MassLive released its seventh baseball rankings on Wednesday.
Previous Rankings: March 31, April 9, April 16, April 23, April 30, May 7
Pope Francis (12-4, No. 2)Pittsfield (13-4, No. 1)Westfield (10-5, No. 3)Pioneer Valley (15-0, No. 4)Springfield Central (12-4, No. 8) West Springfield (9-6, No. 7)Taconic (8-7, No. 5)Minnechaug (7-7, No. 9)Belchertown (11-4, No. 10)Agawam (9-5, No. 11)Ware (16-1, No. 12)Longmeadow (11-6, No. 6)Hopkins Academy (10-7, No. 14)Frontier (11-6, No. 13) Drury (13-1, No. 15)Greenfield (9-6, No. 18)Hampshire (7-7, No. 16)Athol (9-5, No. 17)Monument Mountain (11-5, No. 19)Westfield Technical Academy (12-2, No. 20)
Pope Francis has dethroned Pittsfield as the top baseball team in Western Massachusetts. And for sound reasoning, as the Cardinals have won five consecutive games since falling against those same Generals last month.
During that stretch, Pope Francis has defeated Taconic, Fairfield College Prep, Westfield, West Springfield, and got revenge against Pittsfield in its second-season matchup to improve its record to 12-4.
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The outcome also moved the Cardinals (6-1) ahead of the Generals (5-3) for first place in the Valley West Standings, with Pope Francis only scheduled to have one more regular-season league game left.
They haven’t been easy outcomes, especially since those are the premier regional teams. In fact, each game in the current streak was decided by three runs or less. So it will be interesting to see how things pan out once the postseason is set to begin.
Springfield Central baseball defeats Longmeadow, clinches league crown (photos)
Last month, Drury was one of the few regional teams to remain undefeated. But Mount Anthony Union changed that once they snapped its 10-game winning streak. But that hasn’t stopped the Blue Devils, as they have responded with three consecutive wins against Smith Academy, McCann Tech, and Lenox.
During that stretch, Drury outscored its opponents by an impressive margin of 32-5, improving its record to 13-1.
Since two of those outcomes were against league rivals (Lenox and McCann Tech), the Blue Devils (6-0) maintain a slim lead over Mount Everett (4-2) and Lenox (4-3) for first place in the Bi-County South Standings.
But things won’t get easier for Drury, as they are scheduled to complete the regular season on the road in three of its next four games against Mount Everett (road), Taconic (home), Pioneer Valley (road), and Lee (road).
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And since two of the final four games are against league rivals, the division might come down to the wire.
Another divisional crown to watch is the Bi-County North Standings between Athol (6-1) and Franklin Tech (5-1). Both teams are scheduled to compete in their regular-season finales on Friday, May 23, in Hartford at Dunkin’ Park.
First pitch is scheduled for 5 p.m.
As of now, though, the Bears remain in first place since they defeated those same Falcons by four runs on Sunday. But as most understand, nothing is guaranteed this time of year.
There are multiple games to remember this week: McCann Tech is scheduled to visit Mount Greylock on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., while Westfield will welcome West Springfield on the same date at 7 p.m.
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Pope Francis and Taconic will also compete against each other in Springfield on the exact mentioned date at 4 p.m. Meanwhile, two more of the region’s hottest teams will compete in Northfield as Pioneer Valley is scheduled to welcome Drury on Saturday at noon.
