Prep baseball rankings: Rocklin clinches SFL title; Elk Grove rules Delta League

During a long grind of a baseball season, there are ups and downs, with winning and losing streaks scattered in between.

For the Rocklin High School baseball team, the low was losing the league-opening series to Del Oro in the middle of April. After that series, Rocklin was 6-7. The team gained confidence by sweeping crosstown rival Whitney. It followed that up by sweeping Granite Bay, which was The Bee’s top-ranked baseball team the majority of the season.

The series against Granite Bay was a turning point for Rocklin.

“We definitely had a tough series against Del Oro,” Rocklin coach Stephen Moller said. “We weren’t quite ready and they played well and beat us. After that, we swept Whitney and then swept Granite Bay. (The Granite Bay series) was a huge series for us.”

He added, “That (Granite Bay series) was definitely a turning point for the team and just coming together. They had something they needed to prove to everybody that series. … They were determined to get it done. That was a turning point because they realized ‘We are that good and we can do this.’”

This past week, Rocklin beat Oak Ridge in the first two games of the series to capture the Sierra Foothill League championship. Oak Ridge and Rocklin were The Bee’s top two ranked teams to open up the season, respectively.

Standout players for the Thunder include Payton Brennan, Chase Meggers, Brandon Larson, Gabe Petrucellli, Woody Brennan, Taylor Wake and Toran O’Harran.

Rocklin will play one final game against Granite Bay on Tuesday. The SFL was supposed to have an end-of-the-season league tournament, but because there is a shortage of umpires in the area, each team will only have one final game.

It will be a busy week for Moller. He gets married to his fiance Mallory Asaro on Saturday. She is the Rocklin softball coach and she also helped lead her team to a league championship.

“We are on cloud nine right now,” he said. “We get married next Saturday. It has been a stressful last couple of months getting through the season and trying to plan a wedding. She’s done most of it. To get both of us SFL championships while dealing with all of this has been very special. Her team is incredible. She’s had a lot of those girls for four years and she has worked her butt off to get that championship. I’m super happy for her.”

Moller added, “We support each other pretty well. Being a coach you’re dealing with a lot off the field. We get to bounce a lot of stuff off of each other to be able to get a feel for how we should handle a situation. … We definitely joke around, but for the most part it’s pretty supportive.”

Around the horn

▪ Roseville senior Thomas Brown threw a no-hitter in a midweek game against Inderkum. Brown only walked three batters and struck out five in the 5-0 win

▪ Top-ranked Elk Grove is in prime position to win the Delta League after taking two of three from Davis. After losing 1-0 in the series opener, Elk Grove beat Davis 7-1 behind three RBIs from Noah Canter and two from Korey Willliams and 8-1 behind Ryan Zamora’s three RBIs. The Herd finish the season with a series against Pleasant Grove

▪ In a nonconference matchup of top 25 teams, Lincoln beat West Campus 5-3. Lincoln has won nine of its last 12.

▪ Jesuit stayed hot this week with nonconference wins over Alpha Charter, Christian Brothers and Del Campo. Jesuit senior slugger Devon Walczykowski hit home runs in games against Christian Brothers and Alpha Charter.

THE BEE’S TOP 25

1. Elk Grove (20-4)

2. Woodcreek (22-4)

3. Franklin (17-8)

4. Granite Bay (19-7)

5. Pleasant Grove (18-7)

6. McClatchy (18-2)

7. Laguna Creek (16-3)

8. Placer (17-8)

9. Rocklin (15-10)

10. Rio Americano (17-1)

11. Davis (16-9)

12. Ponderosa (15-7)

13. Folsom (13-10-1)

14. Cosumnes Oaks (13-12)

15. Jesuit (13-9)

16. Del Campo (13-7)

17. Roseville (20-8)

18. Vista del Lago (10-10-1)

19. Oak Ridge (11-12)

20. Vanden (12-5)

21. River City (14-5)

22. Lincoln (12-11)

23. Bradshaw Christian (11-4)

24. West Campus (19-5)

25. Pioneer (9-2)

On the bubble: Alpha Charter (8-6), Bella Vista (9-13), Christian Brothers (7-10), Colfax (21-6), Cordova (15-9), Marysville (18-4), Nevada Union (8-12), Oakmont (13-12), Sutter (17-7), Vacaville (8-9)