STAR-NEWS RANKINGS
1. La Caada (7-1) — The Spartans are clearly the best team in the area and the team to beat in the West San Gabriel Valley. They’re the only team in our area ranked No. 1 in their respective CIF-Southern Section Division 5 top 10 poll. I hear Friday’s game against South Pasadena will be played under the lights, but the schedule on MaxPreps says 3:30 p.m. I have no problem with late games, but from a reporter’s perspective, covering night games can sometimes be a potential nightmare with deadlines and all.
2. La Salle (6-3) — It was fun watching Allie Forillo dominate St. Monica in the Camino Real League opener last week. You know the deal. She struck out 15 and came within two outs of a perfect game, but settled for a no-no. Colleen McWilliams was clutch as always, going 3-for-4 with three RBIs. A name to look out for is Katie Smither. The freshman went 2-for-2 with a triple, a single and a walk. She also scored three runs.
3. San Marino (6-4) — Michelle Floyd is the real deal. If anyone really doubted that, then her perfect game last week certainly settled the case.
4. South Pasadena (4-3) — The Tigers opened Rio Hondo League play with a dominant 8-2 win over Monrovia. The rankings reflect until Saturday, so we didn’t take in consideration that the Wildcats returned the favor Monday with a 3-1 win. Nevertheless, there’s a hint in the air that we’ll see more parity in the Rio Hondo League. After La Caada, of course.
5. Mayfield (3-1) — I’ll get my first chance at watching Mayfield on Thursday vs. Maranatha. Is Clancy pitching? Either way, I’m curious to see what kind of supporting cast the Cubs now have.
6. San Gabriel Mission (5-1) — San Gabriel Mission’s schedule doesn’t seem all that daunting. The Pioneers lost to San Gabriel, but there’s no update on their game vs. Alhambra. The schedule gets easier come league play.
7. Maranatha (4-3) — The Minutemen have a tough challenge in a rematch against Marymount today. They’ll play two more nonleague games (Mayfield, L.A. Baptist) before opening Alpha League play against Marshall next week.
8. Temple City (5-5) — We knew we were going to see great things from Jessica Loicano (.357, two home runs, two doubles, one triple), but we’re also seeing something special develop with junior Jessica Flores, who leads the team in batting average (.469).
9. Monrovia (6-2) — The big test comes today vs. La Caada. Win or lose, it’ll be a good barometer for the Wildcats to use and see how far they’ve come along.
10. Arcadia (3-4) — The Apaches open Pacific League play at home against Hoover today. Sam Miller continues to tear it up.
