17-0 Sutter projected as No. 1 seed in Sac-Joaquin D-V bracket: Yuba City sits in stacked D-III playoff field
Apr. 17—While it dipped a little in the MaxPreps state and Sac-Joaquin Section full rankings on Monday, the Sutter Union High softball team stayed unbeaten after its 5-0 win over Wheatland Tuesday to move to 9-0 in the Pioneer Valley League with just over three weeks left in the regular season.
As it stands today, Sutter is the clear favorite to win the SJS Division V title as the No. 3 ranked team in the section poll and No. 37 in the California rankings published by MaxPreps.com each Monday through the season.
Joining Sutter (17-0) in the eight-team playoff projections submitted by MaxPreps are Ripon, Calaveras, Sonora, Orestimba, Woodland Christian, Escalon, West Campus with Galt on the bubble right now. Orestimba upset Sutter last year in the semifinals.
Wheatland, locked into second right now in the PVL at 7-2, is projected into the D-IV 11-team bracket alongside No. 6 ranked Central Catholic, Dixon, Kimball, Rio Linda, Los Banos, Liberty Ranch, Twelve Bridges, Oakmont, Livingston and Union Mine.
Central Catholic will stay in D-IV only if it does not win the Valley Oak League, according to MaxPreps.com. To date, CC is in third place.
Perhaps the most competitive division is the 16-team D-III bracket where Yuba City resides. The Honkers (13-6, 4-2 Capital Valley Conference) are currently within reach of its first league title since 2018-19 as it sits in third behind Inderkum and Bella Vista heading into a road battle today (Thursday) with Woodcreek.
Yuba City, ranked No. 23 in the section, is one of at least eight teams in the SJS top-25 slated into the postseason this week. Joining Patty Gates' program is Oakdale, Capital Christian, Manteca, No. 12 ranked and reigning D-III champ Ponderosa — a team Sutter will host on May 3 — Vanden, Rosemont, Pioneer, Vista del Lago, Christian Brothers, West Park, Patterson, Ceres, Wood, Bear Creek, Del Campo, with Roseville on the bubble.
In D-VII, Faith Christian out of Yuba City is slated into the bracket alongside Millennium, Buckingham Charter, Leroy Greene Academy, Rio Vista, Delta Charter, Big Valley and Foresthill. Faith Christian with an enrollment of 48, sits in second in the Sacramento Metropolitan Athletic League half-game out of the lead.
MaxPreps important playoffs notes — The qualifying teams will be placed in divisions in order of enrollment size. However, schools may not play more than one division below its league placement in realignment (If a school's enrollment places them in a division that is two or more divisions below its league placement in realignment, that school will be adjusted accordingly in the playoff brackets). — A league champion (outright or is the No. 1 seed by criteria) must play at or above the level of its league competition.
Northern Section poll
No. 5 Colusa, at 15-0, is the lone undefeated team in the MaxPreps' top-25 heading into the first of two matchups with No. 3 East Nicolaus on Tuesday at 4 p.m. in Colusa. Two days later, the teams play in Trowbridge.
The area's baseball leaders will be featured on Friday.
