Who is Miramonte's second #1? We know about Kjar. I heard their second starter will likely be Jacobson (isn't he a soph?). He's solid, but not in the class of upperclassman Waterman, Ward, Gold and Kjar. Miramonte's bats will be scary so he should get plenty of run support.
Dubin, with returners like Funk, Zanders and Mello, should finish higher than Las Lomas.
2009 season will be a three-team shoot out among Miramonte, Campolindo and Alhambra.
You are problably right about Dublin finishing higher then LL. For some reason I thought Funk had graduated. He will be dominate for sure along with Zanders.
I would say that Vaccarro is a second #1 for Miramonte.....and they always seem to have underclassmen that step up and play big.
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Steve15, I think the surprise is more likely to be on DV's part about how strong the league is. But I hope you're right because it is much better for all the players if they are competitive.
I love how each year, good number 2 pitchers rise from the depth chart and end up helping their teams.
Both Carson (8k's in four innings against St. Mary's) and Hoffman have been solid for Acalanes.
Casella 3 hits Las Lomas in a complete game (is he number 3?) and pitches well against Concord for Alhambra.
Stevens one hits Justin Sienna in 5 innings for Campolindo.
Miramonte has a bunch of arms behind Kjar and Vacarro. Look out.
The sophomore Martinez pitched well against Terra Linda (7K's) for Dublin.
DFAL 24-4-1 so far this year. Surprisingly strong league or is there some league norm that this league deliberately chooses weaker opponents in the preseason?
I guess you could call Casella a 2 1/2. With two #1's and a very strong closer in Mc Calpin, Alhambra is very blessed with pitching this year, again. Casella pitched 3 inns holding Concord to one run on Friday. Another good outing for him.
They also have a very hard throwing sophmore, Stevenson as well. Probably see more Jv action this year with the amount of arms they at this time.
Steve15, you were right about Dougherty Valley. I still don't see them getting to .500, but they are a very solid team (and might get to .500 in DVAL). Solid defense, competent hitting, Jackson is clearly competitive on the mound, well coached. As their program adds depth, it will help a lot. I think they will be in most of their games.
I think people are underestimating Campo. They have a strong team returning. It seems to me its a two team race between Miramonte and Campo.
1. Campo: returns Chase, Kileen, Fadelli and Kathan, with Gold on the mound. Looking for a #2 pitcher. I give them the nod due to beating Miramonte in NCS playoffs. Plus have the better coach in Luckhurst.
2. Miramonte: Great Lineup with Vaccaro, Epperson, Ruvekamp, and Lloyd. Kjar will be the best picther in the league. Looking for #2 picther as well.
3. Alhambra: Best starting pitching duo in Waterman and Ward. Bezayif is a stud catcher, but they don't have alot after that. They can win low scoring games, but don't have the offense to beat Campo or Miramonte.
4. Dublin: Funk is a very good pitcher. Add in Mello and Zanders and they have a good core. Looking for #2 pitcher.
5. Acalanes: continued rebuilding but a few good players in Treat, Nixon and Lahonton.
6. Los Lomas: ANother bad year again. Don't have Petersen to bail them out this year,
7. Dougherty Valley: WHo knows???
the league won't be as much fun without northgate.
Campo 4 - 0 over Concord. Concord starter held the top of the order OK. But we'll have to hit alot better than that to contend. There were a lot of K's from both teams. Concord's starter had 4 - 5, mostly to the top of the order. Someone said he threw against us last year but one of the dads said he didn't pitch last year. Chalk it up to early part of the season. Both starters threw well but Gold dominated. I understand Concord was missing 2 of there starters who both hit well last year. They needed them. Concord's rightfielder looked like a JV player. Score should or could have easily been 1 - 0.
Yes mira won 9-0 against redwood last thursday and played de la salle last friday (scrimmage). The final score of the friday game was 9-1 miramonte. kjar was a stud on the bump for the mats and their bats looked hot up and down the order both days. but take into consideration the game was just a scrimmage. im sure if de la salle had left their starters in after the 4th the score would have been closer.
who knows what will happen this season but looks like the dfal should be strong again with every team (including DV-wow) starting non league play with a W (except dublin....).
I know campo is 2-0 beating concord and some other team. Acalanies is 1-0 and beat San Lorenzo, say what you want but but Acalanies will pull off an upset this year
Everybody is under estimating las lomas. I see them at three or four. not five. They have a very solid junior class with standout freshman and a couple seniors. You guys will see. They are going to surprise some people
They will need to surprise everyone with Peterson clone to compete for a top spot. Every team looks good and surprising in practice. Game speed is key.
If LL is counting on freshmen to fill there vacant spots, and who have never seen quality varsity pitching, they will need a miralce season to finish 4th.
Who will pitch for the Dons? Campo's pitching is infinitely stronger than Acalanes.
As for freshmen, last year, Campo used a freshman catcher (and four soph starters) and finished second in the DFAL. Dublin had a freshman SS (a "key" spot), finishing higher than Acalanes. The freshmen test is not working for me.
Acalanes has a brutal pre-season schedule. Let's see where they are on March 20 (after playing the likes of College Park, Northgate, St. Mary's and more).
I believe Miramonte lost their starting catcher and shortstop? And who will play 3rd base? I hear they are moving guys around.
Acalanes has a strong pitcher in Hoffman. Don't know who else they will use. They have good bats with LaHonta, Avery, etc. Their sophomore short stop Heptig should be a great addition to Varsity.
It will be a fun run watching Alhambra, Miramonte, Campo AND Acalanes!
Respectfully, how can you predict that "Acalanes will definitely be a contender" when you don't know who their #2 pitcher will be?
Last year proved (again) that the strength of the #2 pitcher is a critical part of season success. Las Lomas had Dave Peterson, the hands-down best pitcher in the league (yes, I know he lost to Acalanes) and ultimate Most Valuable Pitcher and still never contended for the DFAL title (or even the top three or four spots). Alhambra has the outstanding 1-2 punch of Waterman (Senior, 8 wins in '08) and Ward (Junior - he'll be back for DFAL play). Miramonte has Kjar (Sr., 9 wins in '08) with Llloyd (Sr.), Jacobson (Soph) and Vaccaro (Sr.). Campo has Gold (Sr., 9 wins in '08), with Russ (Jr.), Stevens (Sr.) and Robinson (Sr.). Each of these three staffs has at least one returning all-league starter.
Acalanes will be improved over last year but without pitching depth, they will find it difficult to compete for the top.
Following Hoffman Acalanes will also have carson and avery. However Acalanes tough preseason will show how much they have changed.
LL- yes Peterson was the best in the league but defense is half the game and has no one to carry them this year leaving them near the bottom.
Alhambra- no doubt with have best duo in DFAL with Waterman and Ward (who is only a junior).
Miramonte has Kjar, did a great job last year and did what he needed to do with little pitching relief and will contend to be one of the best pitchers in the league with great bats in the order of Epperson, Vaccaro, Reuvakamp, and Lloyd for their last year.
Campolindo- with have Gold a very good pitcher and will have good bats from returning juniors (Kathan, Fidelli, etc.)
-Dublin will have Funk and their "star" shortstop Mello who is a soph and zanders in center.
Looks like Hoffman is Acalanes horse - First the three inning "W" (doesn't it take 4 for a starter?), then three days later gets the next start. What happened to Beechcroft?
Plus Lahonta goes deep in the cold, impressive.
Why doesn't Dublin win more games? Seems to have a solid core of players, although not the depth of hitting. Who is the number two this year - Krause? Can Mello pitch? Someone new coming up?
I know it's early, but it looks like I underestimated Campo. They've got six or 7 guys over 300, not including Fidelli and Chase who I think were all league last year. Plus, they've got 4 guys that are listed on the roster as just pitchers. Ouch.
Deuce24 is referring to Hoffman's 3-inning outing against San Lorenzo on 2/21. It was a 7-inning game (at least that's what the box score shows) and Deuce24's point is that normally 4 innings are required for the starter to earn a win.
Looks like they'll be tough. Do you know who pitched? Who hit?
Why doesn't Miramonte put stats up on Maxpreps? Is it coach trying to be secretive? No parents to help (hard to believe in Orinda)? Philosophical (Play for the W, not the stats sort of thing)? Technophobe?
Acalanes took a beating at the hands of Northgate, 11 -0. Carson started for Acalanes and had a tough day against the NG bats. Bataska tossed 5 innings of 1 hit ball, and Pelayo, Kosturos and Mertz delivered big hits.
Big difference in talent between these two teams. Acalanes will have a tough time competing against the top of the DFAL.
Chris Bataska only plays baseball. His twin brother Matt, who is also on Northgate's baseball team, was playing on the basketball team. Yes, there are two of them. Double the fun.
One of the best games ive seen in a long time. Serra started off 2-0 after a 2 innings. Miramonte then tied it up in the 4th, then took the lead in the 5th. Mira then led going into the bottom of the 7th, but Serra walked and had 2 hits for a walk of win. Kjar was a stud once again. Watch out for the Matadors.
acalanes over concord, looks like they are on the right path thus far.
looks like campo won big over kennedy, but not much of a suprise there.
wonder how DV did against valley christian?
whats the deal with alhambra and las lomas starting their games so late? campolindo, miramonte, DV will have 3 games and acalanes will have played 2 by the time they get their first game in?
It looks like Alhambra scheduled scrimmages instead of games because of the basketball schedule. With three key players on the court, could be the reason for there late game starts.
The baseball team wasn't to disapointed when the basketball team didn't make ncs.
Waterman started off shakey, walking first two batters, leaving fastball up, a lot of breaking balls bouncing (Bezayiff is sore today, I'll bet). But he settled down.
Heritage starter's slider was tough to hit. They looked tough all around.
Their third baseman stole a hit from the Alhambra lead off hitter. The line drive appeared to be past him when he made the diving grab. Just a fantastic play.
Heritage starter is probably sore today as well. He threw a countless number of breaking balls, keeping Alhambra hitters off balance.
What a great game. 2-1 game until the 7th when Alhmabra put it to bed with 2 extra runs, one of which was a towering home run by Waterman. Cassella with another strong outing holding the powerful Northgate offence to only 1 run.
Looks like the Times East Bay Poll came out one day to early!
Funk is very, very good. If he gets run support, he'll be tough to beat. but thats a big if. While Dublin holds a few good hitters, it is not even in the realm of the top teams in the league.
Alhambra... Might be what everyone thought all along. No hitting. Has possibly the best pitching tandem in the league, but that wont matter if they arent getting any run support. Why didnt Ward or Waterman start yesterday?
Campolindo over DV -
Campo is a team to be reckoned with. Many returning players and a solid pitching staff.
DV might not be as weak as everyone suspects. It looks like they were in the game with Campo until the 6th. I dont think they will touch the top of the league. And they might not even touch the 4 or 5 spot. But they seem like the type of team that is good enough to pull off an upset if they arent taken seriously.
Acalanes over Las Lomas -
Acalanes - young again. but more talented this year. they should play some good games and compete in the middle of the pack. dont know much about their pitching or hitting other than Lahonta and Treat.
Las Lomas - Lots of unknowns. Peterson carried the team on his back last year. That will not be a luxery they enjoy this year. If no one steps up, they could be in for a long year.
Sounds like CP is getting stronger every year, while NG doesnt seem to have the same swagger they had last year. Dont get me wrong, I still think they are a very good team, just not as good as last year. Its too bad the old DFAL is split up now.
Any games to watch next week? Thoughts about the season thus far?
I don't think that Northgate is playing up to their potential yet, but they had better hurry up.
College Park is just picking up from where they left off last year, winning games in one fashion or another, somehow. They did just get another player "released" to play, and inserted into the line up only to hit a home run.
Northgate seems to be missing that elusive chemistry that seems to matter to high school baseball teams. Look to the seniors. Miramonte seems to have it.
Dublin played Miramonte tough till they had to go too deep in their pitching. They will be a dangerous team as the season goes on and their pitching can go deeper. They have enough good hitters that they will always score some runs.
The pitchers duel of Waterman and Gold must have been something to watch.
I agree Ng better hurry up. They were set back by having 6 basketball players make the NorCal tournament, and have had several players playing out of position. Pelayo being out for a week with a concussion and missing the Alhambra game didn't help. A bye on Tuesday will help sort out some position changes. They are not making the infield plays they did last year and are missing the key hits to drive in runs. They are leaving 10 runners on base a game.
I suspect they will hit their stride soon with so much talent back, but it will bumpy until then. They have until next Thursday when they play Clayton and then go to Santa Maria for a big spring break tournament.
Hats off to College Park, they flat beat NG. It also helped having the bye on Tuesday and having the CP coaches there to scout NG. Coleman did a great job in preparing his team.
Are you kidding me? Five of these seniors started for Dublin last year in their 3-0 shutout win over Miramonte at the Colisium last year and won the league as freshman. The sophmore class is outstanding as they also won Frosh league.
Dublin is sitting in league @ spring break lead heading into tough Bishop Gorman tourney in Vegas. May want to consider giving the Gaels their props.
Im not exactly sure which post your referring to, since I did not rank teams in my last one. But I guess with teams about to start tournament ball and the first half winding down, now would be a good time to rank the baseball I have seen.
DFAL
1. Miramonte 4-1 (11-2-1) - In my opinion, the best all around team in the DFAL. Losses to Serra and Campolindo.. But they have a lot of big name players and A LOT of experience. The numbers thus far for this team are outstanding (in pitching and hitting). I think they will have to beat themselves in order not to get the top seed in NCS.
2. Dublin 4-1 (9-4) - Close call between the Gaels and the Cougars, but with the Gaels beating the Cougs I dont have much choice. They have played every team extremely well (yes this includes their 12-4 loss at Miramonte, which was a much better game than the score indicates). Look for them to make a run at the DFAL title in the Second Half. A repeat of the first half (with a win over Miramonte) would almost guarantee them the title (this is assuming Miramonte loses to Campolindo again)
3. Campolindo 3-2 (11-3) - Again, very possible 2 seed. Although I have them at 3 in league, Ill bet this team gets a higher seed in NCS playoffs than Dublin. Strong junior class with some pitching depth. Great win over James Logan last week (phenomenal games by Chase and Kathan). Will absolutely make a run at NCS title. Need to beat Alhambra in 2nd half.
