The craziest two weeks of the season for the rankings begin as usual with lots of playoff upsets. That's single-elimination playoff baseball. Chatsworth's win in the L.A. City finals on Saturday, however, does lock out a number of teams from perhaps being No. 1 in the state for the season. Edison and Mater Dei, who play each other on Tuesday, start out this week in the No. 1 and No. 2 positions.

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

(After games of Saturday, May 30)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)

1. (5) Edison (Huntington Beach) 22-5
With the No. 1 through No. 4 teams from last week all losing in the CIF Southern Section playoffs, it's natural to move up the No. 5 Chargers into the No. 1 slot to start this week. Of course, they have to play No. 2 Mater Dei in the Division I semifinals on Tuesday at Blair Field and if they win would then have to earn the championship on Saturday at Anaheim Stadium. Edison won its quarterfinal game last Friday, 3-2, over Dana Hills of Dana Point. Arizona State-bound Kurt Heyer tossed three-hitter with Eric Snyder topping the offense with a pair of doubles. In its other game last week, the Chargers clubbed West Ranch of Valencia, 13-1. Sophomore Henry Owens pitched a five-hitter in that one while Chris Czernachowski led the offense with a home run and a double. The Heyer-Owens pitching combo has been outstanding all season and one more strong outing from each could result in a State Team of the Year honor.

2. (7) Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 24-5
After the Monarchs took down Matt Hobgood and the previous No. 2 Norco Cougars with their 7-4 win last Friday in the CIFSS Div. I quarterfinals, we almost moved them back up to No. 1 for the third time this season. While we did hop them in front of Chatsworth, we left Edison higher since the two teams are going to face off against each other on Tuesday anyway. Coach Burt Call's team also won its earlier playoff game last week by the same 7-4 score against Tesoro of Las Flores. Aaron Northcraft pitched the game against Norco and is as good a No. 1 as you'll find. Mater Dei's offense, which was shut down in its five league losses, has been potent when it has counted the most, especially Cory Hahn, who homered against Tesoro before he hit the two off Hobgood. If Mater Dei wins the CIFSS Division I title to go along with the Anderson Bat National Classic crown it won in April, that's going to be enough as well for the team to be the 2009 State Team of the Year.

3. (6) Chatsworth 29-4
Heading into the L.A. City Section Div. I finals, the Chancellors met up with a Cleveland of Reseda team they saw three previous times. They went 2-1 against the Cavaliers, winning their meeting in early May, 4-3. This time at Dodger Stadium last Saturday, it wasn't close. Carlos Escobar Jr., led the way for the Chancellors, who busted the 9-0 game wide open in the fourth. Escobar led off the fourth with a ground rule double and in his second at bat in the inning he blasted a three-run homer. It is the third straight section title for Chatsworth and the eighth in the last 11 years. Cleveland did win the league title this year, though, so that's what costs Chatsworth in a comparison to Edison and Mater Dei if either of those two win the CIFSS Div. I title. Mater Dei didn't win its league title, either, but winning the National Classic and beating Norco and then potentially Edison and Capistrano Valley would be too much. If you are a Chatsworth fan, clearly the team to root for this week in the CIFSS Div. I playoffs is Riverside Poly. There would be no doubt about the Chancellors finishing No. 1 in the final state rankings if that were to happen.

4. (8) Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 24-6
The Cougars will take on Riverside Poly in the CIFSS Div. I semifinal on Tuesday at Blair Field, in Long Beach. That's because they dispatched Orange Lutheran and Marina of Huntington Beach last week. Probable top 10 MLB draft pick Tyler Matzek was lights out against the Lancers in their 4-0 second round win and the bats came alive for the Cougars, who topped Marina 11-0. Rumor has it that recently the Capo Valley lefty, in the playoffs, has hit 99 mph on the gun. Even if the Cougars win out this week, they may not jump Chatsworth in the final rankings. Having a sixth loss, compared to five for Edison and Mater Dei, is the difference there.

