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What We Saw: Week Six

March 27, 2023
Matt Monk/PBR CA Staff

New Episode LIVE now! - At The Yard Podcast

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The Week Six Power 25 rankings update saw some shuffling in the Top 10 along with multiple new entrants. After the games last week, there are sure to be more changes to the upcoming Week Seven Power Rankings given the upsets, the comebacks, and the teams that continue to climb the rankings with what could be magical seasons as we approach the mid-way point in some sections. 

Our team was out in full force across the state of California to provide the best coverage of high school baseball available. What we saw will feature some of the top games covered by our team in addition to a recap of some formidable matchups throughout last week. You can catch up on how the Power 25 fared last week as a whole in our Weekly Review.

In this edition of What We Saw for Week Six of the CIF high school baseball season we got eyes on top teams, top uncommitted players, and teams climbing up rankings. 

Be sure to follow PBR California on Twitter and Instagram for videos/notes throughout the year.

What We Saw

POWER 25

No. 4 Valley Christian (San Jose) vs No. 24 St. Ignatius

Valley Christian dominated St. Ignatius in their one-game matchup by a score of 10-1. Led by the bat of ‘23 SS PJ Moutzouridis (Cal Poly SLO), going two for two with two doubles and four RBIs.

The pitching from Valley christian only allowed three hits in the game coming from another stellar outing from ‘23 RHP Michael Castaneda (Northern Kentucky), pitching five frames giving up only two hits and no walks or runs. ‘25 Kole Laubach (Uncommitted) finished the last two innings.

Valley Christian continue to impress with eight hitters batting over the .300 line producing 90 runs in 11 games. The team ERA is 0.55 led by Castaneda who is mentioned above and ‘23 RHP Alec Belardes (Arizona State)

While St. Ignatius lost this game, their strong 9-2 record has been help along with strong hitting and pitching which seemed to falter in this game.

No. 7 Foothill (Pleasanton) vs. No. 13 De La Salle

De La Salle bounced back from their first loss of the year against No. 11 Whitney by cruising to an easy 12-1 victory against Foothill. An all around team performance with 10 RBIs, five doubles and a home run led De La Salle in their blowout. ‘23 OF Tanner Griffith (Saint Mary’s College) had three hits, two being doubles.

The pitching was dominant, the only run coming unearned as ‘23 RHP Tyler Zocchi (Uncommitted), RHP Cal Randall (UCLA), and ‘24 RHP Jack Karst (Uncommitted) all pitched giving up only three hits combined.

De La Salle continue to stay hot with a .355 team average and a 1.75 team ERA.

No. 14 Archbishop Mitty vs. No. 18 Bellarmine

Archbishop Mitty won in dramatic fashion with an eighth inning walkoff concluding a 3-2 game. ‘24 INF Tanner Kern (Uncommitted) came up big, driving in two runs on a double. ‘23 MIF Jarren Advincula (Cal) had a two hit day, driving in the other of the three runs for Archbishop Mitty.

Archbishop Mitty ‘24 LHP Luka Pintar (SDSU) was dominant, turning in 6.1 innings with seven strikeouts and giving up one unearned run. A trio of pitchers finished the final two innings of the game to seal the win.

Archbishop Mitty holds a .307 team average and 2.05 team ERA which has propelled them to an 11-1 record.

Bellarmine battled late in the game, tying the game 1-1 in the top of the seventh inning and going ahead by one in the top of the eighth. ‘23 OF/C Nate Escalada (Uncommitted) and ‘23 SS Chase Knight (Fresno State) drove in both their runs on offense while ‘24 RHP Wade Mountz (Arkansas) was dominant on the hill, throwing five innings, striking out eight and giving up one unearned run.

No. 5 Franklin (Elk Grove) vs Jesuit

Franklin won in a 2-0 shutout, ‘24 RHP Nic Abraham (Oregon) tossed all seven innings of the shutout.

‘23 MIF Derek Pham (Uncommitted) knocked a double and home run while going 3-3 on the day.

‘26 Dylan Minnatee hit in the other of the two runs with a strong swing.

While Jesuit may have lost, holding a strong team like Franklin to two runs is no easy task, ‘24 RHP Garrett Valdez (Uncommitted) tossed six innings.

No. 15 Orange Lutheran vs. Mater Dei

Orange Lutheran and Mater Dei had a tough battle on Friday as Orange Lutheran only managed to score for the first time in the seventh inning.

For Mater Dei freshman ‘26 OF Ezekiel Lara (Uncommitted) had four hits on the day showing a commanding presence in the box. 

‘25 INF Dylan Wetzel (Uncommitted) knocked in Mater Dei’s only run with a clutch double.

‘24 UTIL Ben Reiland (Oklahoma State) tied the game with a deflection off the pitchers glove en route to Orange Lutheran’s eventual win.

 

Elsewhere in California

Steel Canyon vs. Eastlake

Eastlake beat Steel Canyon by a score of 6-0 but both sides showed strong at bats. 

Starting with Eastlake, ‘23 2B Daniel Mora (Uncommitted) went 2-2 with a double.

‘23 SS Isaiah Lane (Oklahoma) also slashed a double while going 1-3 on the day.

Steele Canyon ‘23 C Tommy Molina (PLNU) had a strong two hit day.

Christian vs Francis Parker

This game was all Christian as the patriots routed Francis Parker by a score of 9-2.

‘24 C Xavier Farnum (SDSU) had two hits in three at bats with an RBI.

‘24 3B/RHP Ashton McCurty (Uncommitted) had a double on the day as well as tossing a strong performance on the mound.

‘23 UTIL Shane Bailey (Western Oregon) had a great day at the plate, going 2-2 with a massive homerun.

El Segundo vs. El Camino Real

El Segundo and El Camino Real engaged in a close battle with El Segundo winning 5-4. 

For El Segundo, ‘23 RHP Brady Engelhardt (Uncommitted) dominated in five innings of work only giving up one run.

El Camino Real pitcher ‘25 LHP Christian Gastelum (Uncommitted) also turned in a good performance as well, holding El Segundo to one earned run in four innings of work.

Sonoma Valley vs Novato

Both of these teams showed off some serious talent in terms of both pitching and hitting but it was Novato who walked away with the win.

Sonoma Valley may have lost 8-3 but ‘24 SS Nic Sebastiani (Uncommitted) knocked three hits including a home run.

‘24 C Andrew Bonfigli (Uncommitted) had a good showing behind the dish as well as a hit in the sixth inning apart of a multihit performance.

‘26 RHP JP Harmon (Uncommitted) went five innings showing off some good stuff.

 

PBR Scout Joey Cohen documented multiple strong pitching performances from uncommitted arms in the LA area.

‘25 RHP Cam Fausset (Uncommitted) of Newbury Park tossed an inning showing some good stuff.

‘24 RHP Duncan Marsten (Uncommitted) of No. 12 Harvard Westlake tossed an inning and a little more showing off his electric fastball.

‘26 RHP Mateo Villanueva (Uncommitted) of Coronado tossed some solid innings in relief.

‘24 RHP Braylen Ditz (Uncommitted) tossed multiple shutout innings in his appearance.

On the hitting end of things, ‘25 C/INF Landon Hodges (Stanford) of Crespi swung a hot bat.

‘23 OF Tommy Farmer (Texas) of Oaks Christian pulled a massive home run over the left field wall.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
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


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