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Sports

BASEBALL RANKINGS: Palo Alto Finishes Year in Style

Paly secures its first CCS baseball crown on Saturday night.

Patch unveiled its Silicon Valley high school baseball rankings last month. The top-15 weekly rankings are drawn from all schools that fall under the Silicon Valley Patch cluster

The Silicon Valley sports cluster includes 12 different cities: Milpitas, Campbell, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Capitola-Soquel, Watsonville and Gilroy.

The schools that are eligible to be ranked are: Milpitas, Del Mar, Westmont, Leigh, Branham, Prospect, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Gunn, Cupertino, Monta Vista, Homestead, Lynbrook, Los Altos, Pinewood, Mountain View, St. Francis-Mountain View, Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz, Harbor, Pacific Collegiate, Soquel, Aptos, Watsonville, St. Francis-Watsonville, Pajaro Valley, Monte Vista Christian, Gilroy and Christopher High.

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Records are based on reported games played through Sunday, May 30.

BASEBALL

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1. Palo Alto 28-9, 15-5 De Anza (1) – Paly secured it’s first CCS baseball crown in school history with a dramatic walk-off win Saturday night against San Benito. The Vikings also defeated mighty WCAL co-champ Archbishop Mitty along the way to the title with a 5-2 win in the semis.

2. Los Altos 22-12, 11-6 De Anza (3)- Eagles succumb to extra innings rally by Monterey in CCS D-II title game. Senior Mitch Kehlet goes the distance in masterful losing effort on Saturday.

3. St. Francis 25-6, 12-2 WCAL (2) – Star seniors Tyler Goeddel and Alex Blandino headline a loaded senior class that graduated this spring for the Lancers. The first round loss to No.16 seed Carlmont is the second double digit seed to bounce St. Francis in the past two seasons. No. 14 seed Menlo-Atherton defeated St. Francis in 2010.

4. Homestead 18-14-1, 10-4 De Anza (4) – Ross Slaney and Jeff Hardy will form a steady duo on the mound for the Mustangs in 2012.

5. Los Gatos 21-10-2, 7-7 De Anza (5) – ‘Cats graduate 10 seasoned seniors this spring. The 2012 Wildcats will have a whole new look, especially in the infield, where Peter Danna (catcher), Tyler Olivet (second base) and Hayden Hibberd (third base) will have to be replaced.

6. Santa Cruz 15-15, 6-6 SCCAL (10)- The Cinderella run by the Cardinals ended in the CCS D-III title game at the hands of Menlo School. However, Santa Cruz had one more bullet left in it’s gun, unloading 12 runs in a 12-1 semifinal win over Half Moon Bay on Tuesday night.

7.  Leigh 20-8-1, 18-3 Santa Teresa (6) – The Longhorns have qualified for the postseason three of the last four seasons.

8.  Aptos 18-11, 10-2 SCCAL (7) – Santa Clara University is one of several schools keeping a close eye on soon to be senior southpaw Jared Koenig. The six-foot-3 lefty will led the way for the 2011 Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champs yet again next season.

9. Soquel 17-9-1, 9-3 SCCAL (8) – Seniors Jake Sudman, Izzak Silva,Nick Gurr and AJ Waltrip highlight the Knights senior class that played in their final game in round two of the CCS playoffs two weeks ago.

10. Westmont 14-13, 11-10 Mt. Hamilton (9) – Senior Anthony Frediani led the Warriors with 22 RBIs in 2011. He also hit .368 and scored 12 runs for the playoff-bound bunch.

11. Del Mar 18-9-1, 14-6-1 Santa Teresa (11) – A senior in the fall, 5-foot-9 hurler Tim Emory brings his deadly changeup back to his No. 1 pitcher position for 2012. The lefty helped the Dons win 18 games this season.

12. Gilroy 15-13, 10-8 TCAL (12) – All-everything shortstop Buba Garcia led the Mustangs in nearly every major offensive category in 2011. The junior hit a team-high .506 with 39 hits, 35 RBIs and 10 doubles this spring.

13. Milpitas 17-8-1, 11-4 El Camino (13) – Trojans seniors Mario Garay, Anthony Paz and Kevin Tu will be missed next season. Tony Sauceda and Ronnie Reed will both be counted on for major contributions next spring.

14.  Monta Vista 15-12, 11-4 El Camino (14) – Senior Matt Hopkins pitched a team-high 50.2 innings, holding his opponent to a .261 batting average. The Matadors finished in a tie for second place in the SCVAL El Camino division.

15. Monte Vista Christian 16-12, 14-4 MBL (15)- A perennial thorn in the MVC baseball program’s side, Monterey High won the CCS D-III title in extra innings on Saturday over Los Altos. MVC and Monterey will renew their rivalry again next spring.

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