Biggest upset of the week is in the Central Section where Buchanan is knocked out early by Bullard. This allows many teams that did not get upset to move up one or two spots in this week's state rankings.

Compiled by Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
Writeups by Andrew Drennen, Steve Brand, Paul Muyskens and Mark Tennis

(After games of Saturday, May 23)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)

1.  (1)  Yucaipa 26-2
Now that the T-Birds are back atop the rankings (despite getting the No. 2 seed in the Southern Section's Division II playoffs), it looks like they plan to stay a while. Yucaipa's bats were blazing when it opened the playoffs with a 15-run, 18-hit barrage against Crescenta Valley (La Crescenta) in a 15-7 victory. Coach Jeff Stout's club won its 10th straight by jumping all over CV for four runs in the first and five in the fourth to go up 10-2 as all but one batter in the lineup got at least one hit. Matt Marnati rocketed a pair of triples, Taijuan Walker went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI and Brian Derryberry was 3-for-4 with a couple runs scored. Frank Martin got the win although Pedro Cota hurled the last four innings allowing just one earned run. Next the Thunderbirds have a home game against Cypress of Orange County (19-9) on Tuesday and it could be a slugfest as the Centurions edged Buena of Ventura, 11-10, in their playoff opener.

2.  (2) Norco 24-4
If it weren't for San Diego State pitcher Stephen Strasburg, the Cougars' Matt Hobgood might have been the one everyone is talking about as the major league baseball draft approaches. The 6-5, 250-pounder, who has signed with Cal State Fullerton, showed why he's getting the attention as he crushed two home runs at the plate and allowed just one hit on the mound in a 5-1 win over Brea Olinda in the Southern Section Division I playoffs. Hobgood's three-run blast in the first inning was followed by a solo shot in the third as he and teammate Jake Romansky went back-to-back to put the game away. On the hill, Hobgood struck out six and walked just two, yielding a fifth-inning single to Ben Arroyo who stole second, went to third on a wild pitch and scored when Norco opted to go for a double play and just missed. Hobgood retired the first 12 batters. The Cougars, winners of 14 straight, host No. 15 Temecula Valley on Tuesday.

3.  (3)  El Toro (Lake Forest) 22-5
The Chargers remain at the No. 3 spot in this week's rankings.  They doubled up Rancho Cucamonga in the first round of the CIFSS Div. II playoffs with a 4-2 win.  Senior Aaron Wirsch went the distance for El Toro, which has a short-handed staff with the loss of Chad Thompson for the year.  Next up for the Chargers is Redlands East Valley, which is the same team El Toro shutout, 7-0, in last year's Div. II finals at Dodger Stadium.  

4.  (5)  Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 23-5
Coach Tom Dill's team had no problem in its first round game against Rialto, winning 8-0. Josh Goossen-Brown earned win No. 10 on the year with a strong outing on the hill.  The Knights advanced to second-round matchup with Chino Hills in the CIFSS Div. II playoffs.

5.  (6)  Edison (Huntington Beach) 20-5
The Chargers charged forward to the second round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs with a dominating 11-1 win over Lakewood. Josh Lesinski opened their scoring with a two-run double in the first inning, which was followed by a two-run homer from Ryan Little as the lead continued to grow the rest of the way. Senior Kurt Heyer, who his signed with Arizona, picked up the win to move to 10-2 this season on the mound as he allowed just two hits and struck out seven. Edison will now play West Ranch of Valencia in the second round as the Wildcats defeated El Dorado of Placentia, 6-2, in their postseason opener.

6.  (7)  Chatsworth 27-4
After winning twice and opening up the L.A. City Section playoffs strongly, the Chancellors move up one spot this week to No. 6.  They entered the playoffs this year as the No. 2 seed because they finished second in league play to Cleveland of Reseda.  They now face arch-rival El Camino Real in the third round of the section playoffs, the same El Camino Real team who beat the Chancellors back in early May, 8-3.

7.  (8)  Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 22-5
Although both teams reside in Orange County, Mater Dei and Tesoro of Las Flores will square off for the first time this season Tuesday in what should feature a pitcher's battle between the Monarchs' Aaron Northcraft (9-2) and Tesoro's Ryan Goodbrand (8-0). That matchup at Tesoro was set up when the Monarchs rapped out 15 hits and came from behind to down Saugus, 6-2, in the first round of the Southern Section Division I playoffs. Down 2-1 in the third, Mater Dei scored three times and added on two more in the fourth as Cory Hahn sent one ball out of the park in going 3-for-3 with two RBI. Northcraft allowed just four hits and the two runs.