4. Alhambra 2-2 (11-4) - Slightly disappointing thus far, but I still consider them a good team (record shows that). They will have to get a win against the Matadors after the break if they would like to stay in the hunt.
5. Acalanes 3-3 (9-7) - Big win over Granada last week. Has played every team very close. Will sneak up on some "top teams" and get a win or two in those games.
6. DV 1-3 (7-7) - Too young. Can play ball, but not with the top 5 teams. We will see how they do next year when they have a senior class.
7. Las Lomas 0-5 (3-11) - Can actually hit a little bit, but again, not in the same realm as the top 5 teams. I think they will win a league game at some point this season, but dont ask me when. I think it will be more of the other teams loss than their own win if you know what Im saying.
Where are teams playing their mid season tournaments? any results? predictions? A little reminder the season is more than half way over, its about time to start formulating some opinions!
Dublin has proved to be a very strong team. Nice to see they are starting to get noticed in the East Bay Poll. Martinez has been the surprise there that puts them in contention.
DFAL off to a strong start in tournament. The rest of the week should be interesting as most of the teams are playing against some strong opponents in the tournaments.
Alhambra over St. Mary's, Acalanes over Granada, Campolinda over Newark Memorial (not James Logan); all might have raised eyebrows in some circles.
Chase with 3 home runs, OH MY GOD. And 5 total HR for the cougs. Campolindo is looking great and has established some solid pitching and a very good line up. They do, however, have 3 tough games in a row with Alhambra, Dublin, Miramonte. Should be a real proving ground.
Good luck to Las Lomas trying to recover from that one. Not much else to say about this team anymore. Same old same old.
Miramonte over Alhambra -
Thought Waterman might give the mats their 3rd loss but miramonte was too tough. Kjar pitched another gem. Miramontes hitting is absolutely phenomenal. Cap it off with 2 aces in kjar and vaccaro and give them 2 hard throwing relievers in Lloyd and Jacobson and ill give you the team to beat. They also had to face possibly the 3 other toughest teams in league these 2 weeks. They will finish off the stand with Dublin and Campolindo next week, but give them the nod over Alhambra today. They will have to win the next 2 in league to take it all. Proving ground for those guys (mira) as well.
Tough loss for Alhambra. Waterman is a stud. I look for this team to rebound and win at least once against either dublin or campolindo. Dublin will see Alhambra without Waterman (as he pitched today), but i still see the Dogs winning this one as they still have Ward (what a duo that is).
Didnt hear anything of Dublin - DV.. But im assuming Dublin won. Any thoughts on first half?
Vaccaro and Epperson have got to be the 2, with vaccaro taking it.
Both hit over .460 last year. Both are d1 commits. Both slugging over .750 thus far this year. And they hit back to back. Sorta sucks for the opposing pitcher if you ask me.
I cant confirm or deny that number, but it doesn't surprise me. Miramonte definitely has a strong team this year. It looks like they finally have a core group of seniors which is something theyve seemed to lack to the past couple years. We will have to see how they fair in there up coming games vs campolindo, acalanes, and alhambra.
Dublin also looks very, very good. Not a bad 1,2 for their pitching staff, and it seems like they returned a fair number of guys who know how to win games. The offense is strong, but just wait til it gets hot. I think they will absolutely contend for the top of the league.
CP lost a big arm in sidhu, but it doesnt sound like they even noticed. Their win against NG shows their strength. Did any DFAL teams play them in pre-season?
Predictions for Tuesdays Games:
Miramonte 8 - Campolindo 5 - short park, big bats on both sides means it should be high scoring. Too bad Gold was used thursday, that would have made this one completely up in the air.
Las Lomas 4 - DV 1 - Not confident in this one, but i dont think DV has had a tough schedule means anything could happen. LL played alhambra tough. I give them the nod. but prove me wrong
Alhambra 3 - Acalanes 0 - Ward or Waterman, enough said. Acalanes is much improved and looks good this year. But I dont think they are deep enough to come away with this W, especially at this point in the season
Why is Acalanes playing Miramonte on Wed? Acalanes may be getting Miramonte at a vulnerable time after the heartbreaker to Campolindo. Miramonte has so many seniors that it's hard to imagine, but a loss could really put their season into a tailspin.
Will Funk move to Thursday after the bye? If so, a Funk (Dublin) vs Gold (Campolindo) matchup could be a great game.
Hard to see Las Lomas upsetting Alhambra, but I didn't see Acalanes getting to Waterman. Anyone see that 4th inning?
Funk will not be pitching against Gold today under any circumstances. Apparently Gold's attitude and temper have once again hurt the team. Because of an incident at practice this week Gold has been banished to street clothes for two weeks, and rightfully so. He is well known for being a me me me guy and not a team guy. Campolindo has a lot of talent, but lack of being a "TEAM" will hurt them come playoff time. Will Gold's "teammates" want to play behind him?
Looks like today it will be the senior Robinson and junior Russ against Dublin. Both have been throwing well. Could be a low scoring game depending on who throws for Dublin.
That is a big blow to Campo. You sure didn't see them not playing as a team against Alhmambra. They were hitting the ball hard, but right at the defence and Gold pitched awsome.
A mental injury of sorts. Hope things get better for them.
Campolindo over Miramonte in a fenominal extra inning game. It reminded me of a playoff game (or an NCS championship game perhaps). Both teams played well, though it was definitely a pitchers duel for the majority of the game. Hats off to Campolindo for pulling out a close one.
Acalanes over Alhambra. Quite a shocker. But the Dons are definitely making a name for themselves. They look like a good team and were undefeated to this point. They dont stand out in one aspect or another but seem to be well coached and into their season. No severe criticisms of the Alhambra team other than it lacks a strong offense. Ward and Waterman will have to dominate it seems like. This game shows that the DFAL is up for grabs this year as the middle of the pack is certainly competing with the top at this point.
DV over Las Lomas. Didnt catch this game, but looks like DV took it fairly easily.
Wednesday
Miramonte over Acalanes. A very very close game, which Miramonte featured a come from behind win in the bottom of the 7th. Miramonte left a lot of runners on base and didnt take advantage of big hits at times. Acalanes looks like a good ball club this year. While I dont see them taking league or even 2nd or 3rd, they are definitely good enough to get some big wins against the powerhouses this year (Campolindo, Miramonte, Alhambra). Hats off to the Dons for a good game. Wag of the finger to the Mats for not letting go of their extra inning Tuesday loss until very late in the Wednesday game.
THURSDAY
Dublin 5 - Campolindo 1. The cougars struggled without Gold today as they let up 5 runs in the first. While i still believe them to be the 1 or 2 contender for league this year, their loss today puts them at 2 losses thus far in league. I would say look for them to rebound in their next games, but without Gold: they will have to go through American, Acalanes, and Newark. Could be a tedious stretch for a pitching staff missing its ace. Dublin is looking very good thus far. There only loss in league came at the hands of the big Miramonte bats (12-4). But even then it was without Gold and they held tough until the 4th when Miramonte blew it open. I think they will take 4th, or maybe even 3rd if Alhambra cant find run support. What a success story this team is this year.
You must mean Dublin missed Funk (not Gold) for the Miramonte v. Dublin game.
Great recap by the way.
Acalanes does look strong. Their bats need to be more consistent, but they are playing great defense, under good coaching by Dowling. They were really on this week.
Miramonte v. Campo - always a "playoff" type game. Two rivals, games can never be called until it is over. Kjar was a stud on the mound - as always. Stevens pitched a great game too.
Dublin is a strong team, they aren't going to roll over.
Interesting to see Acalanes v. Campo (without Gold), next week, but Stevens and Robinson are pitching well, as is Russ.
Gold didn't feel like running with the other pitchers so when Robinson came in to tell him to start working, Gold punched Robinson in the face. Suspended from the team for two weeks or something.
Assuming you have your facts correct (a big assumption), whatever happened to certain things staying internal to the team? Some posters have no class. Why don't you talk about substance abuse suspensions and academic ineligibility here too? These are kids.
As has been mentioned over on the DVAL board, that is not what these forums are for.
I agree. Team issues should stay with the team, not be broadcast to the public. Feelings get hurt, team uinity is compromised and jobs are lost from information that is leaked from team rooms.
While I have heard this same story from multiple people, I have to agree that these boards should not be used to trash young players names. They are just kids. You can make the argument that incident like this involving physical violence (again assuming its accurate) is a big deal. But the players should be left out of it. They are amature athletes. They are not being paid to play. They only play for the love of the game.
That all being said, I am assuming that the posts originated because not having the particular player in question damages that teams ability to win, and thus in analyzing games over the last two weeks, the discussion revolved around teams having the luxury of getting through Campolindo without this player on the mound. Either way, I say we move on, and start talking real baseball again.
Tuesday Games (rain rain rain):
Acalanes v Dublin postponed til wednesday
Miramonte v Las Lomas postponed til friday
DV v Alhambra postponed til thursday
Wednesday Games:
Acalanes 0 - Dublin 3
Miramonte 7 - DV 0
Thursday Game:
Acalanes v Campolindo - Interesting to see how the cougar arms will be holding up short staffed... Acalanes is a good ball club and has played well thus far, but we will have to see if they are good enough to beat the very strong Campolindo squad.
DV v Alhambra - I'm taking Alhambra, simply because they are an older, probably better team. Although they have been inconsistent (notable loss vs acalanes), I still think they will pull this one out. But better bring their A game, they cant afford another loss as they still have Miramonte left on their first half league schedule.
Friday Game:
Las Lomas v Miramonte - Probably will be a blowout game (Mira over LL). Miramonte's bats were ice cold last week, but still scored 7 runs and went 1-1 (extra inning loss to campolindo). However with break over, there bats have heated back up as they compiled 13 hits against DV. Las Lomas continues to struggle.. I dont know the team well enough to make any analysis or suggestions other than a win against Miramonte would be a huge turning point in their season.
Its interesting to see how this will affect the East Bay Polls. Going into this week. Campolindo was 4, Miramonte was 6th, and Alhambra was 13th. I dont recall seeing Dublin on the list.
Dublin went 1-0 on the week, with a big win over #6 Miramonte
Campolindo went 1-1 beating the always tough #13 Alhambra, then falling to # 6 Miramonte
Miramonte went 1-1 while falling to Funk and the unranked Gaels, but went on to beat the #4 Cougars.
Alhambra lost to #4 Campolindo, and then beat Acalanes ( a middle of the pack DFAL team who had a win over them earlier in the season).
I would think Campolindo might fall to 6 and Miramonte would go up to 5, but it is very hard to predict how all of these wins and loss will affect the polls. However, I do believe Miramonte and Campolindo have solidified byes in the NCS standings with their wins this week.
Too early to tell? My predictions with 2 weeks remaining for DFAL play. (1 and 2 given if Miramonte wins DFAL. If Campo were to take it, they would become 1 and Miramonte 2).
1. Miramonte
2. Campolindo
3. Analy
4. Alhambra
5. Drake
6. Dublin
7. Acalanes
8. Navato
9. El Cerrito
10. Albany
11. Encinal
12. San Marin
With the exception of maybe Drake and Analy, the rest of NCS division 3 teams do not seem to match up too well with the top 5 teams from the dfal.
This loss for the Dogs will send them off the top 15 list for good. It's hard to believe that a team with this much talent got destroyed by Las Lomas.
The loss of Cassella to injury is really showing now.
Agreed. LL loss could really impact NCS seeding, although the opportunity for redemption is coming -- Alhambra at Miramonte on 5/14 (last game of DFAL regular season), likely Waterman and Kjar on the mound. Should be a good one.
(Miramonte DV game) Miramonte played a lazy game. They assumed they had it easy and it almost cost them. With that being said, they proved they were good enough to kick it into gear (after 8 innings of careless/poor performance) and get a win. Hats off to DV for playing tough the whole game. For a team with no seniors, they play very composed. It will be interesting to see what that program can do in the next couple years.
To update on the Miramonte - Alhambra game today: Miramonte over Alhambra 4-0. Even though the score was not a blowout, they won pretty handly. With that win it looks like Miramonte takes the DFAL crown. Congrats to the Matadors and their success in DFAL play.
Miramonte beat Alhambra 4-1. Alhambra never posed any threat at all.
As for NCS, I wouldn't look to Alhambra to cause any trouble. This team is not playing well and team chemistry is just not there. Infield has trouble making routine plays, offence has trouble getting key hits.
The only bright spot is their pitching, but with poor defence and lackluster hitting, look for them exit in the first round.
How about Dougherty topping Dublin 1-0 yesterday in a pitcher's duel? Wilson and Martinez are two solid young hurlers who we'll be hearing a lot about in the coming years.
While it is obvious that Campolindo had a much better strength of schedule than Miramonte, it is impossible for them to take the league title. Miramonte's record 10-2 is a game better than Campolindo's 9-3. Even if Campolindo and Miramonte had both finished 9-3, Miramonte would have won the tie breaker with a second half win over the Cougars.
All that being said, I would have absolutely expected Campolindo to get the better seed over Miramonte in NCS if they had tied for the DFAL crown at 9-3 (tougher opponents, especially in tournament play). But they will not be able to be seeded higher than the Mats since Miramonte claims sole possession of the league title.
I think DV over Dublin is very surprising. Dont take it the wrong way, I think DV plays with a lot of heart and are very talented for a young team, but they took out a dublin team that has got a win from Miramonte and a win from Campolindo. Unfortunately with that loss, Dublin will slip from contention of the 5-6 seed to probably the 7,8, even 9 seed.
