The Times’ final high school baseball rankings
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Rk; Team (Record, Section-Division); Comment
1. GLENDORA (27-2-1, SS-Div. 2). Opposing hitters would have had an easier time reaching Pluto than getting to Tartans ace Adam Plutko.
2. MATER DEI (20-10, SS-Div. 1). Hahn for mayor! We’re talking Cory in Santa Ana, not James in Los Angeles.
3. DANA HILLS (20-13, SS-Div. 1). Dolphins enjoyed platinum-status upgrade in playoffs, going from fourth best in their league to second best in their division.
4. ROYAL (25-7, SS-Div. 1). Decision time for Cody Buckel: Does pitcher make waves by spurning Pepperdine for Texas Rangers?
5. EL DORADO (19-12, SS-Div. 1). Golden Hawks’ stirring playoff run had former coach Steve Gullotti thinking he retired prematurely.
6. YUCAIPA (27-7, SS-Div. 2). Thunderbirds’ march to title game was made in Taijuan.
7. LAKEWOOD (28-6, SS-Div. 1). On scale of playoff blowouts, loss to Mater Dei was an 11.
8. ORANGE LUTHERAN (23-6, SS-Div. 1). Top-seeded Lancers were middle of the road as far as postseason flops go.
9. SAN CLEMENTE (19-11, SS-Div. 1). Coach David Gellatly protested Royal’s alleged “bat rolling” after Cody Buckel rolled over Tritons’ hitters.
10. MOORPARK (23-9, SS-Div. 1). It resembled one of those every-kid-gets-to-run-the-bases events when Musketeers gave up 14 runs against Dana Hills.
11. OCEAN VIEW (22-9; SS-Div. 3). Didn’t foresee these guys being the pride of Huntington Beach baseball.
12. PALM DESERT (26-5; SS-Div. 4). Garvey, Burcham, Schuknecht and Sylvester is Aztecs’ version of Garvey, Russell, Lopes and Cey.
13. EL CAMINO REAL (19-11, City-Div. I). Sorry Conquistadores, but winning City Section this year is like prevailing in the National League West.
14. TORRANCE (24-10, SS-Div. 4). Tartars blame poor base running and five title-game errors on this eerie tidbit: The Diamond at Lake Elsinore seats 6,066.
15. BISHOP AMAT (27-4, SS-Div. 4). Coach Andy Nieto felt like Kevin Kline in “A Fish Called Wanda” — “Disappointed” — after early playoff exit.
16. EL TORO (23-7-1, SS-Div. 2). Chargers learned the hard way that a full-count walk and a walk-off home run beat an ace.
17. MIRA COSTA (18-15, SS-Div. 2). Talk about comebacks: Tartans advanced to semifinal game following 4-11 start.
18. CRESPI (22-6, SS-Div. 2). Celts fans who wondered where Yucaipa is soon realized it’s somewhere their team wasn’t — deep in the playoffs.
19. CAMARILLO (23-5, SS-Div. 1). Scorpions’ bats had no sting in them during 8-0 second-round loss to Mater Dei.
20. JSERRA (21-8, SS-Div. 1). Road to Lake Elsinore ended in south Orange County for the Lions.
21. DAMIEN (20-7, SS-Div. 2). Spartans considered 7-0 playoff loss to El Toro anything but lucky.
22. REDLANDS EAST VALLEY (24-6, SS-Div. 2). Off-the-field loss of Tyler Shreve didn’t keep Wildcats from accomplishing plenty between the lines.
23. EDISON (18-9, SS-Div. 1). Like a lot of teams that lost to Dana Hills, Chargers learned where there’s a will there’s a Hsieh.
24. SANTA BARBARA (22-5-1, SS-Div. 2). Things went sideways in a hurry for Dons batters in shutout playoff loss to Yucaipa.
25. BONITA (24-5-1, SS-Div. 3). Overheard on bus ride back from Lake Elsinore: “We had to come all the way out here and all we have to show for it is this runner-up trophy?”
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