Here is a look at the East Bay Athletic League for baseball, with teams ranked in order of anticipated finish:
1. California: State ranked and No. 3 in the Bay Area, the Grizzlies seem destined for an EBAL title. They're led by a star-studded senior class, which includes Fresno State outfield commit Nick Allman, St. Mary's-bound third baseman Austin Chauvin and Chico State-bound shortstop Cameron Santos. The trio has combined for 24 RBI, and Santos adds to that with three homers and a .541 batting average. Don't discount the pitching staff either. Many thought this would be the ultimate demise, but they've come up huge this season, accumulating a 1.70 team ERA. Junior Mike Podany has also added a perfect game this season. The Grizzlies have impressive victories over Campolindo (7-5), De La Salle (3-0) and Freedom (8-4). Their only loss has come to a Foothill squad that's been on fire thus far.
2. De La Salle: Many considered the Spartans as the early favorite, but after being no-hit by Cal, that notion seems to have been adjusted. However, there's still an underlying chance that they can win league, but the consistency will need to be there. They fell to St. Mary's-Stockton (2-1), but that result was adjusted after St. Mary's had to forfeit. Chris Williams has led the way on offense, batting .464 with four doubles and he currently holds an offer from Fresno State. Cal Poly-bound outfielder Ben Polshuk has been struggling, narrowly eclipsing .200 and having a hard time finding a rhythm at the plate. The pitching staff has one of the lowest team ERA's in the league at 2.80. If De La Salle wishes to win the league, it will need to win out and defeat Cal in the final game of the regular season.
3. San Ramon Valley: Despite a quick start in league play, the chances the Wolves win league are unlikely. They've defeated Amador Valley (4-1) and Granada (3-2) thus far, but have yet to face Cal and De La Salle. They most likely will be vying for a second place finish, as the Spartans aren't quite having the start they've wanted. A strong pitching staff can carry them to the top two, with Santa Clara commit Alex Barden leading the way. Offensively, Stanford commit Matt Winaker has been the main source, hitting .423 with six RBI's and a triple. The runs haven't complemented the superb pitching, however, as they've totaled 29 runs in 9 games. If they hope to continue the success and compete for a league title, the offense will need to step up and not let the pitching staff do a majority of the work.
4. Granada: Following a dream season, most of the talent was lost, but a lot of it was retooled. The Matadors are led by one of the top seniors in the region, Casey Soltis. Heading to Oregon, Soltis is a rising draft prospect that might be taken in one of the early rounds. His season has included a six RBI game against Liberty with a triple and home run. So far, Soltis is hitting .387 with three triples and two home runs, but he hasn't been the only one producing on offense. Senior infielders Ryan Dearborn and JT Storti are getting their share of hits, along with junior first baseman Chris Moussa, who's batting .304. The pitchers have contributed their fair share too, with sophomore Robert Chioino not allowing a single run in 25 innings. Senior Turner Hartley is 4-1 and allowed three earned runs in 27 innings.
5. Foothill: Sitting at 7-1, the Falcons have already posted huge victories over Bishop O'Dowd (2-1), Cal (4-3), Freedom (4-1) and Heritage (6-5). The win over Cal signified the level play that the Falcons are capable of playing at. The offense has excelled along with the pitching. Outfielder Max Sanderson is hitting .450 and shortstop Ryan Anderson has been another key contributor at the plate, hitting .417 with a home run. The pitching staff has been led by right-hander Kyle Franco, who's 2-0 and has just a 1.64 ERA. If all continues to go according to plan, the Falcons can turn a lot of heads in the playoffs.