8.  (9)  Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 22-6
The Cougars bounce up a spot this week to No. 8.  They doubled up Long Beach Wilson, 8-4, in their first playoff game and move on to Orange Lutheran of the Trinity League.  Wilson was the champion of the division two years ago and last year lost to Simi Valley in the final. The Lancers and the Cougars hooked up early on in the season in the Newport Elks Tournament semifinals. Capistrano Valley won that meeting, 5-1.  

9.  (10)  Clovis West (Fresno) 28-5
Shock waves were sent throughout the Central Section when top-seed and previous state-ranked No. 4 Buchanan of Clovis was upset in its first Division I playoff game by Bullard of Fresno. It's rare when a baseball team loses once and tumbles out of the top 20, but we had to do that to Buchanan since so many other top-ranked teams are still going. The Golden Eagles thus become the highest-ranked Central Section team after its 9-0 win last Friday over Central of Fresno. They face Clovis in the semifinals in what also will be a rubber-match of a five-game set between the two teams. So far, it's two wins apiece for each squad.

10.  (11)  JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 22-6
As he's done all season, Grahamm Wiest was stellar as he led the Lions to a 3-2 win over Adolfo Camarillo to open the Southern Section Division I playoffs. Wiest improved to 8-0 as he struck out nine and walked just one, allowing a single run before exiting with two out in the seventh. Camarillo rallied to close to 3-2 but could not push across the tying run, allowing JSerra to advance to Tuesday's second-round playoff game against host Poly (Riverside). Poly (18-10-1) is in the tough Big VIII League and brings a four-game winning streak into the contest.

11.  (15)  Serra (San Mateo) 28-6
For the fourth time this season, the Padres faced off against a talented Valley Christian squad and were able to come away with a third victory as they captured a 2-1 victory to move on to the CCS Division I semifinals. USF-bound senior Danny Chavez dominated on the mound as he allowed just three hits and struck out nine to knock off the two-time defending section champions in a game that had a championship type feel. Cal-bound infielder Tony Renda scored on a one-out single from Zack Turner in the third inning, which ended up being the game-winner. Earlier in the week, Kevin McEntee had two doubles and four RBI to lead the offense in their opening round mercy-rule shortened 11-0 victory over Homestead. The Padres, who are looking to send retiring coach Pete Jensen out with a section title, will now play Bellarmine in the semifinals on Wednesday.

12.  (12)  Poway 24-6
Although the Titans did walk away with a victory in their lone game last week, it wasn't terribly impressive. Pesky El Camino of Oceanside gave the Titans a scare, matching Poway run for run as the two went into the bottom of the sixth inning tied, 4-4. Seven runs later Poway walked off with the Palomar League title and the San Diego Section's No. 1 seed in the Division I playoffs. Joe Connor was the standout in this one as he smacked a home run and double, driving in three runs in the victory. Connor is batting a lofty .435 this season. The Titans open the section playoffs Wednesday against the winner of the play-in game between Eastlake of Chula Vista and La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad, which shows how difficult it would be for a state baseball playoff since some sections have already crowned their champions.

13.  (14)  Northview (Covina) 21-4
Eric Ruvalcaba did it all for the Vikings in their CIF Southern Section Division IV postseason opener against Granite Hills of Apple Valley as he picked up the shutout win and was impressive at the plate in their 5-0 win. The senior, who transferred from Whittier High before the season, tossed six scoreless innings and allowed just three hits. His three hits were far more effective than the three hits he allowed as he hit a two-run homer and scored twice to provide himself with more than enough run support to get him and his team a victory. The Vikings will now face St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs in the second round on Tuesday after they defeated Oaks Christian by a 2-1 score in extra innings.

14.  (16)  Jesuit (Carmichael) 25-5
The Marauders didn't need to take advantage of the double-elimination part of the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I playoffs as they went a perfect 3-0 last week to win the North side of the bracket. After allowing an early run against Fairfield in their first game of the week, the Marauders scored the next nine runs of the game en route to a 11-4 victory with Andrew Susac getting team-high three RBI. They then faced a record-setting Elk Grove offense in the second round and wound up trailing 3-0 before they even got to the plate but rallied back for a 6-4 win. Brock Simon then struck out eight and hit a two-run double in a 4-3 win over Fairfield to capture the North title. Jesuit is defending its section championship from last season this Friday and Saturday when it faces St. Mary's of Stockton in a best of three championship series.