Correct me if im wrong, but I bet Alhambra will be arguing for a higher seed than Dublin. They split their league series with the gaels and they have a better overall record. It will be interesting to see how the ncs decides which of the 2 should be seeded higher.
Another prediction- campo seeded higher than analy. Yes, analy has a great record (equal to campo). Yes they do have a tough division with Petuluma and Casa Grande (both d2 teams). But Campolindo has a tougher league opponent for oppenent. There are no d4 teams in DFAL. Campolindo also chose a very tough non league tournament to play in, which they won. I believe that the overall competition Campolindo had to face on a day to day basis is tougher. Thus, I give campo the 2 seed.
I call:
1. Miramonte 20-3-1(DFAL Champs - almost always given the 1 spot), 2. Campolindo 20-4(DFAL runner up, very strong strength of schedule, split 1-1 with the Mats), 3. Analy 20-4 (good rpi as well, however, East Bay baseball should get the nod over the northern area, Sonoma League runner up) 4. Drake19-5 (next best record, 2nd place Marin County League). 5. Alhambra 16-8 (6/8 losses came from DFAL opponents) 6. El Cerrito 15-9 (2 wins over Albany). 7. Albany 16-8 (league composed of mostly division 4 teams. Did not beat many d-3 teams) 8. Dublin 14-10(not as good of a record as some of the lower seeds, but they had to deal with DFAL and chose to play some tough non conferance games i.e. bishop gorman tourny) 9. Novato 15-10 (placed 4th in league. 10. Del Norte 15-10 (sorry - teams they played were not very good). 11. Hercules 12-10 (barely qualifies/weak rpi) 12. Kennedy (fremont) 9-14 - (only other team to qualify in division 3.. lucky number 5 seed).
I agree with GameDay08's top four seeds. I think only the BCS and maybe the NCAA basketball seeding committee would seed a runner-up higher than a league champ based on overall strength of schedule. I would be really surprised if Miramonte is not the #1 seed. The fact that Campolindo has a reasonable argument for #1 speaks more to deserving the #2 seed in front of Analy.
Great year for the DFAL (although I still miss College Park and Northgate, who would have made it even more interesting).
Analy is playing in their league torunament championship game against Sonoma Valley, who upset the regular season winner, Casa Gande. If Analy wins they are the league champ, and will get a home game thorughout the payoffs until the championship. If they win, it doesn't matter if campo gets the 2 seed, Campo will have to travel to Analy for the semi final game. Doesn't really seem fair to me.
Tuesday, May 19 No. 8 El Cerrito (15-9) at No. 9 Albany (16-8), 5 p.m. No. 12 Del Norte (15-11) at No. 5 Analy (21-4), 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 20 No. 10 Piner-Santa Rosa (11-13) at No. 7 Novato (15-10), 5 p.m. No. 11 Kennedy-Fremont (9-14) at No. 6 Alhambra (16-8), 5 p.m. Quarterfinals (May 22-23) El Cerrito/Albany winner at No. 1 Miramonte (20-3-1), May 22, 5 p.m. Analy/Del Norte winner at No. 4 Dublin (14-10), May 22, 5 p.m. Novato/Piner winner at No. 2 Campolindo (20-4), May 23, 5 p.m. Alhambra/Kennedy winner vs. No. 3 Sir Francis Drake-San Anselmo (20-5) at Albert Field, May 23, 5 p.m."
The comment on Analy as a potential top seed is interesting. Analy has, through its league (Sonoma County) schedule, played and defeated quite a few D-2 schools and some D-1s. Its 20-4 record is virtually identical to Campolindo (20-4) and Miramonte (20-3-1). Analy won a tournament (as did Miramonte and Campolindo). The Tigers did, however, lose to a Division 4 school (Healdsburg), a strike against them.
Strength of schedule, however, would seem to favor Miramonte and Campolindo. Miramonte won a tough DFAL outright (hats off to the Mats for that). Campolindo defeated the ultimate BVAL champion (Freedom) and the Mission Valley champion (Newark Memorial) on its way to winning American's Easter tournament. (I still don't know how Miramonte gets so much credit for winning the Ft. Bragg tournament over D-4 and D-5 competition.)
While not always accurate (and who knows if the seeding committee looks at them), the current state MaxPreps rankings of the three teams illustrate the strength of schedule issue: Campolindo (#90), Miramonte (#94), and Analy (#167). Section rankings (without regard to division) tell a similar story: Campolindo (#10), Miramonte (#11), Analy (#18). MaxPreps rankings of strength of schedule overall (higher number means tougher schedule -- DLS is a 10.6, wow) are 5.4 for Campolindo, 4 for Miramonte and 3.9 for Analy.
MVP: Funk (Dublin), controversial pick no doubt and the closest of calls over Vaccaro (Miramonte) -- check out the stats and then ask who picked Dublin for third with a #4 seed in NCS
Most valuable pitcher: Kjar (Miramonte) -- great year for league champ's workhorse, clinched it with no-no against Campolindo
OFs: Chase (Campo), Epperson (Mira), Matthew (Las Lomas), Stephens (Campo),
Catchers: Paulsen (Mira), Mitchell (Dublin)
Pitchers: Funk (Dublin -- could also be 1st team UTIL, to recognize his bat and good work at 2b), Gold (Campo), Waterman (Alhambra -- also could [should] be UTIL)
UTIL: Funk and Waterman (see above), Treat (Acalanes); McAlpin (Alhambra)
I agree on Chase because of his 5 homeruns, but other 3 players LEAGUE averages are pretty good, but I'm not sure they will be good enough for 1st team. In fact, according to Max Preps Fadelli leads Campo @ .372 in DFALprobably should be 1st team as a shortstop.
If you are evaluating solely on hitting, Mello (Dublin's ss) has a higher batting average and slugging percentage in league games (with fewer ABs), at least according to MaxPreps. Miramonte's stats somehow aren't included if you sort MaxPreps by league games (any conspiracy theories out there?) and my rough calculation of Reuvekamp's batting average in DFAL games places him on par with Fadelli. I agree that Fadelli does deserve consideration.
Kathan is one of the best defensive IFs in the DFAL and that makes up for some points in the batting average but he is likely second team.
Of course, isn't this the point in the year where we get to read multiple posts about scorekeepers and the lack of reliability of cold stats listed on MaxPreps?
I agree with Interested that league play stats should dictate the decision, but reputation and past perfomance clearly affect the decisions. Each coach has a vote for 1st and 2nd team players, but can't vote for their own team. In years past, we have seen some all league selections that were given out for reputation rather than the performance of the current year. There are alot of very good DFAL players who are deserving of 1st team. The pitching selections will be very close. Kjar, Funk, Waterman, Gold, Stevens all have had great seasons, but all can't make first team.
The DFAL is looking good as Alhambra won their first round game. I predict the following:
Quarterfinals:
Miramonte beats El Cerrito in an easy win
Dublin beats Analy behind a gem from Funk
Campo out hits a pesky Novato team.
Sir Francis Drake beats Waterman - Alhambra offense lets them down.
Semifinals:
Dublin doesn't have enough depth on the mound. Miramonte advances to final game.
Sir Francis Drake exposes the losses of Stevens (who could have been the pitcher of the year if he wasn't hurt) and Killeen. SFD advances to the finals.
Finals - Miramonte just has too much firepower for the Marin champion. Mats win another title.
Analy over Dublin 3-2. Looks like Analy may have saved pitching for the gaels (gave up 13 in game 1 to Del Norte, but only 2 runs in game 2?). Dublin and Funk gave up 3 runs early and it looks like thats all Analy needed.
Miramonte over El Cerrito 1-0. Very slow offensive game (Analy 1 hit, Miramonte 5 hits). Looks like the Matadors had opportunities to score, stranding 3 in the first and 5 more throughout the game, but failed to get a big hit (unusual for Miramonte). Kjar didnt look at his best, but still tallied up 12 strikeouts. Miramontes bats have not been hot. But they are still a very hard team to beat, even when they seemingly dont play well.
Miramonte Vs. Analy at Miramonte in the semi finals next week.
Today (predictions - games are not until 5):
Navato at Campolindo - hard to tell with this one. With Killeen and stevens healthy I would give this one to the cougars. but i just dont know the team well enough to know how those losses will affect them. Good wording on the Navato team (pesky). In a 60-40 guess, I say campolindo in a close one.
Alhambra at Drake - Drake beats an inconsistent Alhambra team. Waterman will have another big game, but he cant win by himself. Down the order the Bull Dogs arent deep enough after Waterman and Baseif to compete with the hard hitting drake team. Drake wins 8-3.
Close, but you were 1 for 2. Navato beat Campolindo and Drake beat Alhambra. Looks like the top seeded DFAL went down quickly, leaving only powerhouse Miramonte to win it all and keep the leagues decency.
NCS Semi Finals next week!
Analy at Miramonte (NCS Basketball championship rematch anyone?)
Which league was more over-rated the DFAL or the EBAL? Both have had dismal performances in this years NCS. Look for De la Salle and Miramonte to get knocked off as well.
The EBAL has 2 teams in the Semis, and they play each other, so one will reach the finals at the Coliseum next week. Cal has knocked off two over-rated HAAL teams and DLS beat the winner of the Amador-Foothill (AV) game, so that bracket was loaded with EBAL teams and 3 had to lose, no matter how well they played. SRV and MV both were shut down and lost close games despite good pitching. The Mats are still in it, and could go all the way. Only 2 teams can make the finals, no matter how many good teams are in each league. I think you are reaching to try to denigrate those two leagues. If anything, credit should go to Deer Valley for winning two extra inning games against higher ranked opponents.
With EBAL getting 6 teams in they were guaranteed at leat (1) spot in the semi-finals. (Foothil play Amador and winner playing DLS) The bracket was stacked with EBAL teams. 6 out of 12 teams. SRV lost the last 6 of 7 games and got a spot in NCS. Look at runs scored, SRV and Monta Vista may have great pitching, but their offenses suck. They can not score runs. Put 6 teams out of ANY league in a field of 12 and most would have 2 in the final 4 teams. THIS NO BIG DEAL! The fact is the the EBAL and the CC Times ratings have been telling everyone all year how good they are and they being proven wrong! Maybe SRV will be the pre-season #1 again next year!
Again, give credit to Cal and Deer Valley, who both surprised people winning 2 games, knocking off the #4 & #2 teams and made it into the semifinals with #3 Freedom and #1 DLS who were expected to be there. I do agree that CP should have been in there ahead of SRV though. In the DFAL, Alhambra was the underdog playing on the road, and had already won 1 NCS game, so I don't think they were overrated. Miramonte is still playing. Campo and Dublin lost, but these things happen in the playoffs. That doesn't mean the leagues are overrated. These are two of the better leagues around.
I think the DFAL is a much bigger disappointment than the EBAL.
Miramonte struggled against El Cerrito who wasn't that good, but came away with a victory thansk to Kjar.
Campolindo lost to a Novato team that isn't that good. How do they lose that game at home and not score more runs off of a very mediocre pitching staff.
Dublin lost to Analy who will give Miramonte all they want. This is a bad match up for the Mats as Kjar won't be able to bail them out. I look for Analy to produce the upset as the North Bay has the better D2 and D3 teams this year.
Alhambra beat soundly against a very good Drake team led by Conroy. He will come back and pitch in the D2 final. Look for Drake to win it all.
In D1, look for the winner of Freedom and Deer Valley to win the D1 championship. if Freedom wins Tuesday, Wardell will win the championship for Freedom.
The only EBAL team that is a dissapointment is Monte Vista, as no one really expected Amador, Foothill or SRV to make it to the semifinals. Instead of MV, Cal upset BOD to make it. If Miramonte should win their final two games, then they will save face for the DFAL. The HAAL and MVAL evaporated pretty quickly.
The DFAL is a bigger disappointment than the EBAL. The Campo loss is a perfect example...from what I heard, Gold/Robinson were mediocre at best and the bats were nowhere to be found. Dublin and Alhambra atleast lost to good teams. Go Mats save face for the DFAL.
Agree regarding Campo bats -- with Killeen injury, Campo started 3 freshmen and, at times, it showed. But a no hitter through first 3 innings was not that mediocre. Compare that to Funk and Waterman (both very talented pitchers) who gave up leads early in their NCS games that were never relinquished. So I guess all of the DFAL pitchers other than Kjar were mediocre? Really?
I don't understand why the DFAL has to "save face." (But good luck to the Mats.) This is the play-offs. Anything can (and usually does) happen. We are still looking for Northgate's pre-ordained championship last year and that was a great high school team. Where did College Park (#15 seed in 3a) and Piedmont (2a) come from in 2008? Good teams get hot. Hot teams go cold, stumble, don't play up to their potential, etc.
My mistake giving up 9 runs with one error sounds like a great performance. OH by the way based on your analysis most high school pitchers are great because they throw no hitters for atleast three innings during most games. Go Mats!
Miramonte gets through a very tough emotional day and weekend and pulls out a win vs. Analy 5-1. Miramonte vs winner of Drake/Navato in the championship on saturday. Great job/ great season mats.
Congratulations to Miramonte on a methodical win. Saturdays win will put the icing on a great season. As evidenced by yesterdays game, Vaccaro and Lloyd could join Kjar as first team all league pitchers but John V. will be the MVP, Matt L will be first team utility and Andrew K will be MVP pitcher which makes room for other DFAL pitchers to make the team. Go Mats!!
Yep campo's pitchin' didn't show up. evrtone has a bad start. but to say their starter had a no hitter through 3 is puttin' lipstick on a pig. novato stung the ball for the next2 including a bomb. get over it!
The meet was tonight I think, and I don't believe Townsend for las lomas will get the nod for all league third basemen over LaHonta for Aca or Mann for Miramonte
Vaccaro pitched against the other team's #2 and enjoyed the best run support in the league. You have him rated too high.
