Week 4 Power Rankings

by Micah Rodriguez

1| San Luis Obispo Blues (up 1)

The Blues overtook the Foresters for the top spot in this week's power rankings behind a 5–1 week, largely thanks to a 3–1 victory against the Santa Barbara club. The Blues have the most wins in the CCL with 19. 

In the clash between the leaders of the north and south divisions, the Blues pitching staff was lights out. Right-hander Corbin Giesen worked a scoreless opening three frames with four strikeouts. Giesen has a 2.70 ERA through 16.2 innings with 23 strikeouts. The rest of the staff only allowed three hits for the rest of the game and racked up seven more strikeouts. Through 23 games, the Blues have a 2.95 ERA, the second-lowest in the CCL. On top of their elite run prevention, the Blues have punched out 272 batters and have an 11.30 K/9, the best mark and second-best mark, respectively.

In the Blues' 6–0 midweek win over the Alameda Merchants, right-handed pitcher Quincy Winkler was dominant. Winkler threw five hitless innings, only allowing two walks, and striking out five en route to earning CCL Pitcher of the Week Honors. In 21 innings, Winkler has a hard-to-believe 0.86 ERA and .71 WHIP with 24 strikeouts. 

The Blues continue to have one of the most high-powered offenses through the midway point of the season. As a team, their .280 average only trails the Foresters, and their 44 doubles lead the league. Five different hitters – Diego Murillo, Kutter Gage Webb, Miles Mador, Brendan Comerford, and Cesar Chavez – all have qualified averages north of .300. Murillo leads the Blues with a .364 average and five doubles. Webb, Mador, and outfielder Kyle Becker led the club with two home runs apiece. Senior infielder CJ Moran leads the club with 19 RBIs. 

2| Santa Barbara Foresters (down 1)

After suffering back-to-back midweek losses to the Blues and San Diego Waves, the Foresters were dethroned from their top spot. The Santa Barbara club still boasts an impressive 17–3 record, good for the best winning percentage in the CCL. 

In a 2–1 win over the Academy Barons, left-hander Jack Fowler tossed five innings of one-run ball with four strikeouts. Caleb Hoover and Carter Speights worked two scoreless innings each to secure the 2–1 win, with Speights earning his first save of the season. The Foresters have a team ERA of 2.12, the lowest in the California Collegiate League by over half a run. In an 8–6 victory over the Menlo Park Legends later in the week, AJ Krodel went four innings, giving up three runs while tallying four strikeouts. 

Offensively, the Foresters lead the CCL with a .285 team average and .427 on-base percentage. Rising juniors Kurt Ippolito and Sawyer Farr lead the team with .407 averages. Ippolito has recorded five extra-base hits while Farr has walked 15 times compared to seven strikeouts. Infielder Marcus Gries joins Farr in the middle infield with a .370 average and 13 RBIs. Chris Newstrom has held down the hot corner with a .361 average through 36 at-bats.

3| Walnut Creek Crawdads (up 2)

The Crawdads are red hot. The Walnut Creek Club rides an eleven-game winning streak that dates back to early last week. In an undefeated week, the Crawdads outscored their opponents with a +21 run differential. 

The Crawdads have previously shown they can fill up the scoreboard in big wins, but recently they have shown the ability to win close games in the late innings. 

In yesterday's 4–3 win over the Seagulls, the Crawdads came back from an early 2–0 hole to walk off the San Francisco club in the bottom of the ninth. 

Down to their final out, infielder TJ Woodson picked a great time to blast his first home run of the season to push the Crawdads' win streak to 11. Woodson is now hitting .327 with a team-leading ten doubles and 11 RBIs. Woodson is joined in the infield by Ryan Ellis and Peyton Rowles, who both hold averages above .320. Ellis is tied for the team lead in home runs with catcher Riley Winchell and outfielder Bryden Bull with three. Rowles is tied for the CCL lead with 12 stolen bases with three other players, including fellow Crawdad Kevin Parker.

Right-hander Jeremy Jones leads the Crawdads with 15 innings pitched. He has posted a very respectable 2.40 ERA and 1.00 WHIP. In his last outing against the Seagulls in a 4–1 victory, Jones went four innings and allowed one run on two hits while striking out five. 

4| Academy Barons (––)

The Barons had a very up-and-down week. They opened with a narrow 2–1 loss against the Foresters before rolling off three straight wins. Riding that three-game win streak into yesterday, the Barons were defeated by the Waves 16–2. 

In their one-run loss to the Foresters, Gabriel Lopez delivered his best start of the season. The left-hander worked around eight hits to toss five innings of two-run ball with six strikeouts. 

The Barons continue to have two of the biggest base-stealing threats in the CCL. Infielder Elijah Clayton and outfielder Eiji Sawamura are tied for the league lead with 12 stolen bases each. 

Offensively, infielder Nathaniel Williams earned Hitter of the Week honors after going 8-for-11 with five RBIs and five walks. Williams added two doubles and only struck out two times. He is now hitting .446, the third-best mark in the CCL, and his 20 total RBIs only trail Hunter Carlson from the Stompers. 

5| Orange County Riptide (down 2)

Still hanging on with a 14–7 record, the Riptide are coming off their worst week of the summer at 3–3. However, if a .500 week is your worst performance of the summer, that's not a bad place to be.

The Riptide fell to the Barons 5–4 in a midweek battle, a game that had heavy implications on this week's rankings.

In an 8–2 midweek victory over the Oaks, outfielder Reid Montgomery had his best game of the season. Montgomery finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, and three RBIs. The rising junior now leads the club with a .409 average and nine extra-base hits, and his 12 RBIs are second-most, only trailing fellow outfielder Jarett Sabol. 