15.  (17)  Temecula Valley (Temecula) 22-5
When the Bears scored five runs in the third inning off Esperanza of Anaheim with Taylor Turski on the mound, it looked like TV would be able to cruise in the Southern Section Division I opener. By the top of the sixth, the score was tied 5-5 so when the Bears erupted for four runs in the bottom of the sixth, it was reliever Brooks Pounders who got the 9-5 win, hurling the final three innings, uncharacteristically giving up four runs, three of them earned. It all worked out fine because Matt Daugherty and Blake English brought their big bats. Daugherty socked two home runs, driving in five runs, and English went 3-for-4 with a double and three RBI. The Bears can shake up the rankings big-time when they travel to No. 2 Norco Tuesday.

16.  (nr)  Yuba City 27-3
We already know that the Honkers have won their third straight Sac-Joaquin Section Div. III title with an 8-0 win on Memorial Day over Benicia. We also figured they'd be in the top 20 by the time the section playoffs rolled around, but didn't put them in earlier because they didn't play a difficult schedule. In a 3-1 win over Rodriguez of Fairfield that put Yuba City into the finals, four-year standout Max Stassi smashed a two-run homer to break a 1-1 tie. Michael Lowden also struck out seven in a complete-game victory. Stassi could be one of three or four California high school players taken in the first round of the annual Major League Baseball draft on June 9.

17.  (19)  St. Mary's (Stockton) 25-8
The Rams' tough schedule has paid off come postseason as they captured the Sac-Joaquin Section Division I Southern Bracket championship last week with a win over their local rivals, the Lincoln Trojans. Josh Grijalva continued to swing a hot bat as he hit another postseason homer and drove in four in a 12-0 win over Tracy to move to the Rams to the championship berth. John Haberman then only allowed one hit in the first game against Lincoln but the Trojans, with the help of an error, scored two runs in the seventh inning to force a second game that the Rams easily won by a 7-0 final score for the title. Sophomore Michael Hager was on the hill for their biggest game of the season and he showed poise above his age as he allowed just two hits in a shutout performance. The Rams, who lost to Jesuit by a 2-1 final earlier in the year, will get a rematch with the Marauders later this week as the Marauders won the North bracket and the two teams will face off in a best of three championship series starting on Friday.

18.  (20)  De La Salle (Concord) 17-8
State Athlete of the Week Noah Perio remained hot with three hits, including a homer, as the Spartans won their first CIF North Coast Section Division I playoff game, 9-7, against Amador Valley of Pleasanton. Also collecting two hits each for De La Salle were Bo Walton, Nick Tarantola and Will Dyer. Coach Rick Steen's squad will take a 10-game winning streak into the next playoff game, which will be against California of San Ramon.

19.   (nr)  Clovis 24-7
Zach Coy's pitching and Dusty Valero's first-inning triple that drove in a run and set himself up for a sacrifice fly pushed the Cougars past Liberty of Bakersfield, 9-2, in a Central Section Division I quarterfinal. Clovis moved on to a semifinal matchup this week against Clovis West. The winner would play either Stockdale of Bakersfield or Bullard of Fresno in the final. Early in the season, Clovis bested Stockdale twice in a doubleheader. Otherwise, it would have been Stockdale (24-5 and the defending champion) ranked in this spot instead.

20.   (nr)  Clayton Valley (Concord) 22-3
Sophomore  Chaz Meadows pitched eight strong innings and had an infield single in the eighth to jumpstart a game-winning rally as the Eagles topped Arroyo of San Lorenzo, 4-3 in eight innings, in the North Coast Section Division II playoffs. With just three losses, it's been a challenge of where to rank Clayton Valley since it doesn't play the same type of tough schedule that De La Salle, Serra and others in the Bay Area have faced. It's now time to get Clayton Valley up in there and the Eagles will stay if they win a Div. II section title. Up next for coach Bob Ralston's squad is a strong club from Casa Grande of Petaluma, which has dominated in the previous NCS playoffs in the Class 3A (now D2) Redwood Empire bracket.

Dropped Out:
Previous No. 4 Buchanan (Clovis); No. 13 Elk Grove; No. 18 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego).

On the Bubble:
Alameda 21-4, Bishop Amat (La Puente) 24-5, Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 22-6; Cleveland (Reseda) 25-7, Freedom (Oakley) 21-4, Marina (Huntington Beach) 21-6, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 21-9, St. Francis (Mountain View) 26-8, Stockdale (Bakersfield) 24-5,Torrey Pines (San Diego) 21-8.

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