Funk had an exceptional year and was critical to Dublin's season-long success. Gold's two losses in league were both 1-0, on the road (against Kjar and Waterman). Waterman, even with three losses in league, was always scary match-up. All rank higher as a pitcher than Vaccaro.
Now add his bat and the glove at first, and Vaccaro is probably the DFAL MVP (good case for Funk but Vaccaro will win) but he is not the #2 pitcher in the DFAL.
GO DFAL - great game today. Kjar was composed and as always effective on the mound. Conroy was a terrific opponent. Congrats to the Mats on a great season. They will miss their seniors, but look to have a great group in the wings.
Interesting debate on the DFAL pitchers but i think we need a couple adjustments. I agree with Jake's analysis but i think we need to add Lloyd behind Waterman and if Stevens from Campo didn't get hurt he could have won the MVP pitcher.
My list was compiled after watching each of these pitchers at least once during the season not on their DFAL league statistics. Correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe Jake asked about All League selections. That said are the All League teams out?
the meeting took place last week, so obviously somebody knows something. but nothing has been published which leaves us to wonder who got what.
as for closure to the dfal 2009 season, here are the final rankings according to maxpreps:
1. Miramonte 10-2 league, 23-3-1 overall, 3rd in section, 20th in state.
2. Campolindo 9-3 league, 20-5 overall, 16th in section, 120th in state.
3. Dublin 8-4 league, 14-11 overall, 43rd in section, 315 in state.
4. Alhambra 6-6 league, 17-9 overall, 22nd in section, 169 in state.
5. Acalanes 5-7 league, 12-12 overall, 38th in section, 290 in state.
6. Dougherty Valley 2-10 league, 9-15 overall, 78th in section, 615 in state.
7. Las Lomas 2-10 league, 5-19 overall, 79th in section, 622 in state.
It was a very competitive year for the dfal, although the final north coast section rankings dont reflect that (probably due to the fact that miramonte was the only team that made it past the quarter final round). It will be interesting to see how the league breaks down next year, think its too early to start talking DFAL 2010? I will let someone else start that conversation.
All League selections have become a joke. 13 or more pitchers as some type of all league? No one has the guts to just pick who deserves the best at their positions. There was a time that only the best made all league players. This goes for all the leagues DFAL, DVAL, BVAL et al. I guess they don't want to hurt anyones feelings. Nice job, as always NCS. Show some guts once in awhile.
Don't really understand how you can have two 2nd team utility players??? In past years that was a kid who pictched and played the field.... oh, and hit for average. Not any more.
How does a player that only had 26 plate appearences, make 1rst team all league DH. This is more a 1rst team pinch hitter candidate, if there was one.
Miramonte is well represented on the first and second all league teams and each of these selections is well deserved. The first team pitchers are lucky Kjar and Vaccaro received MVP honors; otherwise they would have dropped to second team. Also, Dublin seemed to get a lot of picks which is interesting when they don't put their entire league stats on max preps. Hmmmm maybe some home scoring toward the end of the season?
Regarding some of the selections, maybe they should get Gold Gloves instead of all league recognition. Who knows, I think it's time to focus on DFAL Baseball 2010.
Alhambra didn't post their stats as well. With the amount of runs they scored and hits they had from week to week, don't think I would have posted team stats either.
Not sure how they ended up with so many 2nd team players. Waterman, obviously well deserved 1rst team, and their cf Lauro 2nd team, had an all league year.
All league recognition has nothing to do with stats posted on Maxpreps. All such stats whether posted to Maxpreps or not are just there for people that want to read them. Every coach and team has different scoring methods. The coaches vote on all league based on what they saw on the field when they played their teams. Sure, if some coach wants to build up his player's chances and boast his kid hit .500, he would have a better chance, but its not like each of the coaches printed off the Maxpreps stats and voted just off of them. Many teams don't even use them, and some are even posted by parents. Maxpreps stats are great to look at, but you have to take them for what they are.
Most teams, not all, do participate in posting stats to max preps on a game by game basis. Hits runs and errors usually match up fairly close to what happens. If maxpreps has a shortstop hitting .240 and his coach comes to the meeting saying that he really hit .400, that would be a pretty tough sell.
Since it is the only source of game stats, they do use them for comparison. Just like colleges use spinco stats to compare league and state rankings. No, they are not totally accurate, but they give a good indication of where the players stand. The teams that do not participate it posting are the ones that look more suspiscious when lobbying for their particular player.
For those of you who can't get enough of prep baseball, the summer club season kicked off this week. Many of the DFAL and EBAL all league players play for the Danville Hoots. Interesting to watch them all play together. The team includes:
Miramonte: Kjar, Vaccaro, Epperson and Reuvekamp
Campolindo: Killen, Chase, Kathan, Russ
Acalanes: Lahonta
Northgate: Pelayo, Kosturous
EBAL players include Piscotty, David, Kochan, Lemarsh, Eslick and many others.
All league players from DVAL, DFAL, BVAL also play for the Delta Indians, who play the Hoots tonight at San Ramon Valley high at 5:00. Should be a good game. Two very good teams.
Looks like the Hoots Black team carries something around 6 senior D1 committed players and a number of juniors will seemingly get looks and offers this summer. Someone should go out to a game and see how good that team is.
Waterman dominated the Hoots Silver squad for the Indians. Look forward to seeing them play the Black team.
It is early for all these teams as they are still getting to know one another.
Two great games on Sunday, as The Hoots swept a double header winning both games, 3-2 and 5-4 on walk off hits by Deeter (Newark) and Kosturous (NG).
The first game featured a pitching duel between Keane (DLS) and Piscotty (Amador)/Deeter (Newark). Both teams scratched across runs, until the Hoots won in the 8th inning against the Indians relief pitcher.
Second game featured great pitching from Bataska (NG) in relief for the indians and Theofanopolous (Foothill) and Lemarsh (Amador). The Indians rallied for 3 runs in the 7th with the key Sac fly by Bruno, before the Hoots won it in the bottom of the 7th.
Lots of D1 scouts in attendance. These two teams don't face each other until July.
Posted on Thursday, 2/05/2009 - 7:53 a.m. PST — by Deuce24
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
What about Las Lomas?
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Good point!
Miramonte, Alhambra, Campolindo, Acalanes, Dublin, Las Lomas, DV?
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
1-Alhambra or Miramonte: It's hard to say, both teams have 2 #1's
3-Campo always able to scatch out wins
4-Acalanes another team that could scratch out some wins,
5-Las Lomas Torrigino will have a load to carry, not sure who else they have
6- Dublin
7-DV maybe they will surprise us!
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Who is Miramonte's second #1? We know about Kjar. I heard their second starter will likely be Jacobson (isn't he a soph?). He's solid, but not in the class of upperclassman Waterman, Ward, Gold and Kjar. Miramonte's bats will be scary so he should get plenty of run support.
Dubin, with returners like Funk, Zanders and Mello, should finish higher than Las Lomas.
2009 season will be a three-team shoot out among Miramonte, Campolindo and Alhambra.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
You are problably right about Dublin finishing higher then LL. For some reason I thought Funk had graduated. He will be dominate for sure along with Zanders.
I would say that Vaccarro is a second #1 for Miramonte.....and they always seem to have underclassmen that step up and play big.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
1- Miramonte
2-Alhambra
3-Campolindo
4-Dublin
5-Acalanes
6-Las Lomas
7- D.V.
Let the games begin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Mar 2009
Current Posts: 10
I'm sure a lot of you are unaware whether DV is a strong team or not ( as am i ) but i have been to a few of their games and there is potential for them in the dfal. maybe not as strong as i am projecting due to having no seniors on their team this year. but they will not finish last! ... looking forward to see what happens
miramonte,campolindo, alhambra, dougherty valley, acalanes, las lomas, dublin
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
You can say that again.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
This must be a new record of somekind.....
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Steve15, I think the surprise is more likely to be on DV's part about how strong the league is. But I hope you're right because it is much better for all the players if they are competitive.
I love how each year, good number 2 pitchers rise from the depth chart and end up helping their teams.
Both Carson (8k's in four innings against St. Mary's) and Hoffman have been solid for Acalanes.
Casella 3 hits Las Lomas in a complete game (is he number 3?) and pitches well against Concord for Alhambra.
Stevens one hits Justin Sienna in 5 innings for Campolindo.
Miramonte has a bunch of arms behind Kjar and Vacarro. Look out.
The sophomore Martinez pitched well against Terra Linda (7K's) for Dublin.
DFAL 24-4-1 so far this year. Surprisingly strong league or is there some league norm that this league deliberately chooses weaker opponents in the preseason?
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
I guess you could call Casella a 2 1/2. With two #1's and a very strong closer in Mc Calpin, Alhambra is very blessed with pitching this year, again. Casella pitched 3 inns holding Concord to one run on Friday. Another good outing for him.
They also have a very hard throwing sophmore, Stevenson as well. Probably see more Jv action this year with the amount of arms they at this time.
Alhambra 5 Concord 1
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Steve15, you were right about Dougherty Valley. I still don't see them getting to .500, but they are a very solid team (and might get to .500 in DVAL). Solid defense, competent hitting, Jackson is clearly competitive on the mound, well coached. As their program adds depth, it will help a lot. I think they will be in most of their games.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
I think people are underestimating Campo. They have a strong team returning. It seems to me its a two team race between Miramonte and Campo.
1. Campo: returns Chase, Kileen, Fadelli and Kathan, with Gold on the mound. Looking for a #2 pitcher. I give them the nod due to beating Miramonte in NCS playoffs. Plus have the better coach in Luckhurst.
2. Miramonte: Great Lineup with Vaccaro, Epperson, Ruvekamp, and Lloyd. Kjar will be the best picther in the league. Looking for #2 picther as well.
3. Alhambra: Best starting pitching duo in Waterman and Ward. Bezayif is a stud catcher, but they don't have alot after that. They can win low scoring games, but don't have the offense to beat Campo or Miramonte.
4. Dublin: Funk is a very good pitcher. Add in Mello and Zanders and they have a good core. Looking for #2 pitcher.
5. Acalanes: continued rebuilding but a few good players in Treat, Nixon and Lahonton.
6. Los Lomas: ANother bad year again. Don't have Petersen to bail them out this year,
7. Dougherty Valley: WHo knows???
the league won't be as much fun without northgate.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Three teams will battle for the top Campo, Alhambra and Miramonte. I think Alhambra will surprise some people as well.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Anyone see the Dublin, Campolindo, and Miramonte games? Any surprises?
Joined: Apr 2008
Current Posts: 12
Campo 4 - 0 over Concord. Concord starter held the top of the order OK. But we'll have to hit alot better than that to contend. There were a lot of K's from both teams. Concord's starter had 4 - 5, mostly to the top of the order. Someone said he threw against us last year but one of the dads said he didn't pitch last year. Chalk it up to early part of the season. Both starters threw well but Gold dominated. I understand Concord was missing 2 of there starters who both hit well last year. They needed them. Concord's rightfielder looked like a JV player. Score should or could have easily been 1 - 0.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 4
I heard miramonte won 9-0 against redwood and also heard the beat DLS in a scrimmage game but im not sure if thats true?
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 6
Yes mira won 9-0 against redwood last thursday and played de la salle last friday (scrimmage). The final score of the friday game was 9-1 miramonte. kjar was a stud on the bump for the mats and their bats looked hot up and down the order both days. but take into consideration the game was just a scrimmage. im sure if de la salle had left their starters in after the 4th the score would have been closer.
who knows what will happen this season but looks like the dfal should be strong again with every team (including DV-wow) starting non league play with a W (except dublin....).
any word on the campolindo or acalanes games?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 4
I know campo is 2-0 beating concord and some other team. Acalanies is 1-0 and beat San Lorenzo, say what you want but but Acalanies will pull off an upset this year
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Any win is a good win, but San Lorenzo is the Mt D of the Hayward area league. 0-23-1 last year,
Acalanes always finds ways to win, and they could very well pull off some upsets this year.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Is it true that Alex Ward (Alhambra) injured a knee? If so, how long is he out?
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Yes, he hurt his knee in a basketall game in January. The word is he will be healthy in a week or so.
Joined: May 2008
Current Posts: 2
Everybody is under estimating las lomas. I see them at three or four. not five. They have a very solid junior class with standout freshman and a couple seniors. You guys will see. They are going to surprise some people
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
They will need to surprise everyone with Peterson clone to compete for a top spot. Every team looks good and surprising in practice. Game speed is key.
If LL is counting on freshmen to fill there vacant spots, and who have never seen quality varsity pitching, they will need a miralce season to finish 4th.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 4
I say,
1. Miramonte
2. Alhambra
3. Campolindo
4. Acalanes
5. Dublin
6. Los Lomas
7. DV
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 5
mudville
LL and Campo are counting on freshman to fill key spots this year.
It will be interesting to see how that works for them.
Alhambra will be a force. Miramonte will be strong but some holes to fill. Acalanes will definitely be a contender.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Who will pitch for the Dons? Campo's pitching is infinitely stronger than Acalanes.
As for freshmen, last year, Campo used a freshman catcher (and four soph starters) and finished second in the DFAL. Dublin had a freshman SS (a "key" spot), finishing higher than Acalanes. The freshmen test is not working for me.
Acalanes has a brutal pre-season schedule. Let's see where they are on March 20 (after playing the likes of College Park, Northgate, St. Mary's and more).
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Holy cow! Acalanes has got some work to do. Brutal pre season schedule is an understatement.
Nothing wrong with playing strong teams. If they can hang in there with these teams, it will only make them better.
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 6
"Miramonte will be strong but some holes to fill. "
Miramonte only lost one starter from last years team.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 5
mudville
I believe Miramonte lost their starting catcher and shortstop? And who will play 3rd base? I hear they are moving guys around.
Acalanes has a strong pitcher in Hoffman. Don't know who else they will use. They have good bats with LaHonta, Avery, etc. Their sophomore short stop Heptig should be a great addition to Varsity.
It will be a fun run watching Alhambra, Miramonte, Campo AND Acalanes!