6. Amador Valley: The defending NCS champions, the Dons might not win league again, but don't take them out from title consideration after the magical run they put forth in the playoffs last year. They have losses to Galena-Reno (7-3) and San Ramon Valley (4-1), but Besides that they've outscored opponents 49-20, including a 23-5 trouncing of Lodi at Banner Island Ballpark in Stockton. Zach Lander is leading the offense in multiple categories, in both batting average (.429) and RBI (eight). St. Mary's shortstop commit Austin Piscotty has four doubles and is hitting over .340. The pitching staff is also playing a part in the success, combining for a team ERA of 1.42. In 13 innings pitched, Tyler Staniford still hasn't given up a run. Even if the Dons can't claim a league title, they still have a chance to compete for a section championship, again.
7. Monte Vista: With star pitcher Trevor John not in the rotation due to being on the state champion basketball team, the results haven't been quite what the Mustangs had hoped for. John, who holds three Division One baseball offers, will be playing basketball at the next level. Without him, the team ERA has been among the lowest in the league (2.93). No starter has below a 2.40, a number most pitchers in the league are well below. But don't think that they've played poorly either. They're 5-3 and have big victories over Heritage (6-0) and St. Mary's-Stockton (6-1). Pacific bound catcher Lucas Halstead has led the way, getting on base over half the time alongside two home runs and 11 RBI's. However, they will need to look to more than Halstead if they wish to contend in league play, as he's been carrying a majority of the load offensively. Even the Mustangs don't finish towards the top, they're still a team ranked in the Bay Area and have the ability to get through a couple of rounds in the playoffs.
8. Livermore: A team to watch for in NCS, the Cowboys have done anything but that. What was a team that had all the pieces and talent to sit among the top of the league, they're sitting at 3-6 and struggling to find an identity. This has included losses to teams that they should've beaten, Concord (10-6) and Liberty (2-0). They also had a near disaster as they nearly blew an eight run lead to Arroyo in the final inning, but still managed to escape 9-8. The players have expressed the level of frustration, but if the pieces start coming together like they're supposed to, then the Cowboys can continue to climb up the standings in one of the toughest leagues. Junior and UC Santa Barbara commit Ryan Ruley has carried the load on offense, along with four star recruit Daniel Slominski. Slominski, heading to Oregon State next season, is hitting .375 while Ruley is at .400. Sophomore Dominic Foscalina is rated among the top prospects in the Bay Area in his class, as he has a triple and two doubles. The players believe that the ultimate demise has been consistency and pitching. The pitching staff has a league low 3.38 ERA, but the talent is there on the mound too. Cameron Self has an offer from Midland University, and Ryan Ruley is another piece on the mound along with junior Thomas Triantos, who has a lot of speed on his fast balls. If the talent can start producing the results like it was supposed to, there's a chance that Livermore can become the team it was supposed to, and be able to contend in Division Two with Campolindo, Casa Grande and College Park.
10 Players to Watch For:
--Nick Allman, California, OF, Senior-Fresno State commit, hitting .407 with 7 RBI's
--Ryan Anderson, Foothill, SS, Senior-Offer from St. Mary's, .417 avg., 1 HR, 5 stolen bases
--Robert Chioino, Granada, P, Sophomore-Rated as one of the top sophomores in the region, hasn't allowed an earned run in 25 IP, 3-0 record
--Lucas Halstead, Monte Vista, C, Senior-Pacific commit, .500 avg., .621 OBP, 1.000 SLG, 2 HR's, 5 doubles, 11 RBI's
--Austin Piscotty, Amador Valley, INF, Senior-St. Mary's commit, .345 avg., 4 doubles
--Cameron Santos, California, SS, Senior-Chico State commit, hitting .541 with 3 HR's & 8 RBI's, 6 stolen bases
--Daniel Slominski, Livermore, 1B, Senior-Oregon State commit, hitting .375, rated in the Top 25 in Northern California by NorCalPreps
--OF Casey Soltis (Granada, Sr.)-Likely an early draft pick, Oregon commit, #10 in NorCal by NorCalPreps, .387 avg., 2 HR, 3 triples, 8 RBI's, 4 stolen bases
--Chris Williams, De La Salle, 1B, Senior-Offer from Fresno State, .464 avg., 4 doubles, .583 OBP
