El Toro and Norco each land a pair on the overall all-state first team. Capistrano Valley, Chatsworth, Stockdale, Cathedral Catholic, Edison of Huntington Beach, Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks and Jesuit of Carmichael all get one on the first and one on the second.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
Contributing: Ronnie Flores, Paul Muyskens, Steve Brand

Congratulations to all of the following 30 players, who have been written up as first team all-state for the CalHiSports.com all-state baseball honors. We have been compiling all-state teams in baseball for more than 25 years and our Mr. Baseball Player of the Year lists extend back more than 100 years.

Catchers

Josh Leyland (San Dimas) Sr.
He helped the Saints win their first section title since 1985 as his single tied the CIF Southern Section Div. IV championship game that they would go on and win, 4-2, over Torrance. Leyland has been named the Inland Valley player of the year and was drafted by the Oakland Athletics after leading the Saints with 11 homers and 38 runs batted in with a .506 batting average. On the year, he tied for the most homers in the state by a catcher with fellow first-team all-state pick Max Stassi, who was also drafed by the Athletics. Leyland has a scholarship offer from Washington State should he choose not to sign with the Athletics.

Max Stassi (Yuba City) Sr.
Despite an injury that caused him to be less than 100 percent, Max still was good enough this year to be the Sacramento Bee Player of the Year for the second year in a row and was recently named to the EA SPORTS All American team. During his senior year, he hit .538 with 38 runs batted in and 11 homers as the Honkers won their third straight section title. In his four years with the Honkers, a team coached by his dad, Jim, he hit .514 with 40 home runs and drove in 162 runs. Stassi has a full ride scholarship to UCLA awaiting him if he decides not to sign with the Oakland Athletics, who picked him in the fourth round of the recent Major League Baseball draft.

Andrew Susac (Jesuit, Carmichael) Sr.
There were an abundance of top catchers around the country and Susac was one of the best. Last summer at the Area Code Games in Long Beach, he performed more than admirably for the Milwaukee Brewers Gray team, standing out with his strong throwing arm. This spring, he continued to shine and led Jesuit to its second consecutive CIF Sac-Joaquin Div. I title by batting .442 with nine doubles and eight homers. He also scored 35 times and drove in 34 runs while earning league MVP honors and all-metro honors from the Sacramento Bee.

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Results from early this week included in this post, including what Matt Hobgood of Norco did in his game, how the Mitty girls fared and which No. 1-ranked baseball team was defeated.

Compiled by Steve Brand & Mark Tennis
Contributing: Paul Muyskens, Harold Abend

(Based on games played through Monday, May 25)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
*Indicates season is complete.
*Asterisk after season record indicates forfeit wins, losses not included.

BASEBALL

Division I
1.  (1)  Yucaipa 26-2
2.  (2)  Norco 24-4
3.  (3)  El Toro (Lake Forest) 22-5
4.  (6)  Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 23-5
5.  (5)  Edison (Huntington Beach) 20-5
6.  (7)  Chatsworth 27-4
7.  (8)  Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 22-5
8.  (9) Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 22-6
9.  (10) Clovis West (Fresno) 28-5
10. (11) JSerra (San Juan Capistrano) 22-6
11. (14) Serra (San Mateo) 28-6
12. (12) Poway 24-6
13. (15) Jesuit (Carmichael) 25-5
14. (nr) Temecula Valley (Temecula) 22-5
15. (nr) St. Mary's (Stockton) 25-8
Bubble: *Buchanan (Clovis) 23-5-1, Cleveland (Reseda) 25-7, Clovis 24-7, De La Salle (Concord) 17-8, *Elk Grove 22-7, Marina (Huntington Beach) 21-6, *Monte Vista (Danville) 17-8, Rancho Bernardo (San Diego) 21-9, Redlands East Valley (Redlands) 21-6, Stockdale (Bakersfield) 24-5, Tesoro (Las Flores) 20-7, Torrey Pines (San Diego) 21-8, *Valley Christian (San Jose) 25-9.
Comments: Buchanan (Clovis) and Elk Grove took dives so Temecula Valley and surprising St. Mary's (Stockton) have jumped in. The result was lots of movement as teams jumped to fill the gap Buchanan vacated at No. 4 but very few new teams.
Two major upsets that have already taken place this week have seen two CIF Southern Section champions from a year ago eliminated from this year's Division II playoffs. El Toro is out after a 6-2 loss on Tuesday to Redlands East Valley. Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks also is gone after a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Chino Hills.
In the CIFSS Division I playoffs, Norco beat Temecula Valley, 3-1, on Tuesday as Matt Hobgood hit a walkoff two-run homer in the eighth inning. Hobgood now has 21 homers for the season to lead the state, but he also reached a reported 97 mph on his fastball in his one inning of relief and he's up to as high as No. 13 in mock first round picks for the upcoming MLB draft. Hobgood is expected to start on Friday when Norco plays Mater Dei in the semifinals.