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Respectfully, how can you predict that "Acalanes will definitely be a contender" when you don't know who their #2 pitcher will be?
Last year proved (again) that the strength of the #2 pitcher is a critical part of season success. Las Lomas had Dave Peterson, the hands-down best pitcher in the league (yes, I know he lost to Acalanes) and ultimate Most Valuable Pitcher and still never contended for the DFAL title (or even the top three or four spots). Alhambra has the outstanding 1-2 punch of Waterman (Senior, 8 wins in '08) and Ward (Junior - he'll be back for DFAL play). Miramonte has Kjar (Sr., 9 wins in '08) with Llloyd (Sr.), Jacobson (Soph) and Vaccaro (Sr.). Campo has Gold (Sr., 9 wins in '08), with Russ (Jr.), Stevens (Sr.) and Robinson (Sr.). Each of these three staffs has at least one returning all-league starter.
Acalanes will be improved over last year but without pitching depth, they will find it difficult to compete for the top.
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 6
Miramonte 10 - San Marin 5
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 4
Following Hoffman Acalanes will also have carson and avery. However Acalanes tough preseason will show how much they have changed.
LL- yes Peterson was the best in the league but defense is half the game and has no one to carry them this year leaving them near the bottom.
Alhambra- no doubt with have best duo in DFAL with Waterman and Ward (who is only a junior).
Miramonte has Kjar, did a great job last year and did what he needed to do with little pitching relief and will contend to be one of the best pitchers in the league with great bats in the order of Epperson, Vaccaro, Reuvakamp, and Lloyd for their last year.
Campolindo- with have Gold a very good pitcher and will have good bats from returning juniors (Kathan, Fidelli, etc.)
-Dublin will have Funk and their "star" shortstop Mello who is a soph and zanders in center.
DV..... who knows?
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Looks like Hoffman is Acalanes horse - First the three inning "W" (doesn't it take 4 for a starter?), then three days later gets the next start. What happened to Beechcroft?
Plus Lahonta goes deep in the cold, impressive.
Why doesn't Dublin win more games? Seems to have a solid core of players, although not the depth of hitting. Who is the number two this year - Krause? Can Mello pitch? Someone new coming up?
I know it's early, but it looks like I underestimated Campo. They've got six or 7 guys over 300, not including Fidelli and Chase who I think were all league last year. Plus, they've got 4 guys that are listed on the roster as just pitchers. Ouch.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Looks like Hoffman is Acalanes horse - First the three inning "W" (doesn't it take 4 for a starter?)
Box score had him coming out with one out in the 6th.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Deuce24 is referring to Hoffman's 3-inning outing against San Lorenzo on 2/21. It was a 7-inning game (at least that's what the box score shows) and Deuce24's point is that normally 4 innings are required for the starter to earn a win.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
My bad, thought he was talking about wed. game.....
Any word from LL vs. Alhambra ?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Miramonte 8 - Hogan 2
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Looks like they'll be tough. Do you know who pitched? Who hit?
Why doesn't Miramonte put stats up on Maxpreps? Is it coach trying to be secretive? No parents to help (hard to believe in Orinda)? Philosophical (Play for the W, not the stats sort of thing)? Technophobe?
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 6
They do post their stats:
3 wins, no losses
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
cute
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
Acalanes took a beating at the hands of Northgate, 11 -0. Carson started for Acalanes and had a tough day against the NG bats. Bataska tossed 5 innings of 1 hit ball, and Pelayo, Kosturos and Mertz delivered big hits.
Big difference in talent between these two teams. Acalanes will have a tough time competing against the top of the DFAL.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
Wasn't Bataska playing in the NorCal basketball game Tuesday night? Did he throw 5 innings and then go on to the hardcourt?
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
Chris Bataska only plays baseball. His twin brother Matt, who is also on Northgate's baseball team, was playing on the basketball team. Yes, there are two of them. Double the fun.
Joined: Jan 2009
Current Posts: 6
Miramonte 3 Serra 4
One of the best games ive seen in a long time. Serra started off 2-0 after a 2 innings. Miramonte then tied it up in the 4th, then took the lead in the 5th. Mira then led going into the bottom of the 7th, but Serra walked and had 2 hits for a walk of win. Kjar was a stud once again. Watch out for the Matadors.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
I know they lost Bourgein (2nd Base). Everyone else returns I'm pretty sure.
They definitely only had 5 seniors last year... But he was the only starter. No doubt, he will be missed.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 3
St. Mary's coach just got fired today, so maybe Acalanes will catch a break on Thursday if it doesn't rain
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Did Concord and Acalanes get there game in yesterday?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 3
Acalanes beat Concord today 6-4
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
good wins today for dfal by the dons and cougs
acalanes over concord, looks like they are on the right path thus far.
looks like campo won big over kennedy, but not much of a suprise there.
wonder how DV did against valley christian?
whats the deal with alhambra and las lomas starting their games so late? campolindo, miramonte, DV will have 3 games and acalanes will have played 2 by the time they get their first game in?
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
It looks like Alhambra scheduled scrimmages instead of games because of the basketball schedule. With three key players on the court, could be the reason for there late game starts.
The baseball team wasn't to disapointed when the basketball team didn't make ncs.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
LL-8 Oakland tech-3
Oakland tech is a JV team at best. They have some good players, but lack pitching and quality coaching.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Heritage - 3 Alhambra -0
One hitter for Heritage pitcher. Great job!
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Waterman started off shakey, walking first two batters, leaving fastball up, a lot of breaking balls bouncing (Bezayiff is sore today, I'll bet). But he settled down.
Heritage starter's slider was tough to hit. They looked tough all around.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Heritage did play good defence.
Their third baseman stole a hit from the Alhambra lead off hitter. The line drive appeared to be past him when he made the diving grab. Just a fantastic play.
Heritage starter is probably sore today as well. He threw a countless number of breaking balls, keeping Alhambra hitters off balance.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Alhambra 4 Northgate 1
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
What a great game. 2-1 game until the 7th when Alhmabra put it to bed with 2 extra runs, one of which was a towering home run by Waterman. Cassella with another strong outing holding the powerful Northgate offence to only 1 run.
Looks like the Times East Bay Poll came out one day to early!
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Washington - 7 Campolindo - 1
Alhambra - 5 El Cerrito - 0
Joined: Nov 2007
Current Posts: 9
Does the DFAL have any players commited to play next year? Where is Waterman going?
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
League play starts and no posts?
Dublin over Alhambra. Is this a surprise?
Campolindo over Daugherty Valley.
Acalanes over Las Lomas.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Dublin over Alhambra -
Funk is very, very good. If he gets run support, he'll be tough to beat. but thats a big if. While Dublin holds a few good hitters, it is not even in the realm of the top teams in the league.
Alhambra... Might be what everyone thought all along. No hitting. Has possibly the best pitching tandem in the league, but that wont matter if they arent getting any run support. Why didnt Ward or Waterman start yesterday?
Campolindo over DV -
Campo is a team to be reckoned with. Many returning players and a solid pitching staff.
DV might not be as weak as everyone suspects. It looks like they were in the game with Campo until the 6th. I dont think they will touch the top of the league. And they might not even touch the 4 or 5 spot. But they seem like the type of team that is good enough to pull off an upset if they arent taken seriously.
Acalanes over Las Lomas -
Acalanes - young again. but more talented this year. they should play some good games and compete in the middle of the pack. dont know much about their pitching or hitting other than Lahonta and Treat.
Las Lomas - Lots of unknowns. Peterson carried the team on his back last year. That will not be a luxery they enjoy this year. If no one steps up, they could be in for a long year.
Thursday's predictions
Miramonte 9 - Dublin 2
Campolindo 5 - Alhambra 0
Acalanes 4 - DV 2
LL - Bye
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Alhambra - 1 Campo - 0
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
wow
1-1 now
Miramonte 12 - Dublin 4
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
good job 2-1
Acalanes 10 DV 2
I think the pick of the week was from the DVAL thread, a guy picked CP over Northgate 5-3, the final was CP 10 Nortgate 5. WOW. Go figure that one.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Sounds like CP is getting stronger every year, while NG doesnt seem to have the same swagger they had last year. Dont get me wrong, I still think they are a very good team, just not as good as last year. Its too bad the old DFAL is split up now.
Any games to watch next week? Thoughts about the season thus far?
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
I don't think that Northgate is playing up to their potential yet, but they had better hurry up.
College Park is just picking up from where they left off last year, winning games in one fashion or another, somehow. They did just get another player "released" to play, and inserted into the line up only to hit a home run.
As for next week
Biggest game ; Campo vs. Miramonte
anybodys guess game; LL vs. DV
should be a good game; Acalanes vs. Alhambra
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Northgate seems to be missing that elusive chemistry that seems to matter to high school baseball teams. Look to the seniors. Miramonte seems to have it.
Dublin played Miramonte tough till they had to go too deep in their pitching. They will be a dangerous team as the season goes on and their pitching can go deeper. They have enough good hitters that they will always score some runs.
The pitchers duel of Waterman and Gold must have been something to watch.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
I agree Ng better hurry up. They were set back by having 6 basketball players make the NorCal tournament, and have had several players playing out of position. Pelayo being out for a week with a concussion and missing the Alhambra game didn't help. A bye on Tuesday will help sort out some position changes. They are not making the infield plays they did last year and are missing the key hits to drive in runs. They are leaving 10 runners on base a game.
I suspect they will hit their stride soon with so much talent back, but it will bumpy until then. They have until next Thursday when they play Clayton and then go to Santa Maria for a big spring break tournament.
Hats off to College Park, they flat beat NG. It also helped having the bye on Tuesday and having the CP coaches there to scout NG. Coleman did a great job in preparing his team.
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 1
Are you kidding me? Five of these seniors started for Dublin last year in their 3-0 shutout win over Miramonte at the Colisium last year and won the league as freshman. The sophmore class is outstanding as they also won Frosh league.
Dublin is sitting in league @ spring break lead heading into tough Bishop Gorman tourney in Vegas. May want to consider giving the Gaels their props.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Im not exactly sure which post your referring to, since I did not rank teams in my last one. But I guess with teams about to start tournament ball and the first half winding down, now would be a good time to rank the baseball I have seen.
DFAL
1. Miramonte 4-1 (11-2-1) - In my opinion, the best all around team in the DFAL. Losses to Serra and Campolindo.. But they have a lot of big name players and A LOT of experience. The numbers thus far for this team are outstanding (in pitching and hitting). I think they will have to beat themselves in order not to get the top seed in NCS.
2. Dublin 4-1 (9-4) - Close call between the Gaels and the Cougars, but with the Gaels beating the Cougs I dont have much choice. They have played every team extremely well (yes this includes their 12-4 loss at Miramonte, which was a much better game than the score indicates). Look for them to make a run at the DFAL title in the Second Half. A repeat of the first half (with a win over Miramonte) would almost guarantee them the title (this is assuming Miramonte loses to Campolindo again)
3. Campolindo 3-2 (11-3) - Again, very possible 2 seed. Although I have them at 3 in league, Ill bet this team gets a higher seed in NCS playoffs than Dublin. Strong junior class with some pitching depth. Great win over James Logan last week (phenomenal games by Chase and Kathan). Will absolutely make a run at NCS title. Need to beat Alhambra in 2nd half.
4. Alhambra 2-2 (11-4) - Slightly disappointing thus far, but I still consider them a good team (record shows that). They will have to get a win against the Matadors after the break if they would like to stay in the hunt.
5. Acalanes 3-3 (9-7) - Big win over Granada last week. Has played every team very close. Will sneak up on some "top teams" and get a win or two in those games.
6. DV 1-3 (7-7) - Too young. Can play ball, but not with the top 5 teams. We will see how they do next year when they have a senior class.
7. Las Lomas 0-5 (3-11) - Can actually hit a little bit, but again, not in the same realm as the top 5 teams. I think they will win a league game at some point this season, but dont ask me when. I think it will be more of the other teams loss than their own win if you know what Im saying.
Where are teams playing their mid season tournaments? any results? predictions? A little reminder the season is more than half way over, its about time to start formulating some opinions!
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Dublin has proved to be a very strong team. Nice to see they are starting to get noticed in the East Bay Poll. Martinez has been the surprise there that puts them in contention.
DFAL off to a strong start in tournament. The rest of the week should be interesting as most of the teams are playing against some strong opponents in the tournaments.
Alhambra over St. Mary's, Acalanes over Granada, Campolinda over Newark Memorial (not James Logan); all might have raised eyebrows in some circles.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Who are the most feared hitters in DFAL?
My nominations are:
Vaccaro (M)
Lahonta (A)
Funk (D)
Epperson (M)
Killeen (C)
Waterman (A)
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Good list. Vaccaro #1, others listed certainly belong.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Campolindo wins tournament.
Miramonte wins tournament.
Alhambra wins tournament.
Acalanes places third.
DFAL is competitive with any of the leagues in the area.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Campolindo 13-3 @ #5
Miramonte 14-2-1 @ #6
Alhambra 13-4 @ #13
Impressive showing by DFAL teams.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Campolindo crushed Las Lomas today -
Chase with 3 home runs, OH MY GOD. And 5 total HR for the cougs. Campolindo is looking great and has established some solid pitching and a very good line up. They do, however, have 3 tough games in a row with Alhambra, Dublin, Miramonte. Should be a real proving ground.
Good luck to Las Lomas trying to recover from that one. Not much else to say about this team anymore. Same old same old.
Miramonte over Alhambra -
Thought Waterman might give the mats their 3rd loss but miramonte was too tough. Kjar pitched another gem. Miramontes hitting is absolutely phenomenal. Cap it off with 2 aces in kjar and vaccaro and give them 2 hard throwing relievers in Lloyd and Jacobson and ill give you the team to beat. They also had to face possibly the 3 other toughest teams in league these 2 weeks. They will finish off the stand with Dublin and Campolindo next week, but give them the nod over Alhambra today. They will have to win the next 2 in league to take it all. Proving ground for those guys (mira) as well.
