Baseball rankings: Bishop Amat and Northview end where it began, on top of the polls

Nogales 8, South Hills 1: Nobles pitcher Andrew Melchor impoved to a perfect 8-0, and also scored twice as the Nobles defeated the Huskies to earn at least a share of the Miramonte League title, and the No. 1 seed from the Miramonte going into the Division III playoffs.

Today’s big games
San Antonio League
Nogales 8, South Hills 1
Sierra League
Chino 8, Damien 3
Glendora 5, Ayala 4
Miramonte League
Wilson at Bonita, 3:15 p.m.

Above: Nogales’ Andrew Melchor takes his undefeated 7-0 record to South Hills today with the San Antonio League title on the line.

Baseball top ten rankings
1. Bishop Amat (21-5) – The Lancers need a sweep against La Salle this week to hold on to the No. 1 ranking in Division IV. Anything short of that could drop them to No. 2 and possibly No. 3. But it’s not going to happen, not when you have two aces in Paez and Zuniga going back-to-back.
2. Northview (18-4) – Finishing the season with a pair against Ganesha means you can already mark it down, the Vikings will finish 20-4 and win their fourth straight Valle Vista League title. This also means they should be ranked No lower than No. 2 in Div. IV, and could get to No. 1 if Amat trips up.
3. Glendora (16-7) – How big was last week’s sweep over Chino? The Tartans went from needing to win to secure a playoff berth, to a tie for second with Damien, and only a game back of Chino for first place. The race to the finish is on.
4. San Dimas (17-5) – – Those two extra-inning losses against Northview has to naw at them, but it also shows they’re just as much a threat to win the Div. IV title as Bishop Amat and Northview.
5. Damien (18-6) – The Spartans’ stumble against Diamond Bar leaves them a game back of Chino with two against the Cowboys this week. A sweep and they earn at least a piece of the title.
6. Bonita (17-5) – With Charter Oak losing last week to Los Altos, the Bearcats need to win one of two games from Wilson to earn the Miramonte League title. Now how hard is that? If you have been paying attention to the upsets, apparently harder than it appears.
7. South Hills (17-7) – The Huskies lead Nogales by a game heading into today’s showdown at home with the Nobles, will will likely pitch Andrew Melchor, who is undefeated with a 7-0 record, and who beat South Hills earlier in the season.
8. Nogales (20-7-1) – They did what they had to do, keep themselves in position, only a game back heading into the rubber match against South Hills today. They’ve got their ace throwing, so all systems are go.
9. Charter Oak (15-8) – The Chargers should finish second after last week’s loss to Los Altos. They just don’t have the horses they had the previous two years, but they’re still a hard out when it counts.
10. Sierra Vista (17-6) – The Dons wrapped up the Montview League title and won seven of eight to crack the top ten rankings for the first time this season.