Peninsula Prep Baseball
Two weeks into the new season, just two unbeaten teams – South San Francisco and Capuchino – remain.
Both the Warriors and Mustangs have some work to do before cracking the PeninsulaPrepBaseball.com top 15 poll.
The lesson here is that it's a long season. No one is going to go unbeaten, but how a team rebounds from a defeat will tell us a lot about their collective character and team chemistry.
Example: Serra lost at home on Tuesday to San Ramon Valley but bounced back to beat College Park and St. Mary's of Stockton. St. Ignatius lost this week to Acalanes and found a way to beat Granada three days later. And Saint Francis' loss to a very good Soquel squad has been followed up by three consecutive wins.
Teams are going to lose games this year. What they do in the aftermath is what we're watching.
That said, there isn't a lot of movement at the top of this week's ranking, but with league seasons beginning next week, look for things to change.
| Rank | Team | Summary | Upcoming Games |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Serra (5-1) | The Padres' best baseball is still ahead of them this year. Right now, they're finding a way to win with good pitching, defense and just enough offense. It's a recipe for success most days, but there's room for improvement. | This weeK: Wednesday at Foothill of Pleasanton, Friday at Burlingame. |
| 2. | St. Ignatius Prep (2-1) | A win over Granada has us wondering if the Wildcats are the team to beat this year. SI's seniors are all off to strong starts. Meanwhilee, Archer Horn has put the seventh inning on lockdown. | This week: Tuesday at Palo Alto; Friday vs. Carlmont. |
| 3. | Saint Francis (4-1) | The Lancers outscored two opponents this week by a combined score of 22-0, meaning the pitching can be dominant and the offense, which has been a terror on the basepaths, is coming around. | This week: Tuesday vs. Menlo-Atherton; Friday at Capuchino. |
| 4. | Bellarmine (4-1) | The bats have been more consistent in the first two weeks than any team around. We like the starts that Drew McClelland, Ollie McNamara, Vincent Kim and Nathan Chew -- along with a full cast of others -- are off to. This team is no longer a sleeper. | This week: Tuesday vs. Pioneer; Thursday vs. Lincoln of San Jose; Friday at San Ramon Valley. |
| 5. | Valley Christian (4-1) | The The pitching came up big in the Warriors run through the Mike Hazlett tournament in Santa Clara. Three games. Three wins. Just two runs allowed. In other words, it's business as usual at Valley. | This week: Tuesday vs. Soquel; Thursday at Elk Grove; Saturday vs. Palma. |
| 6. | Los Gatos (2-1) | The Wildcats took a week off from games to whiteboard everything they learned about themselves in the season-opening Battle for Atherton. Now they begin league play. | This week: Wednesday at Mountain View; Friday vs. Mountain View. |
| 7. | Archbishop Mitty (5-1) | The Monarchs can take pride in being the last WCAL team to lose a game this year. Saruday's loss to Valley Christian shows they have some work to do as the league season approaches. | This week: Tuesday vs. The King's Academy; Saturday at Carlmont. |
| 8. | Sequoia (4-1) | There's no shame in a loss at Saint Francis, but the Ravens have to play better than they did in the 10-0 loss, where they had just one baserunner in seven innings. In the big picture, this one won't matter. | This week: Tuesday at Aragon; Thursday vs. Santa Teresa. |
| 9. | Wilcox (4-2) | There's nothing fancy about these Chargers, but they have no quit in them. It's a team with no star, but a lot of very good ball players. | This week: Wednesday at Dublin. |
| 10. | The King's Academy (5-1) | With the exception of a loss to Soquel, the Knights have been one of the Peninsula's most pleasant surprises offensively. Maybe their first big test comes Tuesday when they travel to Mitty. | This week: Tuesday at Mitty; Saturday vs. Christopher. |
| 11. | Terra Nova (3-1)) | The Tigers put together a solid week by going 2-0. Aiden James' two-homer, seven-RBI performance against a good Santa Cruz squad was impressive. | This week: Wednesday vs. Capuchino. |
| 12. | Sacred Heart Cathedral (1-2) | The Irish play three games this week before beginning the WCAL season. The bats have been better than anticipated and the pitching will come around. | This week: Tuesday vs Lincoln; Wednesday at Head-Royce; Saturday at Casa Grande. |
| 13. | Menlo School (3-3) | The Knights have clawed their way back to .500 and have a week before they begin play in the PAL-Bay Division. A game this week against Riordan will show us a lot about Menlo. | This week: Wednesday vs. Riordan; Friday vs. Piedmont Hills. |
| 14. | Menlo-Atherton (1-3) | The Bears got their first win against a Woodside team that might soon find itself in this poll. Centerfielder Merrick Lee is starting to heat up. Good timing since M-A has two tough road games this week. | This week: Tuesday at Saint Francis; Wednesday at Leigh. |
| 15. | Carlmont (2-2) | The Scots are young, but we like the talent. We expected a better showing in two one-run losses at the Hazlett tourney. The 7-6 loss to Monterey came after they blew a late 6-2 lead. | This week: Tuesday at Sacred Heart Prep; Friday at St. Ignatius Prep; Saturday vs. Mitty. |
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