This season’s final baseball rankings are the most difficult I’ve ever had to put together.
We can consider St. Francis, a team that has been nationally ranked most of the year and has numerous impressive wins top Bay Area teams, including a victory against top-ranked De La Salle and three wins against Bellarmine.
St. Francis, though, lost to the Bells in the CCS Open quarters and suffered two defeats to fifth-ranked Mitty, which was the top-ranked team just a week ago.
College Park has a great record and steamrolled the competition in NCS Division II but I had to place the Falcons behind Leland and De La Salle after those two teams had a more difficult path to a championship.
Fans from NCS champions Tamalpais and Justin-Siena have a right to be upset after being left out but those teams didn’t beat a ranked team all season.
Wins in May count a lot more than wins in March but everything is weighed in these rankings and strength of schedule matters a great deal. It’s not who I think is the best team but who I believe has the most compelling body of work.
Last week’s rankings are in parentheses.
1 (6) De La Salle 21-7
The Spartans won the NCS Division I championship for the second time in three years after a 1-0 semifinal win over Foothill as senior Austin Dondanville pitched a three-hitter and a 6-2 title game win against San Ramon Valley as junior Justin Hooper allowed just one hit in 5.1 innings.
Notes from the Spartans championship season:
• De La Salle outscored opponents, 33-3, this postseason.
• De La Salle has played in the NCS championship game for each of the past four seasons and a junior has been the winning pitcher in the two title wins. (Andrew Buckley – 2012)
• The Spartans jumped on teams early this postseason, scoring 19 runs in the first two innings with 14 of those in the first inning.
• The Spartans offense peaked at the right time, averaging 7.3 runs over its final 13 games.
• Hooper touched 96 miles per hour in his final start and he may be a first round major league draft pick next year. Lefties that are 6-foot-6 and throw in the mid-90’s aren’t easy to find. Also, coach David Jeans monitored Hooper’s pitch count all season and his 101-pitch championship outing was the only time Hooper threw 90 or more pitches this season.
• The Spartans were 16-2 when Michael McAdoo collects at least one hit, including 3-0 this postseason.
• Chris Williams ended the season on a seven-game hit streak and was 6-for-11 in the playoffs.
• Like Williams, John Velasco came within an eyelash of .400 and also started off the championship game with a triple to score the game’s first run.
• It’s not easy being a pinch-hitter at any level but Blake Ogburn collected pinch hits in three of his final four tries this season, including twice in the playoffs and the hit that was the difference in the win over Foothill.
2 (9) Leland 23-9
The Chargers were the lone non-WCAL team in the CCS Open Division semifinals and ended up as champions after a 4-3, nine-inning win over Valley Christian and a 3-2 decision against Bellarmine, coming from behind in each game. Senior Conner DiNaro had the winning hit against the Warriors and junior Josh Wells delivered a sixth inning, run-scoring hit against the Bells that proved to be the difference.
Notes from the Chargers championship season:
• Senior Josh Nashed was the winning pitcher against both Valley Christian and Bellarmine, tossing 10 shutout innings and allowing just five hits and one walk with eight strikeouts this postseason. Offensively, he was 6-for-13.
• Brendt Citta was 7-for-14 with four runs batted in during the playoffs.
• Wells was 4-for-7 with two doubles in the postseason.
• In the playoffs, senior Josh Pederson pitched eight innings and allowed one earned run.
• The Chargers needed two one-run wins to become champions and they had plenty of experience in such contests, finishing 7-3 in one-run decisions this season.
• Leland suffered a 16-1 loss to Bellarmine on March 1 and started the season at 6-5.
• Leland won the school’s first CCS baseball title since 1996.
3 (7) College Park 27-3
The Falcons cruised to their first NCS title in six years with a 9-0 win over Montgomery behind a two-hitter from Chris Brown and a 7-2 decision against Marin Catholic in the championship as Joe Demers pitched a five-hitter. In the two games, DeMers was also 4-for-6 with a home run and five runs batted in.
Notes from the Falcons championship season:
• It’s no secret that the Falcons junior class is loaded as the two aces and five leading hitters are all juniors. College Park is a favorite to be a preseason top-ranked team in 2015.
• The Falcons won their four playoff games against North Bay opponents by a 30-3 margin.
• Joe DeMers won his final 10 starts and allowed two runs on seven hits in his two complete games this postseason.
• DeMers finished tied for seventh in the NCS with 32 runs batted in, ninth in ERA (0.65), fifth in strikeouts (94), and tied for first with 12 wins.
• Chris Brown, who won his final five starts, allowed just one run and in 13 innings this postseason and was tied for third with 11 wins.
• In the playoffs, Nick Oar was 5-for-10 with two doubles, two home runs, and eight runs batted in.
• In the playoffs, Trevor Larnach was 8-for-13 with four doubles and six runs batted in.
