Bay Area News Group Top 20
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., Thursday, March 23, 2023. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group )
Bay Area Newsgroup Top 20
(Mercury News & East Bay Times)
(Logs and stats up to Monday evening)
No. 1 ST. FRANCIS (8-1)
Previous ranking: 1
Update: The Lancers defeated Centennial-Las Vegas, Pacifica and Marina in the Michelle Carew Tournament before losing the final to Los Alamitos. Junior pitcher Shannon Keighran threw a seven-hit shutout against Navy.
Next up: Wednesday vs. Presentation, 4 p.m
No. 2 SAN RAMON VALLEY (8-0)
Previous ranking: 3
Update: The Wolves held off ranked Livermore 4-2 and Dougherty Valley 3-1 to stay perfect on the season and in East Bay Athletic League play (4-0). Senior Sophia Baccei is hitting .391 and leads the team with 10 RBIs.
Next: Wednesday at Berkeley, 4 p.m
No. 3 PINOLE LALLEY (13-0)
Previous ranking: 4
Update: Pinole Valley kept its perfect start going with a win 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.
Next: Wednesday at St. Mary’s, 4 p.m
No. 4 GRANADA (6-1)
Previous ranking: 5
Update: The Matadors did not produce any results in MaxPreps last week.
Next: Thursday vs. Monte Vista, 9:15 a.m
No. 5 ARCHBISHOP MITTY (6-1)
Previous ranking: 7
Update: The Monarchs bounced back from a stunning upset of Willow Glen with wins at Notre Dame-Salinas and Presentation. Alyssa Onyeagwa hit a home run in the 10-run win at Notre Dame, and freshman two-sport phenom McKenna Wolickzo had three hits against Presentation.
Next: Wednesday at Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (South Sunset #1), 3:30 p.m.
No. 6 A LOT (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.
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.
Next: Thursday vs. Amador Valley, 11:15 p.m
No. 8 CLAYTON VALLEY (6-2)
Previous ranking: 8
Update: The Ugly Eagles shared the two games played since last week’s rankings. CVC shut out Las Lomas 7-0, and then lost to California 5-2. Layla Hernandez struck out five without allowing a hit in four innings against Las Lomas.
Next: April 11 vs. Concord, 4:30 p.m
No. 9 CAPPUCCINO (9-2)
Previous rank: 12
Update: Capuchino played some exciting games last week. The Mustangs beat Los Altos 3-2 in eight innings, Milpitas 6-5, and lost a 5-3 game to St. Ignatius in overtime. Kira Forsberg drove in the winning run against Los Altos on a line drive to left field.
Next: Tuesday vs. San Mateo, 7 p.m
No. 10 LIVERMORE (6-3)
Previous rank: 10
Update: Livermore dropped a 4-2 thriller to EBAL rival San Ramon Valley and will look forward to a Tuesday matchup with Carondelet to get back above .500 in league play. Sophomore Maggie Pyke leads the team with a .455 batting average.
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 defeated 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.
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 game on Thursday against Pioneer 13-3. Sequoia and Carlmont each beat Westmont by one run. Athlete of the Week nominee Brianna Chambers-Lee has five home runs this season.
Next: Tuesday at Santa Teresa, 4 p.m
No. 13 WILLOW GLEN (8-2)
Previous rank: 18
Update: After upsetting Archbishop Mitty, Willow Glen easily defeated Live Oak and Wilcox. The Rams then lost to Monterey 3-2 in a neutral game, but bounced back with a win over Valley Christian. Faamaai Ulu finished the week hitting .538 for the season.
Next: Tuesday at Pioneer, 4 p.m
No. 14 VALLEY CHRISTIAN (9-3)
Previous rank: 13
Update: Valley Christian extended its winning streak to five games with two wins against Paso Robles and a win against 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 against SHC.
Next: Wednesday at St. Ignatius, 4 p.m
No. 15 SAN LEANDRO (10-3)
Previous rank: 15
Update: After shutting out Hayward 13-0 on Monday, Ssan Leandro defeated Tennyson 15-0 on Friday. The speedy Pirates have stolen 48 bases in 13 games, with 11 players swiping at least one base.
Next: April 10 vs. America, 4 p.m
No. 16 HILLSDALE (7-1)
Previous rank: 14
Update: Hillsdale did not play a game last week.
Next: Tuesday vs. Carlmont, 4 p.m
No. 17 BRANHAM (7-2)*
Previous ranking: 16
Update: Branham beat Santa Teresa 5-4 last Monday and then didn’t play another game that week.
Next: Tuesday vs. Santa Teresa, 4 p.m
No. 18 SEQUOIA (9-0)
Previous ranking: NO
Update: Sequoia beat Westmont by one run and then beat Los Gatos 8-0 to improve to 9-0. Ainsley Waddell is hitting .571, and has also struck out 111 batters and pitched every inning of every game.
Next: Tuesday vs. Burlingame, 4 p.m
No. 19 JAMES LOGAN (7-3-1)
Previous rank: 19
Update: James Logan had an extremely busy week, playing five games in the tournament. 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 homered and drove in two runs, and pitcher Angel Hernandez gave up three hits in five innings.
Next: Today at Newark-Memorial, 4 p.m
No. 20 CATHEDRAL OF THE SACRED HEART (9-2)
Previous ranking: 17
Update: After an 11-10 loss to Woodside, SHC beat El Camino 18-2. The Fightin’ Irish lost to WCAL rival Valley Christian 14-8 to end the week. Grace McCusker went 3-for-4 with two RBIs against El Camino.
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 primarily in Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