Division II
1.  (1) *Yuba City 27-3
2.  (3) Clayton Valley (Concord) 22-3
3.  (2) Beckman (Irvine) 23-4
4.  (4) Alameda 21-4
5.  (6) Bonita (La Verne) 20-5
6.  (7) Cardinal Newman (Santa Rosa) 24-1
7.  (9) Los Gatos 25-5
8. (nr) *Rocklin 23-8
9.  (nr) *Pleasant Valley (Chico) 27-5
10.  (nr) El Diamante (Visalia) 22-8
Bubble: Charter Oak (Covina) 16-9, Edison (Fresno) 20-11, *Gahr (Cerritos) 19-9, *Granite Bay 22-11, Grossmont (La Mesa) 21-9, *Irvington (Fremont) 19-7, Paramount 19-9, *Scotts Valley 23-5, Steele Canyon (Spring Valley) 21-7, *Wilcox (Santa Clara) 26-8.
Comments: Got to love a nickname like the Honkers and they're tooting all over the place after winning the San-Joaquin Section Division III title and making it impossible for a new No. 1 next week. We went ahead and included all of the Sac-Joaquin Section finals played on Monday in this week's divisional rankings, but any games played afterward will be reflected next week. Beckman and Bonita both won on Tuesday in the CIF Southern Section playoffs and will be in quarterfinal games on Friday.
In the North Coast Section playoffs already this week, Clayton Valley and Alameda both won and will play each other on Saturday for the Division II championship. Alameda beat the Eagles, 4-1, earlier this season. Clayton Valley topped Casa Grande of Petaluma, 7-4, while Alameda defeated Cardinal Newman of Santa Rosa, 10-6.

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Although some teams have begun to play, we still wanted to post our preseason state rankings outlooks for baseball and softball. The Norco baseball and Sheldon of Sacramento softball teams lead the way.

By Mark Tennis, Executive Editor
Contributing: Paul Muyskens, Garland Cooper, Andrew Drennen

There were only a handful of seniors on the roster a year ago when the Norco High baseball team made it to the semifinals of the CIF Southern Section Div. I playoffs. This is why the Cougars were tabbed No. 1 in the state for the 2009 preseason.

One of those back is Matt Hobgood, the CalHiSports.com State Junior Player of the Year. Hobgood went 10-0 on the mound with a 1.34 ERA and also hit .489 with 45 RBI. Wes Hatton is another ace pitcher to give the team a very strong 1-2 punch. He had a 1.66 ERA as a junior. Also back are honors candidates Jake Romanski, a catcher, and Jake Clark, who plays first base and pitches.

El Toro easily could have been in the preseason No. 1 position as well. The dilemma for the preseason order in California is whether to go with a team that was a semifinalist in the CIF Southern Section in Division I last year compared to one that was a champion in Division II.

Both Norco and El Toro have outstanding returning pitching and position players. In the case of the Chargers, their 1-2 combo is Chad Thompson (12-3, 1.28) and Tyler Ziegler (6-2, 2.14). Their top returnee at the plate is all-state underclass infielder Nolan Arenado, who batted .456 as a junior with 32 RBI.

The consensus is pretty clear in Northern California that the top team to start out should be Jesuit of Carmichael. The Marauders won the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Div. I title last year and are blessed with returning strength on the mound and at the plate. Andrew Susac is one of the top catchers in the state and has signed with Oregon State. He batted .466 as a junior and hit six homers. Outfielder Jimmy Bosco is back as well with a .505 average and is headed to the Pac-10 as well but to Cal. Three of the top four pitchers are also returning, led by Brock Simon (7-2, 1.97) and Martin Agosta (6-0, 1.16).

