Baseball: Bonita pulling away from the pack

At this point it would take a big stumble for the Bearcats to drop from the top spot. Not only has Jiovanni Mier been on fire, but pitcher Nico Calderaro is putting together another terrific season. As long as they keep playing with something to prove, they will prove their worth when it matters. Bishop Amat climbs back to No. 2 with a four-game win streak, but lets see how they do this afternoon against St. Paul. San Dimas makes the biggest leap to No. 3 after knocking off mentally fragile Northview, who at No. 4 is their lowest ranking in two years. Damien, Diamond Bar and Glendora are bunched together in the middle of the pack, and the more I look at the list, the more I believe the parity is closer than ever with Charter Oak at No. 10.

Big games this week:
Today
St. Paul at Bishop Amat, 3:15 p.m.
Diamond Bar at Damien, 3:15 p.m.
Wednesday
West Covina at Nogales, 3:15 p.m.
Azusa at La Puente, 3:15 p.m.
Thursday
Baldwin Park at San Dimas, 3:15 p.m.
Friday
South El Monte at Gabrielino, 3:15 p.m.
Bishop Amat at La Salle, 3:15 p.m.
South Hills at West Covina, 3:15 p.m.

Baseball top ten rankings
1. Bonita (7-1) – Not world-beaters but developing that repuation with a No. 3 ranking in the Times. Sure they had to rally to beat Charter Oak, but that’s what driven senior-laden teams do, they find a ways to win.
2. Bishop Amat (6-3) – Here they come, after a 2-2 start they’ve won four straight. Once they stop giving up all the unearned runs, the Lancers will be fine. They still have seasoned pitching and are batting well enough to win games.
3. San Dimas (6-2) – Yes, the Saints moved to 3-0 in the Valle Vista with last week’s 9-6 win over Northview. When you consider their only losses have come against Bonita and Chino Hills, the Saints deserve to move up the board. They have won three straight and five of six.
4. Northview (6-2) – The Vikings are finding out that you can’t lose seniors like Marc Andrade, Aaron Elias and Robert Williams, and pick up where you left off. They have the tools, but the swagger is missing. Not good with the National Classic on deck.
5. Diamond Bar (6-3) – One of the hottest teams at the moment, the Brahmas are the only 3-0 team in the Sierra after beating Glendora, Ayala and Chino.
6. Damien (5-2) – They beat Ayala, lose to Glendora, which is no surprise considering the Sierra League grind. But this is true, the Spartans are playing well and figure to be fighting for a league title at the end.
7. Glendora (6-3) – The Tartans rebound from a league opening loss to Diamond Bar with big wins over Damien and Chino Hills to move to 2-1 in league. If they can take care of Chino and Ayala next, they will be sitting pretty.
8. Nogales (10-3) – The 8-7 loss to Walnut might eventually hurt their chances of knocking off seven-time champion South Hills, but no arguing how much they’ve improved under legendary coach John Romano.
9. South Hills (5-4) – Forget their record, they’ve won four of five are and are improving by the week. Whatever off-field distractions they had early in the season are becoming a distant memory.
10. Charter Oak (7-5) – Had won five straight before loss to Bonita and split with Claremont on Saturday. They feel like one of those teams who can beat anyone, but certainly, they’re no lock to beat anyone either.