• College Park allowed two runs or less in 25 of its 30 games.
4 (3) Bellarmine 26-8
The Bells took a 2-0 first inning lead but fell to Leland, 3-2, in the CCS Open Division championship game. The Bells Corby Punian went the distance and allowed two unearned runs.
Bellarmine beat Mitty in the semifinals, 5-2, behind three runs batted in from Punian and 3.2 shutout innings from Sid Iyer.
Iyer and juniors Justin Dziuba, Nick Bellafronto, and John Helmers will be key parts of the 2015 club.
5 (1) Archbishop Mitty 24-7
The Monarchs were held to four hits and dealt a 5-2 loss to Bellarmine in the CCS Open semifinals.
Senior Luke Rasmussen finished second in the CCS with seven home runs and lefthander Kris Bubic was second in CCS with 108 strikeouts.
Looking ahead to 2015, Bubic will be a senior after a 8-2 record and 0.89 earned run average and .342 batting average. Tommy Hudson and Joe Cahn will also be part of a good senior class.
6 (2) St. Francis 26-5
The Lancers were unable to defend their title after getting no-hit by Bellarmine, 2-0, in the CCS Open quarterfinals.
Seniors Casey Douglas (0.47) and Tyler Deason (0.59) were fifth and seventh best, respectively, in the CCS in earned run average. John Gavin’s 100 strikeouts were tied for fifth.
St. Francis always reloads but has to replace a talented senior class. Seniors pitched 211 of the team’s 230.2 innings this year with Andrew Carter returning next season for his senior campaign.
Sophomore Jeremy Ydens led the regulars with a .333 batting average.
7 (4) Valley Christian-San Jose 22-10
The Warriors were dealt a 4-3, nine-inning loss to Leland in the CCS Open Division semifinals. Senior Bryson Brigman drove in all three Valley runs as the Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 advantage.
Juniors Kyle Marinconz, Keenan Brigman, Dalton Craig, and Mark Quinby will be part of a very good 2015 lineup but pitchers Theron Kay, Ben Hughes, and Chris Manderson need to be replaced.
8 (5) San Ramon Valley 20-8
The Wolves’ Alex Barden pitched six shutout innings in a 4-0 NCS Division I semifinal win over Berkeley before San Ramon fell to De La Salle in the championship, 6-2, against a team it had defeated twice this season.
San Ramon had a talented junior class that should make a big impact in 2015. Nick Poirier hit .410, Ryan Weisenberg hit .403, and Greg Lowe delivered two hits against Berkeley.
Pitchers will have to emerge as seniors pitched all but 14.1 innings this season.
9 (10) Leigh 24-7
In a CCS Open quarterfinal loss to Leland, 7-0, the top-seeded Longhorns were eliminated by a team they defeated twice in March.
Leigh returns its top two pitchers in juniors Justin Scanlon (1.38 ERA) and Connor Barrett (2.87 ERA). Scanlon was the only one of the team’s top six hitters that wasn’t a senior.
10 (8) Berkeley 17-11
The Yellowjackets were dealt a 4-0 loss at San Ramon Valley in the NCS Division I semifinals.
In 2015, Berkeley has to replace ace Noah Bremer but junior David Langer led the team with a .375 average.
Bremer’s 0.38 earned run average was fifth best in the NCS.
11 (11) Amador Valley 16-9
The Dons were ousted by Kevin Nava and San Leandro in the NCS Division I opening round, 3-1, allowing three unearned runs and collecting just five hits.
Jake McIntosh, Steven Nice, and Will Pickett will try to build off strong junior seasons in 2015.
12 (12) Granada 17-9
The Mats fell to Berkeley in nine innings, 2-0, in the NCS Division I quarterfinals after a 1-0 opening-round win over Dougherty Valley when sophomore Robert Chioino allowed just one hit.
Oregon commit Casey Soltis, a senior expected to be a high draft pick this week, was 15th in the NCS with a .729 slugging percentage.
Aside from Chioino, the Mats will return Gino Belluomini and Chris Moussa in 2015.
13 (13) Foothill 15-12
The Falcons gave De La Salle its toughest game of the tournament but fell 1-0 in the semifinals despite a six-hitter from senior Jake Wilgus.
Joe Danckert and Ryan Probst will be among the senior leaders for Foothill in 2015.
14 (14) Marin Catholic 22-7
Behind a three-hitter from senior Danny Spiesberger, the Wildcats were a 2-1 winner over Washington in the NCS Division II semifinals before a 7-2 loss to College Park in the championship game.
Senior Matthew Tarantino finished seventh in the NCS with a .495 batting average.
Key returnees in 2015 will be Bryan Jakiemiec, who beat Maria Carrillo and finished 10-2 with a 2.62 earned run average, and Paul Kunst, who had a hit in 14 of his last 15 games and finished tied for third in the NCS with 35 runs batted in.
We couldn’t fit NCS Division III champion Tamalpais or Division IV champion Justin-Siena into our rankings but the standout season for the MCAL should be noted and the Wildcats were the league’s best.
15 (15) San Benito 22-7
In the CCS Open, the Balers scored a 4-3, 10-inning opening round win over Serra as Garrett Kelly and Zack Moeller homered but San Benito fell to Mitty, 4-3, in the quarterfinals.
Senior Dylan Yamasaki finished eighth in the CCS with 30 runs batted in and Hunter Haworth was fourth with a 0.44 earned run average. Also, Haworth and Greg Steinbeck each were tied for second with 10 wins.
San Benito graduates its top pitchers but Zack Moeller will be a senior in 2015 after hitting .355 with five home runs this season.
16 (16) California 17-8
The Grizzlies fell, 7-2, to Noah Bremer and Berkeley in the NCS Division I first round and ended the season with a three-game losing streak.
Ace Mike Podany (1.68 ERA) plus Jake Ackerman (.325 average) and Trent Kravitz (.342) return for their senior seasons in 2015.
17 (17) Maria Carrillo 25-3
The Pumas 22-game win streak came to a close in a 5-4 NCS Division II quarterfinal loss to Marin Catholic.
Maria Carrillo loses a talented senior class, including ace Peter Hoge (T-5th in NCS with 10 wins), but returns sophomore Andrew Vaughn (.433 average, 39th in NCS) and junior Zach Scott (2.30 ERA) in 2015.
18 (18) Campolindo 20-5
The four-time NCS Division II champion Cougars were stunned in the first round in a 1-0 loss to Casa Grande.
The most impressive wins for the Cougars this year were against Berkeley and Serra.
Among the players to watch next season are Max Flower, Conner McNally, Adam Remotto, and Shane Dalton.
19 (19) Clayton Valley 22-5
The Ugly Eagles were stunned, 3-0, in a NCS Division II opening round loss to Newark Memorial against a team it beat in April, 11-1.
Seniors comprise the top five hitters and pitched all but 15 innings this past season.
Junior John Allen will be the top returning hitter after a .333 average this year.
20 (20) San Leandro 21-7
The Pirates enjoyed their first NCS playoff win in at least 20 years with a 3-1 win against Amador Valley before being humbled in a 10-0 loss at Foothill in the quarterfinals.
There’s no replacing ace Kevin Nava, who tossed a four-hitter against the Dons, and the rest of the senior class but sophomore Bradlee Beesley hit .373 this season.
21 (21) Montgomery 19-8
The Vikings were ousted in the semifinals by eventual champion College Park, 9-0.
For 2015, Monty will have to replace a very good senior class but junior Zac Merriken will be one of the leading pieces.
22 (22) Serra 16-12
The Padres’ difficult schedule included seven losses by two runs or less.
One big bright spot was sophomore Angelo Bortolin, who hit six home runs and had a 1.161 OPS.
23 (23) Saratoga 21-10
The Falcons’ playoff loss was a 2-1 CCS Open Division first-round home setback to Bellarmine, which reached the title game.
Saratoga, which won the SCVAL playoff title, will have to replace nine seniors next season.
24 (NR) Wilcox 25-8
The Chargers were a 2-1 winner over Menlo-Atherton before a 4-2 triumph over Westmont for the CCS Division I championship. Andrew Najeeb-Brush pitched a five-hitter against the Bears and saved the title game.
Notes from the Chargers championship season:
• Wilcox held opponents to two runs or less 20 times this season and three runs or less 24 times.
• Early in the season, Wilcox was a 10-3 winner against Mitty and suffered a 2-1 loss to Valley Christian.
• The Chargers ended the season with a seven-game win streak and allowed just nine runs in those games.
• It was the Chargers’ first championship in six years.
25 (24) Westmont 23-10
The Warriors fell in CCS Division I championship game to Wilcox after a 2-0 win over Sequoia when senior Hans Hesse pitched a three-hitter.
Willie McMullen, Dan Speciale, Mike Morbo, and Bradley Fine will be part of a very talented senior class in 2015.
Dropped Out: #25 Monte Vista 13-13
Bubble: Acalanes 16-11, Alhambra 17-11, Branham 20-14, Casa Grande 16-11, Head-Royce 20-4, Justin-Siena 23-7, Liberty 14-12, Livermore 13-12, Los Gatos 23-10, Monte Vista, Newark Memorial 17-9, Palo Alto 16-15, Petaluma 20-8, St. Ignatius 13-15, St. Mary’s 20-11, Scotts Valley 19-9, Sir Francis Drake 19-9, Soquel 18-9, Tamalpais 21-8, Washington-Fremont 17-10