5. (2) Norco 25-5
Everyone knew the Cougars would go as far as Matt Hobgood would carry them but the shocker was that he actually proved he was human, not only getting bounced from the CIFSS DI playoffs by Mater Dei of Santa Ana, 7-4, but giving up a grand slam homer. This from a pitcher who had allowed just three earned runs all season. When Norco's Jake Clark poled a three-run home run in the first inning, things were looking very good for the Cougs, but it wasn't to be. Earlier in the week, Norco showed as you go farther into the playoffs things get a lot tougher as it took extra innings to get past Temecula Valley on-who else?-Hobgood's two-run home run, his nation-leading 21st of the season and 40th of his career. TV challenged Hobgood and he responded with a 3-for-4 day at the plate. With Wes Hatton allowing just four hits and striking out 11 in six strong innings, the Cougars handed the ball over to Hobgood, who struck out three batters after Hatton gave up the game-tying home run to Brenden Kalfus. The loss to Mater Dei snapped a 15-game winning streak.

6. (11) Serra (San Mateo) 30-6
A pair of walk-off wins gave the Padres the CIF Central Coast Section Div. I title and sent out retiring coach Pete Jensen on a gleeful note. In the semifinals earlier in the week, Serra was down 4-0 to Bellarmine of San Jose but rallied with five runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 5-4 victory. Tony Renda tied the game with a two-out RBI single and then Tim Quiery won it with another line drive base hit. In the final, Archbishop Mitty plated a run in the top of the seventh to tie the score at 4-4, but the Padres won it in the bottom of the inning, 5-4. Luca Ponti got the game-winning rally started with a single up the middle. He scored on a one-out single by Justin Maffei. Earlier in the game, Renda, who is going to Cal, ripped a two-run homer. Serra won its sixth CCS title, its fourth under Jensen, but its first since 1998.

7. (12) Poway 26-6
All it took was what Bob Parry called one of the greatest comebacks in school history for the Titans to avoid the elimination round in the double-elimination San Diego Section Division I playoffs. Down 7-2 to La Costa Canyon of Carlsbad in the bottom of the seventh, the Titans rallied for six runs - five of them with two out. Senior Steven Halcomb's bases-loaded double drove in three runs to tie the game and junior C.J. Rowe's single to right scored Halcomb, who was running on the hit for the unlikely victory. An emotional win like that can sometimes affect a team in the next game, but the Titans kept their focus and rode junior Trevin Lipe's solo home run in the bottom of the sixth inning and junior Keegan Yuhl's five-hit, complete game to a 4-3 victory over East San Diego power Granite Hills of El Cajon. Yuhl's record improved to 10-1 as Poway rapped out 11 hits and now faces Palomar League rival Rancho Buena Vista of Vista in a fourth-round game on Tuesday.

8. (14) Jesuit (Carmichael) 27-5
The Sac-Joaquin Section Division I championship series was a best-of-three format but there was no need for the third game as the Marauders defended their title with 10-7 and 10-4 victories over St. Mary's of Stockton. Danny Hayes hit a two-run double in the first inning of the second game as the Marauders quickly took a 4-0 lead. Then after their lead was cut to 5-3 in the fourth inning, Brock Simon hit a two-out three-run homer for a comfortable lead that they wouldn't surrender. In the first game, Jesuit trailed by a 3-0 score, but erupted for 10 runs in the fourth inning as Chris Piwinski had a two-run single and Andrew Susac added the final nail in the coffin with a three-run homer. The Marauders finished the season with a 14-game winning streak after a perfect 6-0 postseason, showing why they were ranked as high as number one in the state earlier this season.

9. (1) Yucaipa 27-3
During the course of the season, Yucaipa had shown some vulnerability but during an 11-game winning streak at the end of the year, the T-Birds simply looked like the best team in the state. But Huntington Beach jumped all over the T-Birds early, scoring five runs in the first inning and three in the third to go up 8-0 before cruising in to the stunningly-easy 10-2 victory. Chad Erickson certainly did his best to keep Yucaipa in the game as he went 2-for-3 with a triple and a double while scoring a run but his production was 40 percent of the T-Birds' offense. Those five hits were one fewer than the number of errors Yucaipa committed. Things were much happier earlier in the week when Matt Davidson led the T-Birds to their 11th straight win, 10-4, over another Orange County school, Cypress. The T-Birds rapped out 13 hits as Erickson and Brian Derryberry also had multi-hit games but it was still tied at 4-4 until Yucaipa erupted for six runs in the bottom of the sixth.