Here are the complete preseason state top 20 baseball rankings (listed with win-loss records from last year):

1. Norco 24-4
2. El Toro (Lake Forest) 26-9
3. Jesuit (Carmichael) 27-7
4. Simi Valley 25-8
5. Cathedral (San Diego) 27-8
6. Stockdale (Bakersfield) 31-3
7. Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 24-7
8. Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) 20-9
9. Poway 31-6
10. Yuba City 29-3
11. Chatsworth 29-5
12. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 24-11
13. Bishop Amat (La Puente) 27-4
14. Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) 27-4
15. De La Salle (Concord) 17-9
16. Clovis West (Fresno) 23-8
17. Valley Christian (San Jose) 30-6
18. Northview (Covina) 26-4
19. Oakdale 25-3
20. Los Alamitos 26-4

Bubble: Yucaipa 20-9, Serra (San Mateo) 26-7, Mt. Whitney (Visalia) 27-8, Royal (Simi Valley) 19-9, St. Mary's (Stockton) 21-12.

Softball Preseason Rankings

It's Sheldon of Sacramento, then the 1-2 Inland Empire punch of Corona Santiago and Norco that starts out the 2009 California prep softball season.

Coming off a 2008 campaign in which the team won its second straight CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I title and ended No. 4 in the final FAB 50 national rankings, head coach Mary Jo Truesdale at Sheldon is loaded again with the return of not only one of the best pitchers in the nation, Jolene Henderson, but also one of the best catchers, Lindsey Ziegenhirt.

Henderson, the CalHiSports.com State Junior of the Year and an EA SPORTS All-American, compiled a 30-1 mark in the circle with 22 shutouts, a 0.41 ERA and whiffed 326 batters. She also hit .400 with 31 RBI. Ziegenhirt, also first-team all-state, batted .446 with six homers and 47 RBI.

Henderson and Ziegenhirt, who are both headed to Cal, and many others from the Sheldon team also proved their strength on the field during the summer as they sparked their travel team to the Under-16 national championship. One of the team's other top players is sophomore third baseman Danielle Henderson, who is Jolene's younger sister.

In Southern California, Santiago of Corona and Norco both have four-year star pitchers so it was hard to look elsewhere for the region's preseason top rankings.

The Sharks have just a touch more returning strength than their arch-rivals from nearby Norco so they start out just one spot higher in the rankings. Head coach John Perez's team features four-year pitching standout Kamerin May, who as a freshman was in the circle when Santiago won the prestigious CIF Southern Section Div. I title. May struck out 311 batters last year with a 0.73 ERA and also hit .400 with six homers. She's joined by twin sister Kristin, who plays third base and catches and hit .350 as a junior. Both May sisters are headed to San Diego State.

While Santiago features the May twins, the Cougars have the Gerhart triplets. Teagan Gerhart is the most prominent of the sisters – at least from a softball standpoint – as she comes back as the Riverside County Player of the Year. She's one of the top pitchers in the nation and also hit .376 last year with 19 RBI. Along with sisters Whitley and Kelsey, Norco fans also are happy with the return of honors candidate Nicole Sappingfield in the outfield.

Here are the complete preseason state top 20 softball rankings (listed with win-loss records from last year):

1. Sheldon (Sacramento) 32-2
2. Santiago (Corona) 26-4
3. Norco 29-6
4. Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 23-3-1
5. Hart (Newhall) 24-5
6. Freedom (Oakley) 26-2
7. Valencia 29-5
8. Centennial (Bakersfield) 28-5-1
9. Simi Valley 29-1
10. San Benito (Hollister) 28-4
11. Canyon (Anaheim) 22-8
12. Ayala (Chino Hills) 21-11-1
13. Vista Murrieta (Murrieta) 23-7
14. Granite Hills (El Cajon) 24-7-1
15. Fairfield 24-7
16. Esperanza (Anaheim) 22-7-1
17. Presentation (San Jose) 26-6
18. Notre Dame (Salinas) 30-5
19. Rosary (Fullerton) 21-10
20. Glendora 19-10

Bubble: Foothill (Pleasanton) 20-8, La Serna (Whittier) 27-4, Lodi 20-10, Madera 31-4-1, Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) 24-6-1.

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