Maybe it was the rain in Northern California, but it's finally a fairly quiet week for these rankings with the top five remaining the same. Newcomers are Bellarmine of San Jose, Stockdale of Bakersfield and Rancho Buena Vista.

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

(After games of Saturday, May 2)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)

1.  (1)  Chatsworth 22-2
For the first time all season, we finally have a team that didn't give up the No. 1 state ranking the very next week. In Chatsworth's situation, however, full disclosure requires us also to report that last week's sweep of games against Taft of Woodland Hills was practically a foregone conclusion. The Chancellors took game one, 15-1, as Andy Weissberg went 3-for-3 with a homer and five RBI. They later won again, 13-2, behind homers from Carlos Escobar Jr. and Derek Neely. This week won't be so easy, starting with a Monday game vs. El Camino Real, ending with a third matchup this season vs. Cleveland of Reseda (which split with Chatsworth earlier this season) and with Birmingham of Lake Balboa in between.

2.  (2)  Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 19-3
The Monarchs got back to their winning ways last week when they took a pair from Santa Margarita.  The two-game sweep came on the heels of a split to a struggling Servite team. The only three losses that the Monarchs suffered thus far have all been in the Trinity League and they have all been at home.  They have two this week with St. John Bosco, before ending the regular season against Orange Lutheran.

3.  (3)  El Toro (Lake Forest) 18-4
The Chargers took two from Woodbridge of Irvine last week, after splitting with Northwood the week before.  However, the big blow to El Toro came when it lost one of its top players, Chad Thompson, who has signed with Arizona State.  The senior had Tommy John surgery last week and his season is over.  He will be on the shelf for at least a year.  His season ends with a 4-0 record and a 0.27 ERA. Look for Aaron Wirsch and T.J. Kendzora to step for the Chargers. 

4.  (4)  Yucaipa 21-2
It's difficult not to focus on the dramatic and crucial victory over Redlands East Valley last week, but that's what Jeff Stout's club will have to do to keep what is now a half-game lead in the Citrus Belt League. It's been six weeks since the T-Birds last saw Miller (Fontana) in a 9-1 win and they'll have to be careful with Redlands, which they beat 10-7. But the 9-5 win over REV should be an inspiration. Matt Marnati's two-run homer in the first was just the start as REV rallied to tie the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth. Marnati's double in the bottom of the same frame drove in two of the Thunderbirds' four runs and Yucaipa inched past REV into first. They stayed there with another slugfest 16-7 win over Carter (Riverside) later in the week, their fifth straight.

5.  (5)  Clovis West (Fresno) 23-3
It was supposed to be a busy week for the Golden Eagles, but a Friday matchup vs. Clovis East and a Saturday trip to the Oakland Coliseum to play Monte Vista of Danville at the Oakland A's/Dave Stewart Classic was rained out. Early in the week, Clovis West edged Clovis East, 2-1, behind Sean Silva's strong starting pitching. Eric Karch also picked up the save and hit a key home run. The makeup game against Clovis East was scheduled for Monday while the trip to the East Bay was rescheduled for May 16, although the Golden Eagles won't be playing Monte Vista but instead will face host De La Salle.

6.  (8)  Poway 20-3
There will be no looking back or savoring an 11-game winning streak as the Titans have three games with No. 20 Rancho Buena Vista this week in Palomar League play. Two of them are at home and in a preview to what can be expected, Poway edged RBV 5-4 in the Hilltop Tournament earlier this season. In starkly different ways, Poway also took care of El Camino (Oceanside) last week, sweeping the two-game series. In the opener, Dillon Dooney led the Titans to a 9-4 win, going 2-for-3 with a double and three RBI. Poway scored seven runs in the first two innings. Austin Steussy took care of the Wildcats in the second game, scattering three hits as a three-run seventh made a 5-0 win look easier than it really was.

7.  (9)  Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 19-4
The Knights had four Mission League games last week, including a twin bill against West Covina on Saturday.  They took all four.  On Saturday, Pedro Aldape threw a complete game against West Covina and later that afternoon David Armendariz, Torin Westfall and Greg Restivo combined to earn the second win.  Only the two games last week against Chaminade were Mission League games, and with those two wins, the Knights are now 7-1 in league play.  They take on St. Francis of La Canada this week.

