Peninsula Prep Baseball
The gap between the WCAL and the Peninsula's public schools made be wider right now than ever before, which explains some of the final scores we've seen in the first three weeks of the season.
It also justifies our weekly ranking, which have is top heavy with WCAL teams.
We go back and forth on who is better between Serra, St. Ignatius Prep, Saint Francis and now Bellarmine Prep. The great thing is that the WCAL season, which begins this week, will sort that out.
They will spend the next two months bludgeoning each other. And when you throw in the toughness of Mitty and the Sacred Heart Cathedral's pitching, there are very few gimmes in the WCAL.
All that said, the most intriguing opening-week series in the WCAL will be when No. 4 Bellarmine takes on a slumping (but still solid) Valley Christian squad this week.
In the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League-De Anza Division, Los Gatos will take on Wilcox for two games that will go a long way in determining the league champion. The best PAL-Bay Division opening series looks like The King's Academy against Sequoia, but don't sleep on Hillsdale against Menlo School this week.
Go out and see a ballgame. The weather is expected to be great and some of the baseball might live up to those expectations, too.
| Rank | Team | Summary | Upcoming Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Serra (7-1) | Road wins at Foothill and under the lights in Burlingame look good on paper, but the Padres walked 12 in the win over the Panthers. Not good. There was an Aaron Minton sighting, though. Four hits for the junior, just in time for the start of the WCAL season. | This weeK: Tuesday vs. Sacred Heart Cathedral; Friday at Sacred Heart Cathedral. |
| 2. | St. Ignatius Prep (5-1) | The Wildcats, with 16 seniors, have more leadership than any team on the Peninsula. Watch them play, particularly on the infield, and that leadership is apparent. If you get the chance to see Archer Horn play this spring, don't waste the opportunity. He's making it look easy. | This week: Tuesday vs. Mitty; Friday at Mitty. |
| 3. | Saint Francis (6-1) | The Lancers rolled through a couple of PAL opponents last week and have now won five straight. When they get on base, they are threats to steal. Catcher Gino Cappellazzo had four steals in a win over Menlo-Atherton last week, while Jack Leeper has 11 steals already. | This week: Tuesday at Riordan; Friday vs. Riordan. |
| 4. | Bellarmine Prep (7-1) | The loss of mound ace Preston Pera to a season-ending ACL injury will hurt the Bells. So far, the Bells' offense is overcoming Pera's absence. They had three home runs in one inning in a 15-1 rout of Lincoln of San Jose last week. | This week: Tuesday vs. Valley Christian; Wednesday vs. Santa Cruz; Friday at Valley Christian. |
| 5. | Sequoia (7-1) | The Ravens won the game of the year on Thursday with a Mario Fausto grand-slam in the seventh that tied the game and force extra innings. An inning later, Morgan Winfield hit a walk-off grand slam to beat Santa Teresa, 11-7. If the pitching continues, Sequoia has the lineup. | This week: Wednesday at The King's Academy; Friday vs. The King's Academy. |
| 6. | Mitty (7-1) | The faces might change, the talent level might eb and flow but the gritty Mitty mentality endures. The Monarchs are off to a 7-1 start and enter into the WCAL season with a ton of momentum and a cast of new characters that are finding ways to win. | This week: Tuesday at St. Ignatius Prep; Friday vs. St. Ignatius Prep. |
| 7. | Los Gatos (5-1) | A week off to tune up for the De Anza Division season was followed by a two-game sweep of Mountain View. The Wildcats are dealing with some injuries, but coach Mike Minkel is comfortable with the depth his team has to overcome the losses. Los Gatos has a big week coming up. | This week: Wednesday at Wilcox; Friday vs. Wilcox. |
| 8. | Valley Christian (5-3) | It wasn't a good week for the Warriors, who dropped two games to public-school teams, Elk Grove and Palma. Valley is struggling at the plate, while the pitching hit the wall this week. Rahul Patel and Colton Hadfield had rough outings this week, not getting through two innings. | This week: Tuesday at Bellarmine Prep; Friday vs. Bellarmine Prep. |
| 9. | Wilcox (5-2) | The Chargers traveled to Dublin and returned with an impressive win over a previously unbeaten squad. It bears repeating that Wilcox doesn't have the star power of other teams around, but they play the game well, especially when Eliah Laureles is on the mound. | This week: Wednesday vs. Los Gatos; Friday at Los Gatos. |
| 10. | Sacred Heart Prep (5-3) | The Gators, winners of five of their last six games, make their debut in the rankings after outscoring their opponents, 20-0, last week and by allowing just three hits. The bats came to life. Combine that with Kyle Sweeney and Rallin Covey, who might be the best pitcher on the Peninsula, and this is a dangerous team. | This week: Tuesday at Half Moon Bay; Thursday vs. Half Moon Bay. |
| 11. | Menlo School (5-3) | A win over Riordan, a WCAL school, showed that the Knights are more than capable to complete in the PAL-Bay Division. We'll learn for sure this week when Menlo opens its Bay season with a two-game series against Hillsdale. | This week: Wednesday vs. Hillsdale; Friday at Hillsdale. |
| 12. | Hillsdale (5-1) | Hillsdale is off to a solid start and makes its debut in the poll, thanks to senior Hugo Guzman, who has been solid both on the mound and at the top of the Knights' batting order. Tommy Schultz has a couple of big hits, too, while Jacob Bonner and Parker Jussup have had their moments. | This week: Wednesday at Menlo School; Friday vs. Menlo School. |
| 13. | Sacred Heart Cathedral (3-3) | The Irish have yet to find the consistency needed to compete. The bats have been slow to come to life in the early going, while the pitching and defense, considered strengths, need to be better with the WCAL season beginning this week. | This week: Tuesday at Serra; Friday vs. Serra. |
| 14. | The King's Academy (5-3) | Losses this week at Mitty and to visiting Christopher were the first back-to-back setbacks for King's, which now enters the Bay season in search of some momentum. The bats that fueled the team's quick start were mostly quiet last week. The good news is Justin Cho has upped his game, teaming with Nate Plata to give the Knights a strong one-two punch. | This week: Wednesday vs. Sequoia; Friday at Sequoia. |
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