10. (NR) Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 23-6
There is something to be said for playoff experience as last year's CIFSS Division II finalists moved into this year's semifinals with a pair of impressive victories. David Andriese slammed a home run and a double while driving in three runs, scoring two and even stealing a base, Griffin Murphy added a home run and two RBI and Jimmy Perez scattered four hits, allowing two early runs and striking out 10 as the Wildcats surprised El Toro of Lake Forest, 6-2. The two teams were tied at 2-2 when REV erupted for three runs in the fourth and then rode Perez to the victory. It ended up being the easier of the two wins as it took Brad Burcroff's bases-loaded hit that one-bounced over the fence in the bottom of the eighth to score Clay Goodrich and deliver a 3-2 win over San Luis Obispo. Lefty Griffin Murphy only allowed five hits while striking out 10 to send the Wildcats into Tuesday's semis against Crespi of Encino.

11. (3) El Toro (Lake Forest) 23-6
El Toro fell to No. 11 this week after tts season come to an abrupt end. The Chargers only made it to the second round of the CIFSS Div. II playoffs, where they fell to Redlands East Valley. This was the same team El Toro defeated in the 2008 championship game. The Chargers struck first, jumping out to a 2-0 lead. REV tied it in the bottom half of the first, then busted the game open with a three run fourth inning. El Toro still proved it was one of the top teams in the state throughout the season and doesn't have to drop too far in this week's rankings since REV was jumped up to No. 10.

12. (NR) Stockdale (Bakersfield) 26-5
There was no need for late game heroics to defeat Clovis West in this year's Central Section Division I championship game as the Mustangs never trailed in a 6-2 win for their second section title in a row. Senior K.C. Hobson, who has led the offense for most of the season, fittingly provided the game's first runs as he blasted his 15th homer of the year, a two-run shot, in the first inning as Stockdale took an early 3-0 lead. Isiah Turner hit a two-run home run in the sixth inning to extend the lead to 5-1 and Philip Valos earned his 10th win of the season on the mound in a complete-game performance. According to section historian Bob Barnett in the Bakersfield Californian, the Mustangs became the first Kern County team to repeat a big-school title since Bakersfield High back in 1953. The Mustangs defeated Bullard of Fresno, 4-3, in the semifinals after trailing 3-0 in the sixth inning.

13. (9) Clovis West (Fresno) 29-6
Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, they had to settle for silver instead of gold once again as they lost to Stockdale in the Central Coast Section Division I championship game by a 6-2 final score to end their season. In front of a standing-room only crowd for their semifinal matchup against Clovis, the Golden Eagles scored six runs in the first and it was enough for a 6-4 victory to advance to the finals. All six of their runs in the first inning came with two outs as the last hitter in the lineup, Joe Smith, drove in the final two runs with a single. Junior Eric Karch, who entered the game sixth on the team in innings pitched this season, got the final five outs of the ballgame. Clovis West had to be behind Stockdale in the final rankings, but they did have a strong enough season to stay in the top 15.

14. (16) Yuba City 28-3
The Honkers made Memorial Day afternoon a day to remember for their baseball team as they became the third team to ever win three straight Sac-Joaquin Section championships as they defeated Benicia 8-0 in the Division III final. Michael Lowden was handed the ball for the title contest and was unhittable for a majority of the game as he didn't allow a hit in the first 5 1/3 innings and allowed just two hits the entire game to finish the season a perfect 11-0 on the mound. Max Stassi, a possible first-round pick in next week's MLB draft, was part of all three title teams. As expected, Yuba City has moved up in the rankings as teams in other more competitive playoff divisions in other sections have fallen. The team could move up a couple more spots as well, but it might be tough to crack to the top 10.

