Power 25: Week Ahead

Action in both Southern and Northern California takes place this week in the Power 25. Check out these matchups for the biggest games of the week.

No. 1 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) vs. No. 25 Crespi

3/30, 3/31

Notre Dame enters this series with a record of 14-1 with all cylinders firing. Six starters are hitting over .300, led by ‘23 INF Madden Ocko (Fordham) with a line of .370. The pitching staff as a whole has an ERA of 1.94 with ‘23 RHP Justin Lee (UCLA) headlining with a 1.31 ERA along with 54 strikeouts in 32 innings.

Crespi sits at a record of 11-3-3 heading into week seven. Their bats have been led by ‘25 INF/RHP Diego Velasquez (USC), ‘24 OF Luke Levy (Uncommitted), and ‘23 C Isaiah Magdaleno (Hawaii). Velasquez is hitting a phenomenal line of .461 with nine XBH. Levy is hitting .253 and Magdaleno is hitting .341. Velasquez is getting it done on both sides of the field, pitching 32 innings with a 0.66 ERA. Other strong pitchers on Crespi include ‘23 RHP Jack Truskowski-Young (Uncommitted) with a 1.58 ERA over 26.2 innings.

This Mission League series has great pieces on both sides of the ball and will surely be a fun watch.

No. 4 Valley Christian (San Jose) vs. No. 11 Archbishop Mitty

3/31

Valley Christian enter the new week with a record of 10-1 with their only loss coming against Archbishop Mitty on March 3. The Warriors are led by the bats of ‘24 Tatum Marsh (Stanford) and ‘23 RHP/3B Michael Castaneda (Northern Kentucky). Marsh is batting .429 and Castaneda is batting .393. The team average sits at .307. Castaneda has been dominant on the mound as well as a strong presence in the box. Castaneda’s ERA sits at 0.27 leading the combined team ERA of 0.55.

Archbishop Mitty sits with one win more than Valley Christian at 11-1. They have an identical team average at .307 with the main bats being ‘23 RHP/1B Luka Brocilo (Uncommitted) and ‘23 SS Alijah Ramos (CSU Fullerton). The team ERA is 2.05 with ‘24 LHP Luka Pintar taking a bulk of the innings holding a 1.28 ERA through 27.1 innings.

With very similar offensive output and production, this matchup seems to be down to how well the pitchers can hold the other team off.