Baseball: It’s Amat, Northview on top again

This looks familiar, Bishop Amat and Northview 1 & 2. This was a hard week to do rankings. With Bonita losing to Wilson, I was ready to jump San Dimas to No. 1, then they lose to Glendora on Monday. The only team without a glitch the past couple weeks is Bishop Amat, who’s pitching is catching up to their hitting. But let’s be honest, Bishop Amat, Northview, San Dimas and Bonita all make strong cases for No. 1, so I’m going with my gut, and my gut tells me these are the top four, in this order …

Bishop Amat gets big out in win over St. Paul

Big games today
Northview tournament championship
Bonita vs. Charter Oak at Maverick Field in West Covina
Arcadia tournament round-robin
Glendora vs. Nogales, 1 p.m.
San Dimas vs. St. Francis, 4 p.m.

Baseball top ten rankings
1. Bishop Amat (6-3) – Well, well, look who’s back on top. They have won seven straight, including a huge 1-0 win over rival St. Paul. Pitching that was missed earlier is back, having allowed just four runs over their last four games, including two shutouts. Don’t hate, appreciate, the boys in blue are back.
2. Northview (9-2) – After San Dimas dropped Northview, the Vikes come back with three straight, including a a 5-2 nonleague win over Harvard-Westlake. Look, we’re all waiting to see how they do in the National Classic next week. Hope they do the SGV proud.
3. Bonita (11-2) – Oh Bonita. Here is a team on the verge of winning their second straight local tournament tonight when they play rival Charter Oak in the championship of the Northview tournament, but how can you ignore their unexplainable 4-3 loss to Wilson?
4. San Dimas (9-3) – – I was so close to moving the Saints on top then they lose a heartbreaker to Glendora, 8-7, in 10 innings on Monday in the Arcadia tournament, which snapped their six-game win streak.
5. Glendora (9-4) – If the Tartans beat Nogales today they will play in the Arcadia tournament title game Wednesday night after winning a thriller in extra innings over San Dimas on Monday. They do have two eyesores, however, losses to Chino and Don Lugo.
6. Damien (9-3) – After a stinging 14-3 loss to Chino, they bounced back with a sweep over Azusa and now face Chino Hills in back-to-back games today and at home on Thursday.
7. South Hills (8-4) – The Huskies have won five straight since a 2-1 loss to Nogales, allowing just five runs during that stretch, which includes two shutouts. The problem early on was losing 4-1, 2-1 and 3-1. They have the pitching, and now with their bats coming alive, they’re starting to look dangerous again.
8. Charter Oak (12-5) – The Chargers rallied from six runs down to defeat Diamond Bar 11-9 in eight innings to reach tonight’s Northview championship against rival Bonita, a team it lost 2-1 to a week earlier. Four of their five losses were to Bishop Amat, Glendora, Crescenta Valley and Bonita. On any given day, they can play with anyone.
9. Nogales (12-4) – When Melchor pitches, they can play and beat anyone in the area. When he’s not in the hill, you just don’t know what you’re getting. Still, 12-4 is a good start. Let’s see how they do against Glendora today in the Arcadia tournament.
10. Diamond Bar (9-6) – They blew a 6-0 lead against Charter Oak in the semifinals of the Northview tournament. I still think they’re a good-hitting team, but I’m not sure if they have the pitching that the rest of our top ten enjoys.