Reigning CCL Pitcher of the Week Sammy Cova was his usual self in the 8–2 victory over the Oaks. The left-hander threw four innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts as his ERA for the summer sits at an elite 1.38 through 13 innings. As a staff, their 3.13 team ERA trails only the Foresters and Blues.

6| Conejo Oaks (up 1)

The Conejo Oaks had an impressive bounce-back performance in week four after a poor week three showing. The Oaks finished 4–1, headlined by a big 13–2 win over the Orange County Riptide. The Oaks are now 10–7 and have won three straight.

Offensively, Brandon Contreras continues to be an elite presence at the top of the lineup. The sweet-swinging lefty is hitting an absurd .476 in 42 at-bats. Contreras went 3-5 with an RBI in the big win over the Riptide. In the same contest, center fielder Owen Meli went 3-6 with two RBIs. Meli arrived late from Cal Poly after their run to the regional, and in his two weeks, the righty is hitting .324 with seven RBIs. Behind the plate, Tyson Reis had his best week at the dish. After opening the season 0-15, Reis went 8-15 in week four with nine RBIs to lead the Oaks.

On the mound, the Oaks bullpen had a very impressive week. Right-hander Pierson Howe dealt four innings with zero earned runs allowed in the 13–2 victory. Howe, a rising junior at Pepperdine, struck out four and allowed one hit. Following Howe, right-hander Kyle Zahn allowed four hits and one run while striking out two. Zahn's ERA sits at an even 2.00. 

Braden Lowe is in his second season as the Oaks closer. So far, the right-hander is yet to allow a run through 7.1 innings, and his WHIP sits at a minuscule .41. Lowe has struck out eight and has one save through four weeks. 

In the Oaks' 10–1 win over the Santa Maria Indians, right-hander Johnny Levelis worked three perfect innings with five strikeouts. 

7| Somona Stompers (down 1)

After an elite opening week that slotted them in second in the inaugural rankings, the Stompers have been unable to replicate that success. The Stompers went 2–3 this past week, and they are now 10–11 as we approach the halfway mark of the summer.

Catcher Hunter Carlson is still the best run producer in the CCL. In 17 games, the catcher has driven in 24 runs while hitting .306. He has also deposited three big flies and scored 12 runs. Infielder Tino Vasell has emerged as a force in the Stompers lineup. Vasell is hitting .305 with four doubles, two triples, and three home runs. He has driven in 18 runs and walked 16 times. There is some swing and miss in his game; his 23 strikeouts are tied for the most in the CCL. 

In yesterday's 7–4 win against the Alameda Merchants, Keller Ausbun got the nod as the team's opener. In his eighth appearance of the summer, he worked two scoreless frames to lower his ERA to 2.53.

8| Arroyo Seco Saints (––)

Offense continued not to be a problem for the Saints. Although their record currently sits at 6–12, the Saints are a dangerous club. In a three-game series with the Blues, the Saints fell in game one, 5–2, and prevailed in game two, 7–3. In the rubber match, the Saints jumped ahead to an 8–0 lead after the second inning, but ultimately could not hold on as they fell 9–8. 

The Saints are the best slugging team in the CCL. Their .395 team slugging percentage leads the CCL ahead of teams like the Blues and Foresters. 

Infielder Brayden Flores has been the club's best hitter all summer. Flores is hitting .377 with six doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He has driven in 19 runs – tied for the third-most in the CCL – and walked 11 times while only striking out four times in 69 at-bats. Four more qualified hitters – Evan Reiter, Dylan Immel, Jacob Freer, and Canon King – all have averages north of .300.

If the Saints can learn to hold late leads, they could make a push for the final playoff spot – currently chasing the Oaks and Barons – in a bunched-up Southern Division.

9| Menlo Park Legends (––)

The Legends are playing their best ball of the summer. In their last ten games, the club is 5-5. This past week, the Legends finished 2–3, with two losses coming at the hands of the Foresters by a combined four runs. 

In yesterday's 3–1 loss to the Santa Barbara club, the Legends pitching was sensational. The rotation of Tyler O'Toole, Noah Klube, Henry Harding, and Christian Duarte held the Foresters offense to one earned run on three hits, tallying ten strikeouts in the process. O'Toole struck out four, and Harding led the club with five. 

So far, offense has been hard to come by; the Legends' .215 team average is the lowest amongst conference clubs. Despite that, in a midweek matchup with the Stompers, the Legends put up 16 runs en route to a 16–8 victory. 

Outfielders Aaron Louis and Ethan Mooser both recorded three hits and three RBIs in the game. First baseman Oliver Hogan had four RBIs in the win to lead the team. Hogan is now hitting .333 with four doubles and two home runs. 

Senior infielder Ryan Duron continues to have a stellar summer. In 47 at-bats, Duron is hitting .383 with 13 RBIs, three doubles, and a triple.

10| San Francisco Seagulls (––)

The Seagulls took their first matchup of the week against the Legends in a 14–11 shootout. Unfortunately, after that, the Seagulls dropped five straight to move to 4–17 on the summer.

In the 14-run outburst, catcher Ethan Lopez had his best showing of the summer. Lopez finished 2-for-5 with six RBIs. His biggest swing came in the bottom of the third inning when he crushed a grand slam to give the Seagulls an early 7–0 lead. It was Lopez's first home run of the summer. 

Utility man Tanner Wall and infielder Christian LaMothe both hold averages above .300. LaMothe leads the club with nine extra-base hits and 18 walks. Catcher and outfielder Armando Hurtado is hitting .299 with eight doubles to help round out the Seagulls lineup.