Prep baseball rankings: Granite Bay beats Franklin, Cosumnes Oaks and Davis enter top 5

For the second time this season, The Bee’s top two teams squared off. In the first matchup March 31 in Placer County, top-ranked Granite Bay beat previous No. 2 Franklin 7-3.

On Thursday in Elk Grove, the Grizzlies flexed their muscles and beat Franklin 8-2. Senior Thomas Meyer pitched six innings and struck out 11. J.P. Smith was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Joe Plise also drove in two runs.

Granite Bay’s (6-1) only loss of the season was to Oakmont at home, 3-2. The Grizzlies also beat Jesuit 10-6 behind five RBIs by J.R. Freethy. Blake Bentley pitched four innings and struck out seven.

Granite Bay has wins over Franklin, Placer, Oak Ridge, Yuba City and Jesuit.

QUICK HITS

▪ Folsom trailed Del Campo 2-0 last week and was down to its last out when Cal Poly-bound senior Ryan Stafford stepped to the plate with two runners on base. Stafford launched a three-run home run to give his team the win after Cooper Robinson recorded the save. Tyson DeWall was the winning pitcher.

▪ Cosumnes Oaks beat Placer on Saturday night at James Field to improve to 7-0. The Wolfpack are now ranked No. 4. Steven Brooks struck out five in 4⅔ innings and Alexander Giron drove in two runs.

▪ After starting the season 0-3, Del Campo rallied this week with back-to-back wins over Oakmont and Vacaville. In the win over the Bulldogs, Matt Moses drove in four runs and Anthony Martinez drove in three.

▪ Woodcreek took the series win over league rival Roseville. The Tigers opened the series with a 5-4 walk-off sac-fly win by Ramon Esparza. Woodcreek beat Roseville 8-4 Thursday behind Jake Harvey’s three RBIs and took the rubber match Friday with a 6-2 win. Riley Tagert and Jadon Groves both drove in two runs.

▪ On Friday night at Historic James Field in Auburn, Placer beat Del Oro 10-0. Carson Seeman allowed one hit and struck out five. John Handy and Jacob Richardson both drove in three runs.

▪ Rio Americano enters the rankings for the first time this season after wins over Del Oro, Lincoln and Bradshaw Christian. Elijah Rogalski and Daniel Giberson both lead the Raiders with five RBIs each.

▪ Bella Vista is back in the rankings after taking two of three from Inderkum. Shane Ferris leads his team in hits with 12.

▪ Ponderosa has jumped up to No. 6 in the rankings after wins over Sheldon, Pleasant Grove and Whitney. Bruins ace Ty Uber and Ryder Slatten combined to throw a no-hitter against Sheldon. Sacramento State-bound pitcher Ty Stewart threw a two-hit gem and struck out nine in the win over Pleasant Grove.

▪ Lincoln beat Del Oro 7-3 for its first win of the season behind big performances at the plate from Ethan Rappa, Kyle Werner, Kenny Winters and J.T. Willis. Evan Odin got the win on the mound.

▪ Behind Bobby Blandford’s four RBIs, Pleasant Grove beat Whitney 9-2. The Eagles also won a 2-1 thriller over Vista del Lago earlier in the week. Ben Pernetti struck out nine in that game.

THE BEE’S TOP 20

1. Granite Bay (6-1)

2. Elk Grove (5-1)

3. Franklin (6-3)

4. Cosumnes Oaks (7-0)

5. Davis (6-0)

6. Ponderosa (6-2)

7. Woodcreek (5-3)

8. Pleasant Grove (6-2)

9. Oak Ridge (3-5)

10. Jesuit (3-2)

11 Rocklin (4-5)

12. Folsom (5-3)

13. Placer (5-4)

14. Laguna Creek (4-0)

15. Oakmont (5-5)

16. Roseville (5-4)

17. Vista del Lago (4-3)

18. Vanden (6-2)

19. Del Campo (2-3)

T-20. Bella Vista (5-4)

T-20. Rio Americano (3-0)

On the bubble: Alpha Charter (4-2), Christian Brothers (1-1), Colfax (6-3), Del Oro (2-6), Lincoln (2-5), McClatchy (0-0), Sheldon (4-6), Vacaville (3-8), Winters (0-0), Yuba City (3-6)

This story was originally published April 12, 2021 at 6:26 AM.