Milpitas starting pitcher Priyah Quinonez (24) throws against Los Gatos High School in the first inning at Los Gatos High School in Los Gatos, Calif., on Thursday, March 23, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
Bay Area News Group Top 20
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
(Records and statistics through Monday evening)
No. 1 ST. FRANCIS (8-1)
Previous ranking: 1
Update: The Lancers defeated Centennial-Las Vegas, Pacifica and Marina at the Michelle Carew tournament before losing the final to Los Alamitos. Junior pitcher Shannon Keighran threw a no-hitter with seven strikeouts vs. Marina.
Up next: Wednesday vs. Presentation, 4:00 p.m.
No. 2 SAN RAMON VALLEY (8-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Update: The Wolves held off a ranked Livermore team 4-2 and Dougherty Valley 3-1 to stay perfect in season and East Bay Athletic League play (4-0). Senior Sophia Baccei is batting .391 and leads the team with 10 RBIs.
Up next: Wednesday at Berkeley, 4 p.m.
No. 3 PINOLE VALLEY (13-0)
Previous ranking: 4
Update: Pinole Valley kept its perfect start going with a victory over Salesian and another win at Encinal. Pitcher Kailani Tatro pitched her 13th complete game of the season and allowed just two hits against Encinal while striking out 10.
Up next: Wednesday at St. Mary’s, 4 p.m.
No. 4 GRANADA (6-1)
Previous ranking: 5
Update: The Matadors did not input any results into MaxPreps last week.
Up next: Thursday vs. Monte Vista, 9:15 a.m.
No. 5 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (6-1)
Previous ranking: 7
Update: The Monarchs rebounded from a stunning upset to Willow Glen with victories at Notre Dame-Salinas and Presentation. Alyssa Onyeagwa hit a home run in the 10-inning victory at Notre Dame, and freshman two-sport phenom McKenna Wolickzo had three hits against Presentation.
Up next: Wednesday at Sacred Heart Cathedral (South Sunset #1), 3:30 p.m.
No. 6 FOOTHILL (6-1)
Previous ranking: 2
Update: Foothill lost its only game of the week to Monte Vista. Senior AvaMarie Perry went 2 for 3 with an RBI in the 5-4 loss.
Up next: Thursday vs. College Park, 1 p.m.
No. 7 BENICIA (4-2)
Previous ranking: 6
Update: Benicia lost its only game of the week 5-2 to Central Catholic-Modesto. Senior Braxton Brown drove in both runs on an RBI single.
Up next: Thursday vs. Amador Valley, 11:15 p.m.
No. 8 CLAYTON VALLEY (6-2)
Previous ranking: 8
Update: The Ugly Eagles split its two games played since last week’s rankings dropped. CVC shut out Las Lomas 7-0, and then lost to California 5-2. Layla Hernandez struck out five while allowing no hits in four innings pitched against Las Lomas.
Up next: April 11 vs. Concord, 4:30 p.m.
No. 9 CAPUCHINO (9-2)
Previous ranking: 12
Update: Capuchino played several exciting games last week. The Mustangs defeated Los Altos 3-2 in eight innings, Milpitas 6-5, and dropped a game 5-3 to St. Ignatius in extra innings. Kira Forsberg drove in the winning run against Los Altos on a line drive into left field.
Up next: Tuesday vs. San Mateo, 7 p.m.
No. 10 LIVERMORE (6-3)
Previous ranking: 10
Update: Livermore lost a 4-2 thriller to EBAL rival San Ramon Valley, and will look forward to a Tuesday matchup with Carondelet to get back over .500 in league play. Sophomore Maggie Pyke leads the team with a .455 batting average.
Up next: Tuesday at Amador Valley, 4 p.m.
No. 11 MILPITAS (12-3)
Previous ranking: 9
Update: Milpitas beat Cupertino 3-2, narrowly lost to Capuchino 6-5 and then routed Pioneer 9-2 last week. Milpitas started its week with a 4-1 loss to Los Altos on Monday. Madeline Le leads the team with 19 hits.
Up next: Thursday vs. Cupertino, 4 p.m.
No. 12 WESTMONT (9-4)
Previous ranking: 11
Update: The Warriors had a tough weekend after winning a Thursday game against Pioneer 13-3. Sequoia and Carlmont each defeated Westmont by one run. Athlete of the Week nominee Brianna Chambers-Lee has five home runs this season.
Up next: Tuesday at Santa Teresa, 4 p.m.
No. 13 WILLOW GLEN (8-2)
Previous ranking: 18
Update: After upsetting Archbishop Mitty, Willow Glen comfortably defeated Live Oak and Wilcox. The Rams then lost to Monterey 3-2 in a neutral site game, but rebounded with a victory over Valley Christian. Faamaai Ulu ended the week hitting .538 for the season.
Up next: Tuesday at Pioneer, 4 p.m
No. 14 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (9-3)
Previous ranking: 13
Update: Valley Christian extended its winning streak to five games with two victories against Paso Robles and a win against visiting Sacred Heart Cathedral. Valley Christian started the week with an 8-4 loss to Willow Glen. Junior Talia Haskins drove in five runs and hit a home run vs. SHC.
Up next: Wednesday at St. Ignatius, 4 p.m.
No. 15 SAN LEANDRO (10-3)
Previous ranking: 15
Update: After shutting out Hayward 13-0 on Monday, Ssan Leandro crushed Tennyson 15-0 on Friday. The quick-footed Pirates have stolen 48 bases in 13 games, with 11 players swiping at least one base.
Up next: April 10 vs. American, 4 p.m.
No. 16 HILLSDALE (7-1)
Previous ranking: 14
Update: Hillsdale did not play any games last week.
Up next: Tuesday vs. Carlmont, 4:00 p.m.
No. 17 BRANHAM (7-2)*
Previous ranking: 16
Update: Branham defeated Santa Teresa 5-4 last Monday and then did not play any other games that week.
Up next: Tuesday vs. Santa Teresa, 4 p.m.
No. 18 SEQUOIA (9-0)
Previous ranking: NR
Update: Sequoia defeated Westmont by one run, and then routed Los Gatos 8-0 to improve to 9-0. Ainsley Waddell is batting .571, and has also thrown 111 strikeouts and has pitched every inning of every game.
Up next: Tuesday vs. Burlingame, 4 p.m.
No. 19 JAMES LOGAN (7-3-1)
Previous ranking: 19
Update: James Logan had an extremely busy week, playing five games in tournament play. The Colts went 3-1-1 in that stretch, with the best win being a 9-1 victory over Carson-Carson City. Junior Shannon Garcia hit a home run and drove in two runs, and pitcher Angel Hernandez gave up three hits in five innings.
Up next: Today at Newark-Memorial, 4 p.m.
No. 20 SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (9-2)
Previous ranking: 17
Update: After losing 11-10 to Woodside, SHC defeated El Camino 18-2. The Fightin’ Irish lost to WCAL rival Valley Christian 14-8 to close out the week. Grace McCusker went 3 for 4 with two RBIs against El Camino.
Up next: Wednesday vs. Archbishop Mitty (South Sunset #1), 3:30 p.m.
Teams eligible for the Bay Area News Group rankings come from leagues based predominantly in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
Originally published at Joseph Dycus