Above: When you pull off the upset of the year, a 2-1 win over West Covina, you deserve to get your team picture posted. It was just the Nobles’ second win of the season.
TRIBUNE SOFTBALL RANKINGS
1. Bonita (17-1-1) — Absolutely and without question after not only beating Glendora, but handling them so easily. It’s one thing for Wurst to throw a no-hitter or one-hitter against some of these other teams, but to do it against Glendora is mental toughness 101.
2. Glendora (13-3) — Nothing for the Tartans to be ashamed of, they still split with the Bearcats, and have bigger issues to worry about, like games against Ayala and rival St. Lucy’s, who will be playing Bonita in the Charter Oak championship game.
3. St. Lucy’s (12-7) — We certainly underestimated the Regents, a 6-0 winner over Montebello to reach Saturday’s Charter Oak tournament title game against Bonita. They also beat Charter Oak 1-0. But here’s the deal, they get rival Glendora twice this week and with Bonita Saturday, we will know exactly where they stack with the rest.
4. Arroyo (13-1) — You can’t ignore the overall record, even if you think they haven’t beaten anyone spectacular and won’t play anyone spectacular until the end of the season. Winning counts, and they keep winning.
5. West Covina (9-5) — If I were West Covina, I would probably be slow to report it to MaxPreps also, but the rumors are true, Nogales is now 2-17 after beating the Bulldogs 2-1 last week for one of the biggest stunners in years. Give Nogales all the credit in the world, but the Bulldogs are their own worst enemy. They sweep South Hills, but are only a game up on the Huskies with losses to Nogales and Rowland.
6. South Hills (12-6-1) — They can’t win the big games, even when they come close like they did in a 4-3 loss to Glendora. But with West Covina losing to Nogales, the San Antonio is still up for grabs and the way everyone is playing, predictions don’t mean anything.
7. Northview (12-5) — The Vikes have won 6 of 7 and are in a three-way tie for the VVL lead with Covina and San Dimas, who will meet today. After watching all three, I like the Vikes to close it out. The league isn’t particularly difficult, but there is parity at the top, with a slight edge to the Vikes.
8. Covina (12-3) — Like Arroyo, you have to respect their overall record, but lets see what they do in the second and third games against San Dimas and Northview. That will tell us everything.
9. San Dimas (9-6) — They deserve to be back in the top ten, but for a team that was ranked No. 2 at the beginning, they still have a lot to prove. They have a four-year pitcher in the circle, they should be better than this.
10. Charter Oak (10-8) — They are what they’re, a close to .500 team that can surprise anyone or get beat by anyone.
