Prep Baseball Report

What We Saw: Week Four


Matt Monk/PBR CA Staff

New Episode LIVE now! At The Yard Podcast

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The Week Four Power 25 rankings update saw some shuffling in the Top 10 along with three new entrants and after reviewing the action on the field last week, we can guarantee more movement to come when we release the Power 25 this week. 

Week Four also brought with it some big time matchups as many leagues kicked off around SoCal. None bigger was the action then in the Trinity League where State No. 1 and No. 3 (vs No. 15) were in action to start their slate. State No. 4 went to Nevada to square off against their No. 1 team providing some intersectional competition. Many of the Power 25 were in games against each other providing further stakes to those games.

As we head in to Week Five of the high school baseball season, let's take a look at What We Saw in Week Four. Be sure to follow PBR California on Twitter and Instagram for videos/notes throughout the weeks of the high school season.

WHAT WE SAW 

MISSION LEAGUE

The Mission League of the CIF Southern Section has had some amazing games with top-ranked teams in the state having hard-fought battles against unranked sides. This league is stacked with talent on all teams and great matchups emerging from individual and team performances have led to upsets, a no-hitter, and high-stakes late-inning games in just the past few days.

Sierra Canyon vs Crespi

First place in the Mission League and unbeaten side Sierra Canyon has had a great season so far, going 9-0-2 and 4-0-2 in league play. While Crespi’s league record may be 2-1-3 in league games their overall record this season is 7-1-3. In this past week, Sierra Canyon and Crespi tied twice in low-scoring affairs at 2-2 and 1-1 with games being called due to lack of daylight. The matchup on March 8 however was not close at all with Sierra Canyon winning 8-0 with great offensive displays from ‘26 1B/3B/OF Mikhal Johnson (Uncommitted) and ‘25 SS Brady Hewitt (U San Diego). Both smashed extra-base hits with Johnson driving a ball over the left-center fence.

While Crespi may not have been able to claim a win in the series, ‘25 SS Diego Velazquez (USC) showed off his bat and added to a monster start to the season. Velazquez is currently hitting at a .516 clip with two home runs.

 

No. 5 Harvard Westlake vs Loyola

Harvard Westlake shoved on Thursday, with two pitchers tossing a combined no-hitter for 3-0 win. ‘24 RHP/SS/3B Bryce Rainer (Texas) handled five innings striking out nine in the process. ‘23 RHP Holden Rath (Uncommitted) took over and shut the door, sealing the shutout and no-hitter striking out five people in the last two innings of work.

Harvard Westlake clinched the series setting up a massive three-game showdown with Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) this week. 

TRINITY LEAGUE

The Trinity league also contains some of the most exciting teams in all of California. No. 1 JSerra, No. 3 Orange Catholic, and No. 15 Santa Margarita are among the teams in the league. In this past week specifically, baseball fans were treated to multiple upsets and top-25 action. 

No. 1 JSerra vs Mater Dei

Mater Dei upset JSerra off the back of some great pitching and team-hitting. In game one ‘25 RHP Landon Gordon (USC) pitched a complete game only giving up a run while ‘25 MIF Dylan Wetzel (Uncommitted) gave Mater Dei all they would need with a two-run home run. The game ended 4-1. 

In game two it ended up being a walk-off with Mater Dei winning 5-4. Game three of the series was rescheduled to Monday resulting from rain canceling Friday’s game.

No. 3 Orange Lutheran vs No. 15 Santa Margarita

The weeklong series between these two teams resulted in Santa Margarita sweeping all three games from Orange Lutheran, giving them a losing streak of four games. Santa Margarita won by a score of 7-5 in game one, 5-2 in game two, and 4-3 in the last game.

On March 6, Santa Margarita played a close game but still won it with their bats from ‘23 MIF Zach Fjelstad (Ohio State) showing out with a 3-3 performance.

On March 8 in the second game of the series, standout performances from ‘23 MIF Blake Wilson (Washington), ‘23 C Luke Lavin (Stanford), and ‘24 OF Logan DeGroot (UCLA) propelled Santa Margarita to the win. Wilson went 2-4 on the day with two doubles and two RBIs. Orange Lutheran attempted a late-game comeback in the seventh inning with the efforts from ‘25 OF/1B Josiah Hartshorn (Uncommitted) driving in both runs adding to a 2-4 on the day.

Santa Margarita is poised to continue their 5-1 start to the season and will face off against JSerra next week.

 

ELSEWHERE IN CIF BASEBALL

No. 2 Villa Park vs Hart

Villa Park was upset by Hart by a score of 4-3 after Hart held Villa Park to no runs after gaining a one-run lead in the third inning.

‘23 LHP Chris Downs (Cal Poly SLO) dominated on the mound, striking out five while only allowing one hit in 2.2 innings of relief duty. The southpaw mixed fastballs and sliders keeping hitters off balance while his team clung to a one run lead late in the game.

In defeat Villa Park still put up a decent fight with ‘23 C Nathan Pone (Uncommitted) driving in two runs on a 2-3 day at the plate.

‘24 SS Brayden Jeffries provided crucial hitting that contributed to the upset win over Villa Park. The uncommitted shortstop has opened eyes early with his stellar defensive play and his "hitability" at the plate from the left side. One of the premier uncommitted players in his area. 

No. 8 De La Salle vs Clayton Valley Charter

No. 8 De La Salle faced Clayton Valley Charter in an anticipated matchup on March 7. De La Salle won 8-2 off of the performances of ‘24 SS Hank Tripaldi (Uncommitted), ‘23 CF Kai Smith (Uncommitted), ‘23 C/3B Danny McInnis (Uncommitted), and ‘23 1B Will Rueb (Uncommitted).

Tripaldi had a monstrous day at the plate, driving in three runs off of a double and home run.

Smith doubled in his first at-bat and keeping composure after a potential homerun was barely foul contributed a line drive single. His batting average for the season is a team-high .600 after two games.

McInnis notched two doubles in the game and Rueb drove in three runs in his only at-bat.



UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Rising Stars ID: San Diego CA 03/19 Eastlake
Rising Stars ID: Inland Empire CA 04/16 Santiago High School
Rising Stars ID: Bay Area CA 04/23 College of San Mateo
SoCal Rising Stars Game CA 05/21 Cerritos College 
CA FUTURE GAMES TRYOUT CA 06/03 Fullerton College
NorCal ProCase CA 06/04 Chabot College - Hayward
SoCal-NV-AZ-ProCase CA 06/04 University of Southern California - Dedeaux Field
NorCal Rising Stars Game CA 06/06 Islanders Field (morning)
Team CA Future Games ID CA 06/06 Islanders Field (afternoon/early evening)
Bay Area State Gamess Open ID CA 06/14 College of San Mateo
OC State Games Open ID CA 07/11 Hart Park


RELATED TOPICS