Tough loss for Alhambra. Waterman is a stud. I look for this team to rebound and win at least once against either dublin or campolindo. Dublin will see Alhambra without Waterman (as he pitched today), but i still see the Dogs winning this one as they still have Ward (what a duo that is).
Didnt hear anything of Dublin - DV.. But im assuming Dublin won. Any thoughts on first half?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Vaccaro and Epperson have got to be the 2, with vaccaro taking it.
Both hit over .460 last year. Both are d1 commits. Both slugging over .750 thus far this year. And they hit back to back. Sorta sucks for the opposing pitcher if you ask me.
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
How is Chase (Campolindo) not on that list?
And what about Bazaef (spelling?) - the Alhambra catcher? He is a great hitter too.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
Looks like DV made a game of it and scared the daylights out of the Gaels.
Dublin 9, Dougherty Valley 8 (9 inn.)
Dougherty Valley 030 203 000— 8 9 3
Dublin 060 002 001— 9 8 0
Jackson, Wilson (6) and Farris, Wilson (3); Perryman, Silky (4), Palomares (6), Corrales (6), Funk (7) and Mitchell. WP: Funk. LP: Wilson. Records: Dublin 11-7, 5-1; Dougherty Valley 7-10, 1-5. 2B: Gee (DV), Hartshorn (Dub), Gallup (Dub), Funk (Dub). 3B: Wynne (Dub). RBI: Gee (DV) 2, Wilson (DV), Jackson (DV), Brown (DV) 2, Fahey (DV), Zanders (Dub), Digirolamo (Dub) 2, Hartshorn (Dub) 2, Wynne (Dub), Funk (Dub).
Highlights: Dub: Digirolamo singled in winning run w/no outs.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Miramonte has 4 D1 players committed, I think.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
I cant confirm or deny that number, but it doesn't surprise me. Miramonte definitely has a strong team this year. It looks like they finally have a core group of seniors which is something theyve seemed to lack to the past couple years. We will have to see how they fair in there up coming games vs campolindo, acalanes, and alhambra.
Dublin also looks very, very good. Not a bad 1,2 for their pitching staff, and it seems like they returned a fair number of guys who know how to win games. The offense is strong, but just wait til it gets hot. I think they will absolutely contend for the top of the league.
CP lost a big arm in sidhu, but it doesnt sound like they even noticed. Their win against NG shows their strength. Did any DFAL teams play them in pre-season?
Predictions for Tuesdays Games:
Miramonte 8 - Campolindo 5 - short park, big bats on both sides means it should be high scoring. Too bad Gold was used thursday, that would have made this one completely up in the air.
Las Lomas 4 - DV 1 - Not confident in this one, but i dont think DV has had a tough schedule means anything could happen. LL played alhambra tough. I give them the nod. but prove me wrong
Alhambra 3 - Acalanes 0 - Ward or Waterman, enough said. Acalanes is much improved and looks good this year. But I dont think they are deep enough to come away with this W, especially at this point in the season
Dublin - Bye
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
I know Miramonte has 2 D1 commitments with Vaccarro (UCSB Scholarship) and Epperson (UCSB - recruited walk on). Who else?
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Acalanes 4 Alhambra 3 (Carson gem -- Dons starting to look like real deal?)
Campolindo 4 Miramonte 3 (8 innings -- GWRBI from freshmen 3B Marvel)
Anyone got Las Lomas-DV?
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
DV over Las Lomas handily.
Why is Acalanes playing Miramonte on Wed? Acalanes may be getting Miramonte at a vulnerable time after the heartbreaker to Campolindo. Miramonte has so many seniors that it's hard to imagine, but a loss could really put their season into a tailspin.
Will Funk move to Thursday after the bye? If so, a Funk (Dublin) vs Gold (Campolindo) matchup could be a great game.
Hard to see Las Lomas upsetting Alhambra, but I didn't see Acalanes getting to Waterman. Anyone see that 4th inning?
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 1
Funk will not be pitching against Gold today under any circumstances. Apparently Gold's attitude and temper have once again hurt the team. Because of an incident at practice this week Gold has been banished to street clothes for two weeks, and rightfully so. He is well known for being a me me me guy and not a team guy. Campolindo has a lot of talent, but lack of being a "TEAM" will hurt them come playoff time. Will Gold's "teammates" want to play behind him?
Looks like today it will be the senior Robinson and junior Russ against Dublin. Both have been throwing well. Could be a low scoring game depending on who throws for Dublin.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
That is a big blow to Campo. You sure didn't see them not playing as a team against Alhmambra. They were hitting the ball hard, but right at the defence and Gold pitched awsome.
A mental injury of sorts. Hope things get better for them.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Tuesday:
Campolindo over Miramonte in a fenominal extra inning game. It reminded me of a playoff game (or an NCS championship game perhaps). Both teams played well, though it was definitely a pitchers duel for the majority of the game. Hats off to Campolindo for pulling out a close one.
Acalanes over Alhambra. Quite a shocker. But the Dons are definitely making a name for themselves. They look like a good team and were undefeated to this point. They dont stand out in one aspect or another but seem to be well coached and into their season. No severe criticisms of the Alhambra team other than it lacks a strong offense. Ward and Waterman will have to dominate it seems like. This game shows that the DFAL is up for grabs this year as the middle of the pack is certainly competing with the top at this point.
DV over Las Lomas. Didnt catch this game, but looks like DV took it fairly easily.
Wednesday
Miramonte over Acalanes. A very very close game, which Miramonte featured a come from behind win in the bottom of the 7th. Miramonte left a lot of runners on base and didnt take advantage of big hits at times. Acalanes looks like a good ball club this year. While I dont see them taking league or even 2nd or 3rd, they are definitely good enough to get some big wins against the powerhouses this year (Campolindo, Miramonte, Alhambra). Hats off to the Dons for a good game. Wag of the finger to the Mats for not letting go of their extra inning Tuesday loss until very late in the Wednesday game.
THURSDAY
Dublin 5 - Campolindo 1. The cougars struggled without Gold today as they let up 5 runs in the first. While i still believe them to be the 1 or 2 contender for league this year, their loss today puts them at 2 losses thus far in league. I would say look for them to rebound in their next games, but without Gold: they will have to go through American, Acalanes, and Newark. Could be a tedious stretch for a pitching staff missing its ace. Dublin is looking very good thus far. There only loss in league came at the hands of the big Miramonte bats (12-4). But even then it was without Gold and they held tough until the 4th when Miramonte blew it open. I think they will take 4th, or maybe even 3rd if Alhambra cant find run support. What a success story this team is this year.
Anyone see Alhambra - Las Lomas?
So far in league:
Acalanes 3-1
Miramonte 2-1
Dublin 2-1
Campolindo 2-2
Alhambra 1-2 (missing score from todays game)
DV 1-2
Las Lomas 0-2 (missing score from todays game)
LOOKS TO BE UP FOR GRABS
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Alhambra 9 Las Lomas 0
Casella with another strong outing. In trouble a couple times, but some good defence helped him out.
The offence finally came to life and put up some numbers. Waterman with a chance to hit for the cycle, but was hit by pitch in his last at bat.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 5
mudville
You must mean Dublin missed Funk (not Gold) for the Miramonte v. Dublin game.
Great recap by the way.
Acalanes does look strong. Their bats need to be more consistent, but they are playing great defense, under good coaching by Dowling. They were really on this week.
Miramonte v. Campo - always a "playoff" type game. Two rivals, games can never be called until it is over. Kjar was a stud on the mound - as always. Stevens pitched a great game too.
Dublin is a strong team, they aren't going to roll over.
Interesting to see Acalanes v. Campo (without Gold), next week, but Stevens and Robinson are pitching well, as is Russ.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
What's wrong with Campo's Gold? Arm problems?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 3
Gold didn't feel like running with the other pitchers so when Robinson came in to tell him to start working, Gold punched Robinson in the face. Suspended from the team for two weeks or something.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Assuming you have your facts correct (a big assumption), whatever happened to certain things staying internal to the team? Some posters have no class. Why don't you talk about substance abuse suspensions and academic ineligibility here too? These are kids.
As has been mentioned over on the DVAL board, that is not what these forums are for.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
I agree. Team issues should stay with the team, not be broadcast to the public. Feelings get hurt, team uinity is compromised and jobs are lost from information that is leaked from team rooms.
Joined: Feb 2007
Current Posts: 36
you must know that these facts are correct so why play this game? this is pretty much common knowledge.
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Current Posts: 99
I do not know that these facts are true. The point is, that this is not the place to air your teams dirty laundry.
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Current Posts: 73
Agreed.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
While I have heard this same story from multiple people, I have to agree that these boards should not be used to trash young players names. They are just kids. You can make the argument that incident like this involving physical violence (again assuming its accurate) is a big deal. But the players should be left out of it. They are amature athletes. They are not being paid to play. They only play for the love of the game.
That all being said, I am assuming that the posts originated because not having the particular player in question damages that teams ability to win, and thus in analyzing games over the last two weeks, the discussion revolved around teams having the luxury of getting through Campolindo without this player on the mound. Either way, I say we move on, and start talking real baseball again.
Tuesday Games (rain rain rain):
Acalanes v Dublin postponed til wednesday
Miramonte v Las Lomas postponed til friday
DV v Alhambra postponed til thursday
Wednesday Games:
Acalanes 0 - Dublin 3
Miramonte 7 - DV 0
Thursday Game:
Acalanes v Campolindo - Interesting to see how the cougar arms will be holding up short staffed... Acalanes is a good ball club and has played well thus far, but we will have to see if they are good enough to beat the very strong Campolindo squad.
DV v Alhambra - I'm taking Alhambra, simply because they are an older, probably better team. Although they have been inconsistent (notable loss vs acalanes), I still think they will pull this one out. But better bring their A game, they cant afford another loss as they still have Miramonte left on their first half league schedule.
Friday Game:
Las Lomas v Miramonte - Probably will be a blowout game (Mira over LL). Miramonte's bats were ice cold last week, but still scored 7 runs and went 1-1 (extra inning loss to campolindo). However with break over, there bats have heated back up as they compiled 13 hits against DV. Las Lomas continues to struggle.. I dont know the team well enough to make any analysis or suggestions other than a win against Miramonte would be a huge turning point in their season.
Joined: Apr 2008
Current Posts: 33
Concord just hammered Acalanes in the Willie Stargell Classic 12-4. Alexander with the win and Junta closed the game with a 1-2-3 7th.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Dublin 3 Miramonte 2 Dublin continues to play strong
Campo 3 Alhambra 2 Big surprise that Alhambra out-hit Campo but 4 Dog errors. Maybe a glove for their spikes could help!
Acalanes 1 DV 0 Wow, obviously could have gone either way.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Miramonte 1 Campo 0 Kjar no hitter! That is impressive, Campo can hit.
Alhambra 3 Acalanes 2 Soph Stephenson with another win, will be a # 1 for Alhambra in the near future
LL 3 DV 2 Another tough one run loss for DV. The battle of the bottom is heating up.
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
Its interesting to see how this will affect the East Bay Polls. Going into this week. Campolindo was 4, Miramonte was 6th, and Alhambra was 13th. I dont recall seeing Dublin on the list.
Dublin went 1-0 on the week, with a big win over #6 Miramonte
Campolindo went 1-1 beating the always tough #13 Alhambra, then falling to # 6 Miramonte
Miramonte went 1-1 while falling to Funk and the unranked Gaels, but went on to beat the #4 Cougars.
Alhambra lost to #4 Campolindo, and then beat Acalanes ( a middle of the pack DFAL team who had a win over them earlier in the season).
I would think Campolindo might fall to 6 and Miramonte would go up to 5, but it is very hard to predict how all of these wins and loss will affect the polls. However, I do believe Miramonte and Campolindo have solidified byes in the NCS standings with their wins this week.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Too early to tell? My predictions with 2 weeks remaining for DFAL play. (1 and 2 given if Miramonte wins DFAL. If Campo were to take it, they would become 1 and Miramonte 2).
1. Miramonte
2. Campolindo
3. Analy
4. Alhambra
5. Drake
6. Dublin
7. Acalanes
8. Navato
9. El Cerrito
10. Albany
11. Encinal
12. San Marin
With the exception of maybe Drake and Analy, the rest of NCS division 3 teams do not seem to match up too well with the top 5 teams from the dfal.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Big week so far and no posts?
Campolindo over Dublin 4-2 in 10 (Funk good for Gaels, Gold outstanding in 5 innings of 1-hit relief)
Las Lomas with HUGE upset over Alhambra. Highlight of season for Knights. 13 hits! But they still have to play Miramonte today.
Miramonte stays in command, pulling away late from Acalanes. CG 2-hitter from Matt Llloyd a strong sign for Mats.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
This loss for the Dogs will send them off the top 15 list for good. It's hard to believe that a team with this much talent got destroyed by Las Lomas. The loss of Cassella to injury is really showing now.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Agreed. LL loss could really impact NCS seeding, although the opportunity for redemption is coming -- Alhambra at Miramonte on 5/14 (last game of DFAL regular season), likely Waterman and Kjar on the mound. Should be a good one.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
very true.
thursdays games saw
dublin 12 over acalanes 0
miramonte 17 over las lomas 2
alhambra/dv?
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Miramonte dodges a huge bullet against DV. Can anyone who saw it fill us in?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
(Miramonte DV game) Miramonte played a lazy game. They assumed they had it easy and it almost cost them. With that being said, they proved they were good enough to kick it into gear (after 8 innings of careless/poor performance) and get a win. Hats off to DV for playing tough the whole game. For a team with no seniors, they play very composed. It will be interesting to see what that program can do in the next couple years.
