennis contributed to this report.

Paul Muyskens is our Stockton office assistant. He can be reached at Paul_Muyskens@yahoo.com. Make sure to follow us on Twitter: @CalHiSports