15. (20) Clayton Valley (Concord) 24-3
Most teams look for their upperclassmen to lead the way, but for the Eagles to capture their first ever North Coast Section Division II championship it was sophomore Chaz Meadows in that role. Meadows, who won three postseason games, tossed six shutout innings in the 3-0 win in the championship last Saturday against Alameda. The Hornets had previously given the Eagles their only blemish in their previous 14 games. Johnny Bekakis led the victors with two runs batted in while Darrel Matthews scored twice. The Eagles were victorious by a 7-4 final score over Casa Grande in the semifinals as they opened up an early 5-0 lead after two innings of play. Vince Bruno had two doubles and three RBI while Wesley Darrow drove in two.

16. (4) Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 23-6
The upsets continued in the CIFSS Div. II playoffs when Notre Dame fell to Chino Hills. The Knights surrendered 10 hits to Chino Hills in the loss. Like El Toro, Notre Dame fell in the second round of the playoffs. The Knights can still be ranked ahead of Chino Hills due to a superior overall season and they also still will likely land a spot in the final overall state top 20.

17. (10) JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 22-7
Colton Plaia ripped a solo homer in the sixth inning that brought the Lions within 4-3 in their CIFSS Div. I playoff game last week against Riverside Poly, but the Poly standout Jake Marisnick got the run right back with a homer of his own as the Bears eliminated the Lions with a 5-3 win. Riverside Poly still has 10 losses on the season, so for it to get ranked it will have to at least advance to the CIFSS Div. I final. JSerra, of course, should be rooting for league rival Mater Dei to win that championship. The Lions were the Trinity League champions despite going 1-2 vs. the Monarchs in head-to-head games.

18. (NR) Bishop Amat (La Puente) 26-5
You have to go way back to April 21 for the last time the Lancers lost a game, which was to Long Beach Wilson. Since then, they have been riding an 11-game winning streak, which continued last week with wins over La Quinta and La Habra. Next up for the Lancers is San Dimas in the CIFSS Div. IV semifinals. San Dimas enters the semifinal matchup after topping El Segundo, 11-8. Another reason for moving up Amat is that the Lancers won twice in their league over St. Paul of Santa Fe Springs, which is the team that knocked out previous No. 13 Northview of Covina from this week's rankings.

19. (NR) Cathedral Catholic (San Diego) 24-6
Coach Gary Remiker probably would just as soon not be ranked among the state's Top 20 as it seems every time the Dons make the list they suffer a loss, usually to a team they should have beaten. Rolling through the San Diego Section Division III playoffs, however, Cathedral again looks tough. First, the team dispatched Western League rival Mission Bay, 13-3, behind junior Casey Munoz, who favors the number three after a 3-for-3, three-runs scored and three RBI performance. In that game, Cathedral scored in all six innings. That 10-run win felt so easy they duplicated the feat against another league foe, University City, 14-4 as Mr. California football standout Tyler Gaffney bashed two home runs, including a grand slam in the third inning. Cathedral draws University City one last time on Tuesday in the double-elimination tournament.

20. (NR) Freedom (Oakley) 23-4
The Falcons move into the top 20 after knocking off previous No. 18 De La Salle of Concord by a 3-0 final in the North Coast Section Division I championship game. UNLV-bound Billy Wardell recorded the first six outs of the game with strikeouts and allowed just one hit, a leadoff fourth-inning single, in a complete game shutout that saw him strike out 11. Javier Carvajal also went a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, triple, RBI and run scored as the Falcons won their first section championship in school history in any boys sport. Things didn't look good for the Falcons in their semifinal game against Deer Valley of Antioch as they trailed 7-0 before coming to the plate in the second inning. After a single run in the third, however, Freedom scored nine in the sixth on their way to a 10-8 win.

Dropped Out:
Previous No. 13 Northview (Covina); No. 15 Temecula Valley (Temecula); No. 17 St. Mary's (Stockton); No. 18 De La Salle (Concord); No. 19 Clovis.

On The Bubble:
Chino Hills 19-10, Cleveland (Reseda) 26-8, Clovis 24-8, Crespi (Encino) 19-11, De La Salle (Concord) 18-9, Huntington Beach 18-12, Northview (Covina) 21-5, Poly (Riverside) 20-10, Rancho Buena Vista (Vista) 23-9, St. Mary's (Stockton) 25-10, Temecula Valley (Temecula) 22-6.

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