Top 10 North Coast Section high school baseball rankings (3/18/2024)

After big wins over San Ramon Valley and two-time defending Northern California D1 champion De La Salle, Granada takes over top spot

Author:
Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports
Publish date:
Mar 18, 2024 8:00 PM EDT

It's not even April, but the baseball powers of the North Coast Section are beginning to take place.

The top team for almost a decade, De La Salle, has had a couple tough one-run defeats, but don't expect there to be much fall off from the two-time defending Northern California Division 1 champions.

Granada has vaulted to the top of the early going with a 7-0 start.

1. Granada (7-0)

Matadors open East Bay Athletic League play with wins over two top teams, San Ramon Valley (6-1) and De La Salle (5-4). Granada host Dougherty Valley Wednesday and travel to California Friday.

2. De La Salle (4-2)

Perennial state power sustains second one-run loss in a week after losing at St. Mary's-Stockton 3-2 on March 7. Spartans have home games with Dublin and Livermore Wednesday and Friday.

3. Acalanes (7-0)

State champions in football, the school's banner sports year continues as Dons have outscored foes 41-20, winning four games by two runs or less. Acalanes hosts Piedmont Wednesday and travels to San Leandro on Thursday.

4. Cardinal Newman (4-2)

The perennial North Bay power opened the season with an 8-2 loss to national No. 9 Valley Christian-San Jose and has a 3-2 loss to Berkeley. But they've also recorded shutout wins over Liberty, Oak Ridge and Whitney. The Cardinals have a showdown with top-ranked Granada at home on Saturday.

5. Redwood (7-0)

The Giants have been giants on the mound, allowing one run or less in five of their wins. Sophomore Jack Moseley has been a one-man wrecking crew with 15 RBI and 12 hits. Junior pitcher Matthew Knauer has has struck out 11 in 12 innings and sports an 0.68 ERA.

6. Heritage (6-1-1)

The perennial Bay Valley Athletic League power opened the season with a 10-5 loss to Acalanes, but have gone unbeaten in the next seven games, including three wins last week over Burlingame (8-0), Central Valley (6-2) and Bear Creek (4-2). The Patriots have home games with Tokay and Tracy on Wednesday and Saturday.

7. James Logan (5-1)

Following a season-opening 10-1 loss to No. 1 Granada, the Colts have won five straight, three over EBAL squads — Amador Valley (1-0), Foothill (7-3) and Dougherty Valley (7-4). Logan travels and hosts Moreau Catholic this week.

8. Castro Valley (9-3)

The Trojans rebounded from tough losses to Napa (1-0) and Moreau Catholic (2-0) with big wins over Newark Memorial (11-1) and St. Mary's-Berkeley (18-3). David Colon and Michael Olsen have combined for 21 RBI.

9. San Marin (7-2)

After opening the season 1-2, the perennial Marin County Athletic League power has won six straight by a 55-8 count, including 12-1 over Maria Carrillo and 18-0 over Branson. Cole Chamberlain already has three doubles and 13 RBI.

10. Pittsburg (6-2)

The Pirates recovered nicely from a 5-0 loss to James Logan with big wins voer Irvington (8-1) and Campolindo (9-0). They host De Anza and Washington-Fremont on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively.