Four Trans-Valley League baseball teams safe in Bee’s top 5 … for now
The matchups intensify this week in the Trans-Valley League, which has four teams among the top five in The Bee’s All-District Small-School baseball rankings.
Three teams are undefeated in league play: No. 1 Ripon and No. 2 Escalon at 2-0 and fifth-ranked Hilmar at 4-0. No. 3 Hughson is 2-2.
Manteca, Beyer and Turlock occupy the top three slots in the large-school poll. Merced and Pitman round out the top five.
At 12-3 with an Almond Blossom Invitational championship, Ripon debuts in the No. 1 small-school position, but its place atop the rankings isn’t certain.
Contenders exist in the Southern League (No. 4 Ripon Christian, Gustine and Mariposa), Mother Lode League (Summerville, Sonora) and Central California Athletic Association (Big Valley Christian).
However, the Indians’ chief threats reside in the TVL, where as many as four teams have a voice in the title conversation.
Top-ranked Ripon and No. 2 Escalon begin a pivotal home-and-home series Tuesday at Escalon.
Ripon’s Indians had their eight-game winning streak snapped Friday by Galt but has already swept defending league champion and Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinalist Hughson.
Ripon possesses one of the best-hitting left sides of the infield in the Stanislaus District. Fourth-year varsity third baseman Nick Price leads the Indians with seven doubles and a TVL-best 21 RBIs. Shortstop Matthew De Donatis has scored a league-high 21 runs.
The Cougars enter the week with a misleading overall record. Escalon is 7-8 after a rigorous nonconference✔ schedule. Coach Greg Largent stacked the deck against his club. Seven of the Cougars’ eight losses are to large-school opponents.
Robby Rickman and Alec Beltran have clubbed a league-high two home runs. Rickman is also tops in the TVL in wins (four), ERA (0.67) and strikeouts (44).
Hilmar’s Yellowjackets (8-7) are ranked fifth despite owning the league’s best mark at 4-0. Hilmar’s ranking is hurt by its strength of schedule. The Yellowjackets have preyed on the TVL’s only winless teams – Mountain House and Riverbank are collectively 3-18.
Hilmar is averaging better than eight runs per game during a three-game winning streak by swarming the base paths. Jarrod Willis is fourth in the TVL in on-base percentage (.533), while speedster Alex Chavez has swiped 12 bases.
Hilmar hosts Hughson (6-5-1) on Tuesday. The Huskies lost eight seniors to graduation, but senior Grant Williams leads the TVL in hitting at .514 with 13 RBIs.
All games start at 4 p.m.
James Burns: 209-578-2150, @jburns1980
All-District Baseball Rankings
Large Schools
Comprised of teams from the Modesto Metro Conference, Central California Conference, Valley Oak League and Western Athletic Conference.
1. Manteca (12-4, 4-0 VOL): The Buffaloes opened the Valley Oak League by sweeping Oakdale and Weston Ranch, teams collectively 23-9; up next: Sierra, the defending league champion.
2. Beyer (12-3, 8-1 MMC): The electric Patriots put themselves in the driver’s seat for the Modesto Metro Conference title with an emphatic 14-1 victory over Enochs; Beyer faces one more hurdle: Modesto this week.
3. Turlock (7-8, 3-0 CCC): The Bulldogs were roughed up at the Boras Classic but have won four in a row, including a 12-2 decision over No. 1 Manteca; starters Blaine Weber and Damon Treadwell are as good a 1-2 punch as there is in the district.
4. Merced (10-5, 2-1 CCC): The Bears took two of three against Pitman, adding to a list of impressive wins over El Capitan, Gregori, Bear Creek, Escalon and Ceres.
5. Pitman (9-6, 1-2 CCC): The Pride got off to a rough start in Central California Conference play but possesses one of the district’s top players in Matt Carrigg and a favorable schedule; up next: Atwater.
Others to watch: El Capitan (10-5, 3-0 WAC); Los Banos (9-4, 2-1 WAC); Patterson (12-3-1, 2-0 WAC); Enochs (10-7, 7-2 MMC); Gregori (9-6, 3-3 MMC); Sierra (8-4, 3-1 VOL).
Small Schools
Comprised of schools from the Trans-Valley League, Southern League, Mother Lode League and Central California Athletic Association.
1. Ripon (12-3, 2-0 TVL): Had its eight-game winning streak snapped by Galt but sits atop the Trans-Valley League going into this week’s series with Escalon; Nick Price is hitting .357 with seven doubles, 21 RBIs.
2. Escalon (7-8, 2-0 TVL): The Cougars have shut out their last three opponents, outscoring Dos Palos and Riverbank 31-0; seven of the team’s eight losses are to large-school opponents.
3. Hughson (6-5-1, 2-2 TVL): The Huskies graduated eight players from a team that advanced to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division V semifinals but remain a threat with Grant Williams (.514) and Walter Fountain (.390) in the lineup.
4. Ripon Christian (10-3, 3-1 SL): The Knights avenged their loss to Mariposa on Wednesday with a walk-off balk to split the Southern League series; RC came within three outs of sweeping the six-time SL champion.
5. Hilmar (8-7, 4-0 TVL): The Yellowjackets have taken care of business against the TVL’s only winless teams – Riverbank and Mountain House – but should be tested by Hughson this week.
Others to watch: Gustine (10-2, 4-0 SL); Modesto Christian (9-6, 2-2 TVL); Mariposa (5-4, 3-1 SL); Big Valley Christian (5-4, 4-1 CCAA).
This story was originally published April 10, 2016 at 11:16 AM with the headline "Four Trans-Valley League baseball teams safe in Bee’s top 5 … for now."