8.  (6)  Edison (Huntington Beach) 16-4
The Chargers are now in charge of who wins the Sunset League after defeating Marina by one-run for the second straight time this season. Eric Snyder hit a solo homer in the second inning and Donald Sneed knocked in the go-ahead run with a two-out single in the 10th inning for the 2-1 victory. Henry Owens allowed just one run in seven innings before turning the mound over to Kurt Heyer, who tossed three shutout innings to get the win. The Chargers had the opportunity to all but wrap up the Channel League title with a win at home against Marina but couldn't complete the season sweep against the Vikings, losing by a 4-3 final score. Despite being tied for the top spot with Marina, Edison still holds the tiebreaker advantage with the series win and will capture the title if it wins the final four games, starting with two this week against Newport Harbor.

9.  (7)  Marina (Huntington Beach) 19-3
The Vikings split a pair of contests last week against fellow state-ranked Edison of Huntington Beach as they lost a heartbreaker at home before getting revenge on the road. Race Parmenter allowed just one run in seven innings for the no-decision in the 2-1 10-inning loss. In what was almost a must win for the Vikings if they wanted to capture a Sunset League championship, they finally were able to defeat the Chargers with a late rally. Trailing 3-2 in the sixth inning and looking at the possibility of a third one-run loss to the Chargers this year, they got a two-run homer by Chad Lewis for a 4-3 lead which remained as the final score. Marina will play Los Alamitos twice this week with the first of the two at home on Wednesday.

10.  (10)  Buchanan (Clovis) 18-4-1
Sophomore standout Seth Moranda pitched another gem to improve to 8-1 on the season while University of California-bound second basebman Brett Bishop knocked in two runs as the Bears beat state-ranked Clovis, 4-1, in the first of two scheduled matchups last week between the two Tri-River Athletic Conference rivals. The two Clovis Unified schools couldn't get in the second game due to inclement weather. That game instead was scheduled for Monday of this week. The rainout gave Buchanan head coach Tom Donald the option of perhaps using Moranda again vs. Clovis in the second game of the series as well.

11.  (11)  Norco 19-4
En route to nine straight wins, the Cougars have rarely been pressed like they were by Santiago (Corona) last week. In fact, Norco was down 3-2 in the top of the seventh after the Sharks scored three in the first inning and appeared to be making it hold up. Just one strike away from the loss, Jake Romanski drove a 2-2 changeup to right field, scoring two runners, and the Cougars not only escaped, but inched just one win away from capturing the Big VIII title. The same two clubs square off on Thursday but by then Norco may have already clinched the crown since the Cougars face Roosevelt (Corona) on Tuesday. Before Norco's heart-pounding victory over Santiago, the bats were on fire as they leveled Corona, 13-5, and J.W. North (Riverside), 19-3.

12.  (12)  JSerra (SJ Capistrano) 18-5
Some think that JSerra is the team to beat right now in the Trinity League.  The Lions are currently leading the league, one game better than Mater Dei, who is ranked No. 2 statewide this week. JSerra and Mater Dei have played three times this year and the Monarchs got the better of the matchups, taking two of three. The Lions have two this week with Servite and if they win out will be crowned Trinity League champs. 

13.  (15)  Temecula Valley (Temecula) 18-4
It won't take a lot for Anthony Mendez' club to wrap up the Southwestern League title this week since the Bears face their closest pursuers, Chaparral (Temecula), on Wednesday and Friday. Of course, at Chaparral, they're saying a sweep would leave them just one game behind. Just depends on how you look at it. Still, TV put itself in the more favorable of the two positions and made a two-spot jump in the rankings by sweeping Vista Murrieta, 6-3 and 7-5. That wasn't exactly dominating pitching or eye-popping offensive production but one win this week and the title – not to mention the league's No. 1 playoff berth -- is theirs. It was Brook Pounders Week as he sent two balls out of the park, giving him seven homers this season. Blake English also improved his batting average to a gaudy .507 as he also launched a homer.   

14.  (16)  Serra (San Mateo) 21-5
Mother Nature prevented the Padres from a possible 3-0 week but they still should be happy with a 2-0 week that saw them pick up road wins against Riordan and Archbishop Mitty and now have control of a WCAL championship in their own hands after a St. Francis loss to Bellarmine. Doug Caldwell tossed four scoreless innings to earn the win as the Padres scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 13-0 lead in an eventual 13-3 win over Riordan. Serra next avenged an earlier loss at home to the Monarchs in a big way as it never trailed in a 7-4 road win. Justin Maffei had three hits and knocked in two runs, including the game-winner. The Padres were scheduled to make up their rained out game against Bellarmine on Monday. The regular season WCAL schedule will then wrap up with games at Sacred Heart Cathedral and at home against Valley Christian.

15.  (19)  Northview (Covina) 15-4
The Vikings are 9-1 in league play this year and are currently riding a five-game winning streak.  The took both meetings against San Dimas and will play three times this week. San Dimas entered that game highly-ranked in the CIFSS Division III rankings as well. They have two against Covina this week and a game against Pomona sandwiched in.  They are winning Valle Vista League by a half game over San Dimas. 

16.  (20)  Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 16-4
It was an impressive week for Gary Remiker's club, which won three games and has another three Western League contests this week, one against upstart Point Loma and two against Mission Bay, which is down this year after being a traditional powerhouse for decades. The Dons flexed their muscles against Madison (San Diego), 14-2, rapping out 17 hits as soph Daniel Camarena and Oral Roberts-bound Brandon Healy each went 3-for-3, combining for five RBI. Next it was the Ryan Wilkins show as the SDSU-bound pitcher sent two balls out of the park and only allowed three hits in a 13-1 rout of Point Loma. The Dons also dispatched Grossmont League power Grossmont last week as USC-bound Casey Husband drove in three runs in the 7-5 victory.

17.  (13)  Clovis 20-5
By the time some of you are reading this, the Cougars might have already gained a split in their two-game set against No. 10 Buchanan. In the first game, which was played on Tuesday of last week, three errors led to four unearned runs in a 4-1 loss to the Bears. The second game against Buchanan was then rained out with the two teams scheduled to play that makeup game on Monday of this week. Losing that one game to Buchanan did not cause Clovis to drop too far in this week's rankings.

18.  (nr)   Bellarmine (San Jose) 19-6
The Bells enter the top 20 of the state rankings after a pair of seven-run wins last week and have a huge week ahead that could see them rise or fall a good amount depending on how they do. St. Francis had control of the WCAL championship in its hands but doesn't anymore as the Bells went on the road and hammered the Lancers by a 7-0 score. Patrick Hennessey dominated on the mound as he allowed just two hits in a complete game while also hitting two doubles at the plate. Then against St. Ignatius of San Francisco, Kevin Jarvis smashed a grand slam homer as the Bells posted an 8-1 victory. The Bells were scheduled to open this week on Monday at No. 14 Serra in the makeup of a rainout from last Friday.

19.  (nr)   Stockdale (Bakersfield) 20-4
With the way the Mustangs have been swinging the bats this season, they have opposing pitchers hoping they can ride away from their offensive assault without too much damage. For the fifth game in a row, the Mustangs scored in double figures as they defeated Frontier by a 14-1 final score in their lone game last week. Tyler Boren went 3-for-3 with a solo homer and three RBI for the Mustangs in a supporting role behind K.C. Hobson, whose performance was so good you'll have to wait to get all the details about it later this week. Hint: Harold Abend is contacting the school on Monday to set up an interview.

20.  (nr)  Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) 18-5
Winners of six in a row, the Longhorns are positioned to race past No. 6 Poway and into the Palomar League lead this week. All they have to do is sweep the three-game series. Stranger things have happened and all one has to do is look back to the San Diego Lions Tournament to see that RBV handed No. 4 Yucaipa its first loss of the season, 5-4, and downed No. 16 Cathedral, 9-8. Junior Jake Stinnett went six strong innings in a 7-1 win over Carlsbad and the combo of Tony Wolters and Kevin Ragsdale allowed RBV to sweep the Lancers, 10-2. Wolters went 4-for-5 with a home run and double while driving in four and the 6-foot-2 Ragsdale (5-1) pitched four strong innings. It's a big week coming up for Leo Fletes' club.

Dropped Out:
Previous No. 14 Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo), No. 17 Clayton Valley (Concord), No. 18 Elk Grove.

On The Bubble:
Beckman (Irvine) 19-3, Bishop Amat (La Puente) 19-5, Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 17-6; Clayton Valley (Concord) 18-3; Elk Grove 17-5, Jesuit (Carmichael) 17-5, La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad) 17-5, Monte Vista (Danville) 16-5, Oakdale 23-2, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 15-8, St. Mary's (Stockton) 18-7, Tesoro (Las Flores) 16-6, Vista 18-6, Yuba City 20-3.

Corrections or comments? Email mark@studentsports.com and be sure to leave a comment so others can check out what you have to say.