To update on the Miramonte - Alhambra game today: Miramonte over Alhambra 4-0. Even though the score was not a blowout, they won pretty handly. With that win it looks like Miramonte takes the DFAL crown. Congrats to the Matadors and their success in DFAL play.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Will Miramonte get the top seed from DFAL win or will Campo's strength of schedule overcome it?
Will Dublin get the respect they deserve or will their inconsistency get penalized?
Analy has a very good record against mostly larger schools - could that get them a 1 or 2 seed?
With the right seed, Alhambra could be trouble - is there anyone else that could sneak up on the leaders?
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Miramonte beat Alhambra 4-1. Alhambra never posed any threat at all.
As for NCS, I wouldn't look to Alhambra to cause any trouble. This team is not playing well and team chemistry is just not there. Infield has trouble making routine plays, offence has trouble getting key hits.
The only bright spot is their pitching, but with poor defence and lackluster hitting, look for them exit in the first round.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
How about Dougherty topping Dublin 1-0 yesterday in a pitcher's duel? Wilson and Martinez are two solid young hurlers who we'll be hearing a lot about in the coming years.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
While it is obvious that Campolindo had a much better strength of schedule than Miramonte, it is impossible for them to take the league title. Miramonte's record 10-2 is a game better than Campolindo's 9-3. Even if Campolindo and Miramonte had both finished 9-3, Miramonte would have won the tie breaker with a second half win over the Cougars.
All that being said, I would have absolutely expected Campolindo to get the better seed over Miramonte in NCS if they had tied for the DFAL crown at 9-3 (tougher opponents, especially in tournament play). But they will not be able to be seeded higher than the Mats since Miramonte claims sole possession of the league title.
I think DV over Dublin is very surprising. Dont take it the wrong way, I think DV plays with a lot of heart and are very talented for a young team, but they took out a dublin team that has got a win from Miramonte and a win from Campolindo. Unfortunately with that loss, Dublin will slip from contention of the 5-6 seed to probably the 7,8, even 9 seed.
Correct me if im wrong, but I bet Alhambra will be arguing for a higher seed than Dublin. They split their league series with the gaels and they have a better overall record. It will be interesting to see how the ncs decides which of the 2 should be seeded higher.
Another prediction- campo seeded higher than analy. Yes, analy has a great record (equal to campo). Yes they do have a tough division with Petuluma and Casa Grande (both d2 teams). But Campolindo has a tougher league opponent for oppenent. There are no d4 teams in DFAL. Campolindo also chose a very tough non league tournament to play in, which they won. I believe that the overall competition Campolindo had to face on a day to day basis is tougher. Thus, I give campo the 2 seed.
I call:
1. Miramonte 20-3-1(DFAL Champs - almost always given the 1 spot), 2. Campolindo 20-4(DFAL runner up, very strong strength of schedule, split 1-1 with the Mats), 3. Analy 20-4 (good rpi as well, however, East Bay baseball should get the nod over the northern area, Sonoma League runner up) 4. Drake 19-5 (next best record, 2nd place Marin County League). 5. Alhambra 16-8 (6/8 losses came from DFAL opponents) 6. El Cerrito 15-9 (2 wins over Albany). 7. Albany 16-8 (league composed of mostly division 4 teams. Did not beat many d-3 teams) 8. Dublin 14-10(not as good of a record as some of the lower seeds, but they had to deal with DFAL and chose to play some tough non conferance games i.e. bishop gorman tourny) 9. Novato 15-10 (placed 4th in league. 10. Del Norte 15-10 (sorry - teams they played were not very good). 11. Hercules 12-10 (barely qualifies/weak rpi) 12. Kennedy (fremont) 9-14 - (only other team to qualify in division 3.. lucky number 5 seed).
What do you all think of this?
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
I agree with GameDay08's top four seeds. I think only the BCS and maybe the NCAA basketball seeding committee would seed a runner-up higher than a league champ based on overall strength of schedule. I would be really surprised if Miramonte is not the #1 seed. The fact that Campolindo has a reasonable argument for #1 speaks more to deserving the #2 seed in front of Analy.
Great year for the DFAL (although I still miss College Park and Northgate, who would have made it even more interesting).
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
Analy is playing in their league torunament championship game against Sonoma Valley, who upset the regular season winner, Casa Gande. If Analy wins they are the league champ, and will get a home game thorughout the payoffs until the championship. If they win, it doesn't matter if campo gets the 2 seed, Campo will have to travel to Analy for the semi final game. Doesn't really seem fair to me.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
"DIVISION III
Tuesday, May 19
No. 8 El Cerrito (15-9) at No. 9 Albany (16-8), 5 p.m.
No. 12 Del Norte (15-11) at No. 5 Analy (21-4), 5 p.m.
Wednesday, May 20
No. 10 Piner-Santa Rosa (11-13) at No. 7 Novato (15-10), 5 p.m.
No. 11 Kennedy-Fremont (9-14) at No. 6 Alhambra (16-8), 5 p.m.
Quarterfinals (May 22-23)
El Cerrito/Albany winner at No. 1 Miramonte (20-3-1), May 22, 5 p.m.
Analy/Del Norte winner at No. 4 Dublin (14-10), May 22, 5 p.m.
Novato/Piner winner at No. 2 Campolindo (20-4), May 23, 5 p.m.
Alhambra/Kennedy winner vs. No. 3 Sir Francis Drake-San Anselmo (20-5) at Albert Field, May 23, 5 p.m."
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
The comment on Analy as a potential top seed is interesting. Analy has, through its league (Sonoma County) schedule, played and defeated quite a few D-2 schools and some D-1s. Its 20-4 record is virtually identical to Campolindo (20-4) and Miramonte (20-3-1). Analy won a tournament (as did Miramonte and Campolindo). The Tigers did, however, lose to a Division 4 school (Healdsburg), a strike against them.
Strength of schedule, however, would seem to favor Miramonte and Campolindo. Miramonte won a tough DFAL outright (hats off to the Mats for that). Campolindo defeated the ultimate BVAL champion (Freedom) and the Mission Valley champion (Newark Memorial) on its way to winning American's Easter tournament. (I still don't know how Miramonte gets so much credit for winning the Ft. Bragg tournament over D-4 and D-5 competition.)
While not always accurate (and who knows if the seeding committee looks at them), the current state MaxPreps rankings of the three teams illustrate the strength of schedule issue: Campolindo (#90), Miramonte (#94), and Analy (#167). Section rankings (without regard to division) tell a similar story: Campolindo (#10), Miramonte (#11), Analy (#18). MaxPreps rankings of strength of schedule overall (higher number means tougher schedule -- DLS is a 10.6, wow) are 5.4 for Campolindo, 4 for Miramonte and 3.9 for Analy.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
4 DFAL teams seeded in the top 6. If Alhambra gets hot, all 4 DFAL teams could end up in the Semi-Finals.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
MVP: Funk (Dublin), controversial pick no doubt and the closest of calls over Vaccaro (Miramonte) -- check out the stats and then ask who picked Dublin for third with a #4 seed in NCS
Most valuable pitcher: Kjar (Miramonte) -- great year for league champ's workhorse, clinched it with no-no against Campolindo
IFs: Vaccaro (Mira), Killeen (Campolindo), Kathan (Campo), Gee (Daugherty Valley), Lahonta (Acalanes), Reuvekamp (Mira), Digirolamo (Dublin)
OFs: Chase (Campo), Epperson (Mira), Matthew (Las Lomas), Stephens (Campo),
Catchers: Paulsen (Mira), Mitchell (Dublin)
Pitchers: Funk (Dublin -- could also be 1st team UTIL, to recognize his bat and good work at 2b), Gold (Campo), Waterman (Alhambra -- also could [should] be UTIL)
UTIL: Funk and Waterman (see above), Treat (Acalanes); McAlpin (Alhambra)
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
MVP - Vaccaro (Miramonte) MVP Pitcher - Funk (Dublin) 1st Team Utility - Lloyd (Miramonte) 1st Base - Waterman (Alhambra) Camporeale (Acalanes) Infield - Digoralomo (Dublin) Ruvenkamp (Mir) Fidelli (Campo) Outfield - Epperson (Mir) Chase (Campo) Matthew (LL), ACA? Pitcher - Kjar (Mir) Stevens/Gold (Campo Toss Up) Catcher - Paulsen (Mir) 2nd Team 1st Base - Killeen (Campo) Infield - Mello (Dublin) Lahonta (Aca) Gee (DV) Pitcher - Gold/Stevens - (Campo) Hofman (Aca) Outfield - Ward (Alhambra) Stephens (Campo) Catcher - Bazeref (Alhambra) Utility - Treat (Acalanes) Honorable Mention -
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 5
Camporeale is a Catcher not a 1st base men. My vote Killeen. Kid hit 2 Doubles with a Appendicitis. GAMER.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 5
When will we know the official 1st and 2nd teams? Anyone know?
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
According to Max Preps DFAL league averages:
Corbin Chase .333 Kathan .268 Killeen .333 Stephens .314
I agree on Chase because of his 5 homeruns, but other 3 players LEAGUE averages are pretty good, but I'm not sure they will be good enough for 1st team. In fact, according to Max Preps Fadelli leads Campo @ .372 in DFALprobably should be 1st team as a shortstop.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
If you are evaluating solely on hitting, Mello (Dublin's ss) has a higher batting average and slugging percentage in league games (with fewer ABs), at least according to MaxPreps. Miramonte's stats somehow aren't included if you sort MaxPreps by league games (any conspiracy theories out there?) and my rough calculation of Reuvekamp's batting average in DFAL games places him on par with Fadelli. I agree that Fadelli does deserve consideration.
Kathan is one of the best defensive IFs in the DFAL and that makes up for some points in the batting average but he is likely second team.
Of course, isn't this the point in the year where we get to read multiple posts about scorekeepers and the lack of reliability of cold stats listed on MaxPreps?
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
TPX,
Wow Killeen sounds like a true first teamer. Is he out for the season? If so, Campo is playing short handed. Watch out for Novato!!
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 5
He is out for 4-6 weeks. So in my opinion Killeen deserves it.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
TPX,
You're not related to Killeen or Alexander's dad by chance are you?
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 5
No im not related to either.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Sorry, no way Kathan is second team all league with a .268 average. Honorable mention at best.
Joined: Feb 2008
Current Posts: 25
Are all-league selections based just on performance in league or on all season?
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Deuce 24-
All league is based on games/stats in DFAL play, which will influence several results.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
I agree with Interested that league play stats should dictate the decision, but reputation and past perfomance clearly affect the decisions. Each coach has a vote for 1st and 2nd team players, but can't vote for their own team. In years past, we have seen some all league selections that were given out for reputation rather than the performance of the current year. There are alot of very good DFAL players who are deserving of 1st team. The pitching selections will be very close. Kjar, Funk, Waterman, Gold, Stevens all have had great seasons, but all can't make first team.
When is the vote? DVAL voted on Monday.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
The DFAL is looking good as Alhambra won their first round game. I predict the following:
Quarterfinals:
Miramonte beats El Cerrito in an easy win
Dublin beats Analy behind a gem from Funk
Campo out hits a pesky Novato team.
Sir Francis Drake beats Waterman - Alhambra offense lets them down.
Semifinals:
Dublin doesn't have enough depth on the mound. Miramonte advances to final game.
Sir Francis Drake exposes the losses of Stevens (who could have been the pitcher of the year if he wasn't hurt) and Killeen. SFD advances to the finals.
Finals - Miramonte just has too much firepower for the Marin champion. Mats win another title.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Yesterday:
Analy over Dublin 3-2. Looks like Analy may have saved pitching for the gaels (gave up 13 in game 1 to Del Norte, but only 2 runs in game 2?). Dublin and Funk gave up 3 runs early and it looks like thats all Analy needed.
Miramonte over El Cerrito 1-0. Very slow offensive game (Analy 1 hit, Miramonte 5 hits). Looks like the Matadors had opportunities to score, stranding 3 in the first and 5 more throughout the game, but failed to get a big hit (unusual for Miramonte). Kjar didnt look at his best, but still tallied up 12 strikeouts. Miramontes bats have not been hot. But they are still a very hard team to beat, even when they seemingly dont play well.
Miramonte Vs. Analy at Miramonte in the semi finals next week.
Today (predictions - games are not until 5):
Navato at Campolindo - hard to tell with this one. With Killeen and stevens healthy I would give this one to the cougars. but i just dont know the team well enough to know how those losses will affect them. Good wording on the Navato team (pesky). In a 60-40 guess, I say campolindo in a close one.
Alhambra at Drake - Drake beats an inconsistent Alhambra team. Waterman will have another big game, but he cant win by himself. Down the order the Bull Dogs arent deep enough after Waterman and Baseif to compete with the hard hitting drake team. Drake wins 8-3.
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
Close, but you were 1 for 2. Navato beat Campolindo and Drake beat Alhambra. Looks like the top seeded DFAL went down quickly, leaving only powerhouse Miramonte to win it all and keep the leagues decency.
NCS Semi Finals next week!
Analy at Miramonte (NCS Basketball championship rematch anyone?)
Navato at Drake
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
Which league was more over-rated the DFAL or the EBAL? Both have had dismal performances in this years NCS. Look for De la Salle and Miramonte to get knocked off as well.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
The EBAL has 2 teams in the Semis, and they play each other, so one will reach the finals at the Coliseum next week. Cal has knocked off two over-rated HAAL teams and DLS beat the winner of the Amador-Foothill (AV) game, so that bracket was loaded with EBAL teams and 3 had to lose, no matter how well they played. SRV and MV both were shut down and lost close games despite good pitching. The Mats are still in it, and could go all the way. Only 2 teams can make the finals, no matter how many good teams are in each league. I think you are reaching to try to denigrate those two leagues. If anything, credit should go to Deer Valley for winning two extra inning games against higher ranked opponents.
