Unofficial Prep Baseball Rankings

(photo by Mike Salsbury / The Chronicle)


I found a link to these unofficial prep baseball rankings over at The Bellingham Herald’s blog. The site’s authority may be in question (http://washingtonbaseballpoll.com/ranking.php), but it does give you an idea of where a couple of our local teams stand in the state. The young W.F. West team finds itself ranked No. 4 among 2A schools, while Tenino earned the same in the 1As. Rochester also appears in the 1As at No. 6.

Take a look. Have many of you seen a couple of these out-of-Lewis County teams? Where do our baseball squads truly fit in?

If you’re curious, I included the 3A and 4A state rankings as well. (NOTE: I updated the records of our local teams, so they have more wins than when this poll was established).


2A RANKINGS
1. Sehome(16-2)
2. River Ridge (13-2)
3. Selah (15-2)
4. WF West (16-1)
5. Burlington (13-4)
6. Fife (13-2)
7. Mark Morris (12-4)
8. W. Valley, Spok.(13-4)
9.East Valley, Yak (13-4)
10.Eatonville (14-4)

THE SKINNY, W.F. West: A huge reason the Bearcats sit so close to the top has to be that youthful left side of the infield: Robert Pehl at third and Erik Forgione at shortstop. Going into their game with Centralia this past Wednesday, Pehl and Forgione were batting .470 and .365, respectively. Both are freshmen. Freshmen.. That's scary.

1A RANKINGS
1. Friday Harbor (14-0)
2. Kio-Benton (15-1)
3. Freeman (13-0)
4. Tenino (13-2)
5. Naches (14-2)
6. Rochester (13-4)
7. Lakeside (13-5)
8. River View (13-5)
9. Brewster (10-5)
10. Warden (13-5)

THE SKINNY, Tenino: Beaver pitcher Alex Phillips could be one of the best 1A pitchers in the state, but Tenino has thrown several hurlers this season who have been successful, including Jacob Conklin and Josh Moss ... not to mention the Beavs' offense has produced all year long.

THE SKINNY, Rochester: The Warriors have plenty of talent. Jordan Everson and Luke Steelhammer come to mind quickly. Rochester, however, has too many names to mention who have contributed mightily to the team's success. Jose Ortiz went from the No. 8 spot in the order to No. 2 after putting together numerous multi-hit games. The Ruiz brothers, Jardan and Jarin, have played solidly. And Ryan Knutz does a good job behind the plate, to name just a few.

3A RANKINGS
1. Blanchet (17-0)
2. Eastside Cath.(17-1)
3. Kelso (20-0)
4. Mt. Rainier (17-2)
5. Skyline (14-4)
6. Ferndale (16-2)
7. Timberline (13-3)
8. Capital (12-1)
9. Issaquah (10-7)
10. Southridge (11-5)

4A RANKINGS
1. Richland (13-1)
2. Redmond (16-2)
3. University (15-2)
4. Olympia (17-2)
5. Puyallup (16-3)
6. Snohmomish (15-3)
7. Kentlake (15-3)
8. Monore (15-3)
9. Battle Ground (15-6)
10.Mead (15-2)



(photo by Mike Salsbury / The Chronicle)