The latest Diamond Power Rankings are in.
Each week, The Record will capture the pulse of San Joaquin County baseball and softball, ranking the top 10 teams on both diamonds while tracking how the landscape shifts.
It’s more than just records. Movement is explained. Results are detailed. Every ranking carries a story.
Using results from April 20-25, here’s the updated ranking. Movement reflects changes from last week’s rankings, our April 13-18 edition.
Baseball
1. St. Mary’s (—) (19-5) (TCAL)
Sweeping Merrill West by a combined 46-4 would be enough for most teams. Not for St. Mary’s. Even after that, coach Jason Lindholm said it himself: “We’re getting better at the right time. But I still think there’s another level for them.” That should scare everyone else. Second baseman Ethan Silva led the charge, going 6-for-9 with eight RBIs and three home runs in the series.
2. Manteca (↑1) (20-8) (VOL)
Second place in the VOL. City bragging rights. The No. 2 spot in the county rankings. Manteca checked all three boxes this week. After dropping the opener to East Union 11-2, it turned the series around with 14-1 and 3-2 wins to prove just how far the program has come.
3. East Union (↓1) (18-8) (VOL)
Never before has East Union finished inside the top 250 in the state, let alone the top 125. That alone shows what this group is. Even with the series loss to Manteca, this is still one of the most talented teams in program history. A win over Central Catholic, a series win over Oakdale and nearly doing the same to Manteca prove it.
4. Oakdale (—) (18-9) (VOL)
One week showed the best of Oakdale. The next showed the other side. After beating Central Catholic 2-1 and proving it could hang with the VOL’s best, Oakdale followed by giving last-place Sierra its biggest league win of the season, a 10-0 shutout. It recovered with 10-3 and 7-2 wins, but the opener still stood out.
5. Lodi (↑1) (15-9) (TCAL)
Different teams, same kind of ending. Second place came down to one run, just like it did in the VOL with Manteca and East Union. Lodi won game one 13-8, Lincoln took game two 4-3, and the 7-6 finale gave Lodi second place for a third straight season. It also handed Lincoln its first league loss of the year.
6. Ripon Christian (↓1) (23-2) (TVL)
Escalon helped finish what Ripon Christian was already doing. One game back of first at 6-2, Escalon watched its title hopes disappear after two losses to Ripon. That left Ripon Christian two games clear and closing in on its first TVL title. Not that the Knights needed much help — 11-1 and 14-4 wins over Orestimba showed that.
7. Lincoln (—) (14-10) (TCAL)
One run kept Lincoln from second place, and that alone is why the Trojans stay right here. Still, unless something changes against St. Mary’s, this will likely be the program’s first season under 15 wins since 2014.
8. Edison (—) (21-4) (SJAA)
Eighty-five years of school history. Forty-five years of baseball. More than 20 years of losing seasons. Edison finally claimed its first league championship in program history.
9. Mountain House (↑1) (12-15) (VOL)
Mountain House will likely finish tied for last in the VOL, but the progress cannot be ignored. After winning only six games last year, it reached that same total just eight games into this season. In almost any other league, this team would not be near the bottom half.
10. Sierra (NR) (11-17) (VOL)
Beating the first-place team in the VOL gets attention. Beating a top-50 team in the state gets more. Sierra did both by knocking off Central Catholic 11-7 on April 27. Combined with the way it handled Oakdale, that was enough to jump into the rankings and take Escalon’s spot.
Softball
1. Tracy (—) (18-1) (TCAL)
Weather limited Tracy — and much of the county — to just one game. Still, the Bulldogs made the most of it and looked every bit like the team that once sat inside the top five in the state. Against third-place Lodi, Long Beach State commit Hayden Fell threw a complete game with nine strikeouts and added two RBI doubles in a 7-2 win.
2. Kimball (—) (16-6) (TCAL)
One more win and history gets closer. Kimball is just one victory away from 17 wins, which would be its most in a season since 2013. Briana Quintero kept that push going with her seventh complete game, striking out 10 and allowing two earned runs while holding second place in the TCAL at 8-3. She also stretched her streak to seven straight games without allowing anything beyond a single.
3. Manteca (↑1) (13-7) (VOL)
Round one belonged to Oakdale. Round two went the other way. After a 2-1 loss in the first meeting, Manteca evened the season series with a 5-2 win. Both Manteca and Oakdale now sit tied for second in the VOL with three league losses each.
4. Oakdale (↓1) (11-9) (VOL)
Losing to Manteca hurt, but the race is far from over. Oakdale still has a real path to moving back up. Its final two games come against teams it has already handled, while Manteca still has undefeated Central Catholic — a top-75 team in the state — waiting.
5. Lodi (—) (10-8-1) (TCAL)
Losing to a top-20 team in the state is hardly a reason to fall. Lodi remains 6-5 in the TCAL and still owns a 2-0 advantage over the team right behind it in the standings.
6. St. Mary’s (—) (14-8) (TCAL)
Three straight losses could have shifted everything. Instead, St. Mary’s — with only one upperclassman on the roster — bounced back with an 11-0 win over Merrill West. Sophomore Ava Arucan set the tone with a complete game and just three hits allowed.
7. Linden (↑1) (14-5) (MLL)
The path is right in front of them. Two 5-2 wins over Bret Harte pushed Linden to 10-1 in MLL play, and now everything points to May 5 against Calaveras. Win that, and it is three straight league titles.
8. East Union (↑2) (13-10) (VOL)
First Manteca. Then Sierra. Fifth place in the VOL or not, East Union keeps making itself part of the conversation in the city. The latest example was an 8-2 win over Sierra.
9. Ripon (↓2) (16-6) (TVL)
Ripon spoiled Escalon in baseball. Escalon returned the favor in softball. Before the 11-1 loss, Ripon was one game behind first-place Hughson at 7-1 and still chasing a fifth straight TVL title.
10. Lincoln (↓1) (13-8) (TCAL)
One game. One loss. No shame in it when it comes against the second-best team in the county and a top-100 team in the state.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Diamond Power Rankings: Champions crowned, hopes spoiled, order set
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