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
With EBAL getting 6 teams in they were guaranteed at leat (1) spot in the semi-finals. (Foothil play Amador and winner playing DLS) The bracket was stacked with EBAL teams. 6 out of 12 teams. SRV lost the last 6 of 7 games and got a spot in NCS. Look at runs scored, SRV and Monta Vista may have great pitching, but their offenses suck. They can not score runs. Put 6 teams out of ANY league in a field of 12 and most would have 2 in the final 4 teams. THIS NO BIG DEAL! The fact is the the EBAL and the CC Times ratings have been telling everyone all year how good they are and they being proven wrong! Maybe SRV will be the pre-season #1 again next year!
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
Again, give credit to Cal and Deer Valley, who both surprised people winning 2 games, knocking off the #4 & #2 teams and made it into the semifinals with #3 Freedom and #1 DLS who were expected to be there. I do agree that CP should have been in there ahead of SRV though. In the DFAL, Alhambra was the underdog playing on the road, and had already won 1 NCS game, so I don't think they were overrated. Miramonte is still playing. Campo and Dublin lost, but these things happen in the playoffs. That doesn't mean the leagues are overrated. These are two of the better leagues around.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
I think the DFAL is a much bigger disappointment than the EBAL.
Miramonte struggled against El Cerrito who wasn't that good, but came away with a victory thansk to Kjar.
Campolindo lost to a Novato team that isn't that good. How do they lose that game at home and not score more runs off of a very mediocre pitching staff.
Dublin lost to Analy who will give Miramonte all they want. This is a bad match up for the Mats as Kjar won't be able to bail them out. I look for Analy to produce the upset as the North Bay has the better D2 and D3 teams this year.
Alhambra beat soundly against a very good Drake team led by Conroy. He will come back and pitch in the D2 final. Look for Drake to win it all.
In D1, look for the winner of Freedom and Deer Valley to win the D1 championship. if Freedom wins Tuesday, Wardell will win the championship for Freedom.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 2
not only did novato's weak pitching shut down campo's bats but there equally weak sticks beat up campo's starter pretty good!
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
The only EBAL team that is a dissapointment is Monte Vista, as no one really expected Amador, Foothill or SRV to make it to the semifinals. Instead of MV, Cal upset BOD to make it. If Miramonte should win their final two games, then they will save face for the DFAL. The HAAL and MVAL evaporated pretty quickly.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
When will the all league team be announced? Has the meeting occured yet? Seems kind of odd that there are no announcements yet.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
The DFAL is a bigger disappointment than the EBAL. The Campo loss is a perfect example...from what I heard, Gold/Robinson were mediocre at best and the bats were nowhere to be found. Dublin and Alhambra atleast lost to good teams. Go Mats save face for the DFAL.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Agree regarding Campo bats -- with Killeen injury, Campo started 3 freshmen and, at times, it showed. But a no hitter through first 3 innings was not that mediocre. Compare that to Funk and Waterman (both very talented pitchers) who gave up leads early in their NCS games that were never relinquished. So I guess all of the DFAL pitchers other than Kjar were mediocre? Really?
I don't understand why the DFAL has to "save face." (But good luck to the Mats.) This is the play-offs. Anything can (and usually does) happen. We are still looking for Northgate's pre-ordained championship last year and that was a great high school team. Where did College Park (#15 seed in 3a) and Piedmont (2a) come from in 2008? Good teams get hot. Hot teams go cold, stumble, don't play up to their potential, etc.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
My mistake giving up 9 runs with one error sounds like a great performance. OH by the way based on your analysis most high school pitchers are great because they throw no hitters for atleast three innings during most games. Go Mats!
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
Miramonte gets through a very tough emotional day and weekend and pulls out a win vs. Analy 5-1. Miramonte vs winner of Drake/Navato in the championship on saturday. Great job/ great season mats.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
Congratulations to Miramonte on a methodical win. Saturdays win will put the icing on a great season. As evidenced by yesterdays game, Vaccaro and Lloyd could join Kjar as first team all league pitchers but John V. will be the MVP, Matt L will be first team utility and Andrew K will be MVP pitcher which makes room for other DFAL pitchers to make the team. Go Mats!!
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 2
Yep campo's pitchin' didn't show up. evrtone has a bad start. but to say their starter had a no hitter through 3 is puttin' lipstick on a pig. novato stung the ball for the next2 including a bomb. get over it!
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 3
Score to the Drake/Novato game?...I think that no matter who wins Miramonte has a big shot to win in the NCS finals
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
Drake won and will meet the Mats in the final.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
When is the all league meeting?
my predictions 1st team:
MVP (player): John Vaccaro(Mira), MVP (pitcher) Andrew Kjar (Mira)
Corner Infield: Waterman (Alhambra), Townsend (Las Lomas)
Middle Infield: Fadelli (Campolindo), Reuvekamp (Miramonte)
Outfield: Epperson (Miramonte), Chase (Campolindo), Mathew (Las Lomas)
Utility: Lloyd (Miramonte)
..... Im sorry that I neglected DV in this, they are a new program and I dont know any of their players.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 3
The meet was tonight I think, and I don't believe Townsend for las lomas will get the nod for all league third basemen over LaHonta for Aca or Mann for Miramonte
Joined: Oct 2007
Current Posts: 68
Big year for DFAL pitchers! I suppose Kjar was Most Valuable Pither. How do you rate the top pitchers this season?
Here are my picks:
1) Kjar - Miramonte (Too Tough)
2) Vacarro- Miramonte
3) Funk- Dublin
4) Waterman- Alhambra
5) Gold or Stevens- Campolindo
7) Hoffman- Acalanes
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
No question as to Kjar.
Vaccaro pitched against the other team's #2 and enjoyed the best run support in the league. You have him rated too high.
Funk had an exceptional year and was critical to Dublin's season-long success. Gold's two losses in league were both 1-0, on the road (against Kjar and Waterman). Waterman, even with three losses in league, was always scary match-up. All rank higher as a pitcher than Vaccaro.
Now add his bat and the glove at first, and Vaccaro is probably the DFAL MVP (good case for Funk but Vaccaro will win) but he is not the #2 pitcher in the DFAL.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
Good analysis Interested. You have a solid grasp of this league.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
agreed.
To add on, 2 of Waterman's 3 losses came against Miramonte.
On another note, good luck today to Miramonte as they will play Drake in the NCS championship. Bring it home for the DFAL.
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
Miramonte 1 to 0 over Sir Francis Drake in the Coliseum.
Kjar fittingly throws a 4 hit shut out.
Great season for the Matadors, 23-3-1 overall, 10-2 in league, DFAL Champs, NCS Champs.
Joined: May 2007
Current Posts: 5
mudville
GO DFAL - great game today. Kjar was composed and as always effective on the mound. Conroy was a terrific opponent. Congrats to the Mats on a great season. They will miss their seniors, but look to have a great group in the wings.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
Interesting debate on the DFAL pitchers but i think we need a couple adjustments. I agree with Jake's analysis but i think we need to add Lloyd behind Waterman and if Stevens from Campo didn't get hurt he could have won the MVP pitcher.
1. Kjar 2. Vaccaro 3. Funk 4. Waterman 5. Lloyd 6. Gold or Stevens
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
How many games in league play did Llloyd start? How many innings did he pitch in DFAL games?
Get serious. First or second team UTIL, no question, but get real.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
My list was compiled after watching each of these pitchers at least once during the season not on their DFAL league statistics. Correct me if i'm wrong but i don't believe Jake asked about All League selections. That said are the All League teams out?
Joined: Apr 2009
Current Posts: 6
the meeting took place last week, so obviously somebody knows something. but nothing has been published which leaves us to wonder who got what.
as for closure to the dfal 2009 season, here are the final rankings according to maxpreps:
1. Miramonte 10-2 league, 23-3-1 overall, 3rd in section, 20th in state.
2. Campolindo 9-3 league, 20-5 overall, 16th in section, 120th in state.
3. Dublin 8-4 league, 14-11 overall, 43rd in section, 315 in state.
4. Alhambra 6-6 league, 17-9 overall, 22nd in section, 169 in state.
5. Acalanes 5-7 league, 12-12 overall, 38th in section, 290 in state.
6. Dougherty Valley 2-10 league, 9-15 overall, 78th in section, 615 in state.
7. Las Lomas 2-10 league, 5-19 overall, 79th in section, 622 in state.
It was a very competitive year for the dfal, although the final north coast section rankings dont reflect that (probably due to the fact that miramonte was the only team that made it past the quarter final round). It will be interesting to see how the league breaks down next year, think its too early to start talking DFAL 2010? I will let someone else start that conversation.
Joined: Apr 2007
Current Posts: 73
Posted this evening:
http://www.dfal.org/All%20League/2008-09_BASEBALL_ALL_LEAGUE.pdf
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Wow, what a dog and pony show that meeting must have been. Don't think there has ever been so many sub .300 hitters to make all league 2nd team.
Joined: Dec 2008
Current Posts: 225
All League selections have become a joke. 13 or more pitchers as some type of all league? No one has the guts to just pick who deserves the best at their positions. There was a time that only the best made all league players. This goes for all the leagues DFAL, DVAL, BVAL et al. I guess they don't want to hurt anyones feelings. Nice job, as always NCS. Show some guts once in awhile.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Don't really understand how you can have two 2nd team utility players??? In past years that was a kid who pictched and played the field.... oh, and hit for average. Not any more.
How does a player that only had 26 plate appearences, make 1rst team all league DH. This is more a 1rst team pinch hitter candidate, if there was one.
Joined: May 2009
Current Posts: 10
Miramonte is well represented on the first and second all league teams and each of these selections is well deserved. The first team pitchers are lucky Kjar and Vaccaro received MVP honors; otherwise they would have dropped to second team. Also, Dublin seemed to get a lot of picks which is interesting when they don't put their entire league stats on max preps. Hmmmm maybe some home scoring toward the end of the season?
Regarding some of the selections, maybe they should get Gold Gloves instead of all league recognition. Who knows, I think it's time to focus on DFAL Baseball 2010.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Alhambra didn't post their stats as well. With the amount of runs they scored and hits they had from week to week, don't think I would have posted team stats either.
Not sure how they ended up with so many 2nd team players. Waterman, obviously well deserved 1rst team, and their cf Lauro 2nd team, had an all league year.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
All league recognition has nothing to do with stats posted on Maxpreps. All such stats whether posted to Maxpreps or not are just there for people that want to read them. Every coach and team has different scoring methods. The coaches vote on all league based on what they saw on the field when they played their teams. Sure, if some coach wants to build up his player's chances and boast his kid hit .500, he would have a better chance, but its not like each of the coaches printed off the Maxpreps stats and voted just off of them. Many teams don't even use them, and some are even posted by parents. Maxpreps stats are great to look at, but you have to take them for what they are.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Most teams, not all, do participate in posting stats to max preps on a game by game basis. Hits runs and errors usually match up fairly close to what happens. If maxpreps has a shortstop hitting .240 and his coach comes to the meeting saying that he really hit .400, that would be a pretty tough sell.
Since it is the only source of game stats, they do use them for comparison. Just like colleges use spinco stats to compare league and state rankings. No, they are not totally accurate, but they give a good indication of where the players stand. The teams that do not participate it posting are the ones that look more suspiscious when lobbying for their particular player.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
For those of you who can't get enough of prep baseball, the summer club season kicked off this week. Many of the DFAL and EBAL all league players play for the Danville Hoots. Interesting to watch them all play together. The team includes:
Miramonte: Kjar, Vaccaro, Epperson and Reuvekamp
Campolindo: Killen, Chase, Kathan, Russ
Acalanes: Lahonta
Northgate: Pelayo, Kosturous
EBAL players include Piscotty, David, Kochan, Lemarsh, Eslick and many others.
Joined: Sep 2006
Current Posts: 3041
From The Hoots website: http://www.eteamz.com/danvillehoots/index.cfm?
Congratulations to the following HOOTS players who have received recognition for their achievments during the 2009 high school baseball season.
HOOTS Players recognized by the Contra Costa Times as Top 100 Athletes to be honored at the Prep Sports Banquet June 11.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
All league players from DVAL, DFAL, BVAL also play for the Delta Indians, who play the Hoots tonight at San Ramon Valley high at 5:00. Should be a good game. Two very good teams.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
The Delta Indians are playing the Hoots Silver team which is their #3 team. Hoots Black is the loaded team.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 25
Looks like the Hoots Black team carries something around 6 senior D1 committed players and a number of juniors will seemingly get looks and offers this summer. Someone should go out to a game and see how good that team is.
Joined: Feb 2009
Current Posts: 111
Waterman dominated the Hoots Silver squad for the Indians. Look forward to seeing them play the Black team. It is early for all these teams as they are still getting to know one another.
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
The Delta Indians team includes:
Alhambra: Waterman, Bezayiff
Clayton Valley: Bruno, Matthews, Lassen, Stephens, Bekakis, Wilhite, Darrow
De la Salle: Keane and Gartner
College Park Hogan and Nuyten
Northgate: Bataska and Blaine Johnson
Deer Valley: Leal, Wiggins and Meier
The Hoots Black and Delta Indians play a double header on Sunday, June 14th which should have many college scouts in attendance.
Joined: Mar 2008
Current Posts: 99
Also playing for the Indians this summer;
DLS- Tarantola
JC Players;
Chabot/Berkeley High- Mitchell
DVC/College Park- Sidu
Joined: Oct 2006
Current Posts: 58
Two great games on Sunday, as The Hoots swept a double header winning both games, 3-2 and 5-4 on walk off hits by Deeter (Newark) and Kosturous (NG).
The first game featured a pitching duel between Keane (DLS) and Piscotty (Amador)/Deeter (Newark). Both teams scratched across runs, until the Hoots won in the 8th inning against the Indians relief pitcher.
Second game featured great pitching from Bataska (NG) in relief for the indians and Theofanopolous (Foothill) and Lemarsh (Amador). The Indians rallied for 3 runs in the 7th with the key Sac fly by Bruno, before the Hoots won it in the bottom of the 7th.
Lots of D1 scouts in attendance. These two teams don't face each other until July.