MEET THE TOP TEAM: WILLOW GLEN

In something of a surprise, it is Willow Glen, not St. Francis, who is the No. 1 seed in the Central Coast Section Open Division bracket. 

The Rams are hardly an undeserving top seed. Willow Glen finished the regular season 26-0, including a 14-0 mark in Blossom Valley Athletic League Mt. Hamilton Division play. 

To top things off, Willow Glen picked up some key nonleague wins, the most significant of which was a 10-3 victory over Valley Christian at home on April 15.

That nonconference triumph may be the biggest reason the Rams were slotted ahead of St. Francis. 

The Lancers (24-3) split their two meetings with Valley this year in West Catholic Athletic League play. St. Francis won 9-2 at home on April 30, but the Lancers dropped a 9-7 loss to the Warriors just three days ago. 

The loss to VC was St. Francis’ only defeat to a Bay Area team this season. 

“With all the good teams out there, it’s an honor to be the No. 1 seed,” Willow Glen coach Don Spingola told the Bay Area News Group. “These young ladies have competed all season against some of the Bay Area’s best teams, and have continued to win one way or another. This No. 1 seed is well deserved.”

St. Francis is currently the No. 1 team in the San Francisco Metro MaxPreps rankings, with an overall rating of 31.04 and strength of schedule rating of 17.8.

Willow Glen’s overall rating is 28.92, and the Rams’ strength of schedule rating is 12.4.

Spingola said the Rams have a group of people who calculate metrics that mimic the CCS selection criteria. Willow Glen was close to St. Francis before Valley Christian’s win on Friday, and after the Warriors topped the Lancers, Willow Glen was confident it would be the top seed. 

Nevertheless, if both teams take care of business, the only difference will be which team gets the last at-bat. The Open final is scheduled to be played on May 31 at a neutral site, either West Valley College or San Jose City College, negating a potential home-field advantage that would come with earning the higher seed. 

“There’s a lot of good teams out there,” Spingola said. “We played a lot of good teams. The teams that are playing in this Open CCS are all good and have played good teams and have won and lost. 

“It’s truly going to be who makes the least amount of mistakes. Who pitches the best? It’s going to be pitching, it’s going to be defense that it’s going to come down to in these CCS games. We feel we’re pretty solid across the board right now, which gives us a good opportunity. But that’s why it’s a game, because you got to perform and you got to play.”

TOP STORYLINES

That’s not the only intrigue in the Open bracket. Aforementioned Valley Christian pulled down the No. 5 seed in the Open tournament and could make some noise in the bottom of the bracket. 

But the Warriors will have to first get past No. 4 Capuchino, which has had an excellent close to the season and is currently MaxPreps’ No. 3 rated team in the San Francisco metro area. 

On the other side of the Open bracket, an all-Pacific Coast Athletic League matchup between No. 6 Salinas and No. 3 Monterey will decide who advances to face the winner of No. 2 St. Francis and No. 7 Los Gatos. 

Willow Glen will first face No. 8 Archbishop Mitty, hosting the WCAL school at 3 p.m. on Saturday. 

In the Division I bracket, Live Oak was rewarded after a stellar 23-2 regular season with the top seed. Other strong contenders in the division include No. 2 Gilroy, also from the BVAL, and No. 4 King’s Academy, which has wins over Valley Christian, Gilroy and Capuchino on its resume. 

The Knights also pushed Willow Glen harder than any other team, losing a 10-inning thriller at Willow Glen 2-1 on April 25. 

WHO CAN MAKE A SURPRISE RUN?

Surprise is perhaps an overstatement, but Capuchino has been as hot as any team in the Bay Area down the stretch. The No. 4 Mustangs have a tall task ahead to get to the final, with matchups against Valley Christian and likely Willow Glen looming.

But Cap has been dominant of late. The Mustangs have not lost since April 26, and that was to non-Bay Area opponent Calaveras. 

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Strictly against Bay Area teams, Cap has not lost since falling 2-1 to Hillsdale on April 8, a stretch of 13 consecutive wins. 

They aren’t squeaking out victories either. Three of their last five triumphs have come by run rule in the tough Peninsula Athletic League Bay Division. 

Another PAL team, Mills, could make noise in the Division I bracket. The Vikings (21-3-1), who enjoyed a near-perfect season 9-1 in league play, were seeded No. 6 in the D-I tournament. 

Their first-round opponent, No. 3 Saratoga, is 19-2 but ranks outside the top 50 in MaxPreps’ San Francisco metro rankings. Saratoga comes in at No. 55, while Mills is No. 7.