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 6-11, here’s the updated ranking. Movement reflects changes from last week’s rankings, our March 30-April 4 edition.
Baseball
1. St. Mary’s (—) (13-4) (TCAL)
“Complete” isn’t thrown around — but this team is showing why it applies. For two weeks, it was the pitching — a perfect game, a no-hitter, and a 15-strikeout outing. Then the spotlight shifted. The offense took its turn, with 13 players driving in runs, 11 collecting hits, and a 14-run third inning leading to a 25-0 win over Kimball on April 6. Two more wins followed — 11-1 and 10-0 — to close the series.
2. East Union (—) (17-6) (VOL)
Sometimes effort wins out — and it did in a 6-4 loss to Mountain House on April 6. But great teams don’t let that linger. East Union answered two days later, rolling to an 11-1 win behind Efren Diaz’s five strong innings, allowing just three hits. Still sitting second in the VOL, East Union is pushing toward one of the best seasons in program history, with a rare top-two finish within reach.
3. Manteca (—) (15-7) (VOL)
How does Manteca stack up against the No. 1 team in the county? This might be the closest look. St. Mary’s rolled past West Park, a top-100 team in California, 12-0 at the Boras Classic. Manteca was right there — up 3-2 through four and adding four more in the fifth — before West Park flipped it with six runs in the same inning to win 8-7 on April 9.
4. Oakdale (—) (15-6) (VOL)
On the surface, it doesn’t add up. Oakdale beat Turlock 11-6 on Feb. 28. Manteca lost to Turlock 14-8 on April 7. So why is Manteca still ahead? The answer comes down to the season series — and the standings, with both teams tied for third at 8-4 in the VOL. That could change, but for now it hasn’t. What Oakdale did do was dominate the week, beating Buhach Colony 12-2, Escalon 14-6, and Enochs 6-1 over three days from April 7-9.
5. Lodi (↑2) (13-4) (TCAL)
Coming off a Christian Brothers Easter Tournament title, Lodi carried it into league play with a three-game sweep of Tracy, pushing its win streak to 11 and keeping it tied for second in the TCAL at 6-1. The series opened with an 18-3 rout on April 6, powered by Carlos Porrello’s 3-for-3 performance with seven RBIs and a home run. Two days later came a 4-3 win, followed by a 9-1 close, with Andrew Heinrich throwing a complete game, allowing just two hits.
6. Ripon Christian (↓1) (16-3) (TVL)
Not the way it was drawn up — but it still counts. The 55th Windemuth Tournament title went to Ripon Christian, adding momentum toward a first TVL championship. Blowout wins set up a final against a familiar former Southern Athletic League rival in Denair. Denair won 5-4 on April 9, but the result didn’t hold, as Ripon Christian was awarded the title by forfeit. The reasoning remains undisclosed.
7. Edison (↑1) (17-2) (SJAA)
No ifs, ands, or buts about it — this was the one. Edison’s 9-1 win over Tokay on April 8, last year’s SJAA champion and tied for first entering the game, stands as the biggest in program history. Barring any major, historic upsets, the leap from two decades without a winning season to at least a share of the league title feels straight out of a story.
8. Mountain House (↑1) (11-10) (VOL)
After seven straight VOL losses, Mountain House snapped the streak in the best way possible, beating what may be the highest state-ranked opponent it has ever beaten.
9. Escalon (↓3) (15-5) (TVL)
Drop in ranking, not performance. Outside of a loss to Oakdale, Escalon picked up wins over Buhach Colony, 8-5, and Los Banos, 9-1. Escalon remains tied for first in the TVL.
10. Lincoln (—) (9-8) (TCAL)
No shift in position, but no slip either. Lincoln stays tied for second in the TCAL at 6-1, taking care of Merrill West 16-0 and 9-1.
Softball
1. Tracy (—) (16-1) (TCAL)
Three hundred twenty-four days. That’s how long it had been since Tracy lost. A former top-five team in the state, it had rolled through top competition across the state and county — until Vintage, a team just inside the top 350, ended it, 5-4, on April 10. Even now inside the top 20 in MaxPreps, wins over Lodi, Lincoln, and Pleasant Grove suggest that drop may not last long.
2. Kimball (—) (12-6) (TCAL)
A week of swings. Kimball opened with wins over Lincoln, Lathrop, and Calaveras — 9-3, 11-0, and 10-0 — before things turned. A 6-1 loss to Davis Sr., after allowing five runs in the ninth, came before a 9-6 loss to Pitman later that day. Kimball remains second in the TCAL.
3. Oakdale (↑1) (9-8) (VOL)
From 4-6 to right in the race. Oakdale has quickly turned its season around and now sits in a position to contend for a VOL title. A 2-1 win over Manteca moved it into sole possession of second, followed by a 14-10 win over Mountain House to reach 6-1, just one game behind Central Catholic. Losses to Elk Grove, a top-40 team in the state, and Bishop Alemany closed the week, but the bigger picture has shifted.
4. Manteca (↓1) (11-6) (VOL)
Still very much in it. Manteca sits at 4-2 in the VOL with key matchups against Central Catholic and Oakdale still ahead. A 9-0 win over Sierra showed the response after the Oakdale loss.
5. St. Mary’s (↑1) (13-6) (TCAL)
Youth? Not a problem. With only one upperclassman, St. Mary’s continues to prove age doesn’t define it. After opening the week with a league win over Merrill West, St. Mary’s went 2-2 at the NorCal Leadoff Classic, picking up wins over Gregori and Bradshaw Christian, with losses to Pleasant Grove and Merced.
6. Lodi (↓1) (10-6-1) (TCAL)
A loss didn’t change much. Even after falling 7-3 to Tracy, Lodi still holds a share of second in the TCAL. A 5-0 win over Merrill West kept it that way.
7. Linden (—) (11-5) (MLL)
Losses to Calaveras and Escalon didn’t move them — literally and figuratively. Linden’s track record keeps it in place, especially after avenging a 4-1 loss to Calaveras with an 8-3 win two days later.
8. Lincoln (↑2) (12-7) (TCAL)
No favors were given to Lincoln, drawing two of the best teams in the county. It fell to Kimball 9-3 and Tracy 5-1.
8. Ripon (↑1) (13-5) (TVL)
Even without playing, Ripon still moved up. An open date didn’t slow its rise
9. Lincoln (—) (12-7) (TCAL)
No favors were given to Lincoln, drawing two of the best teams in the county. It fell to Kimball 9-3 and Tracy 5-1.
10. Mountain House (↓2) (9-7) (VOL)
Four losses in four days pushed Mountain House to the final spot, falling to Sierra, Oakdale, Pitman, and Argonaut, with a win over Stagg mixed in.
This article originally appeared on The Record: Diamond Power Rankings: Tracy softball stunned, Edison historic breakthrough
Reporting by Dylan Ackermann, The Stockton Record / The Record
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
