This Week in Baseball:

Last week, we highlighted three series matchups  (Arcadia-Burbank, Charter Oak vs San Dimas and Los Osos-Damien) that had the potential of going a long way in determining an eventual league champion.

Arcadia, San Dimas and Damien inched even closer, thanks to sweeps over Burbank, Charter Oak and Los Osos, respectively.

This week, the stakes get even higher, as first-place Damien takes on second-place Chino Hills, Rio Hondo League leading Monrovia battles second-place La Canada, and co-Hacienda League leaders, South Hills and Los Altos, are set to face off twice.

Here are the league-by-league scenarios:

Baseline League:

Damien heads into the final tw0 weeks of the 2021 baseball season with a one-game lead over Chino Hills.

The Spartans are coming off a three-game sweep of Los Osos, and did so by a combined margin of 31-11.

In game one, Damien scored twice in the bottom of the seventh to tie it, and one run in the eighth to claim victory.

Rancho Cucamonga needed and got a three-game sweep over Upland.

The Cougars trail Damien by three games and are two back of second-place Chino Hills.

If Chino Hills were to take two of three with Damien, and RCHS sweeps Etiwanda, the Cougars could potentially win the Baseline League if they swept the Spartans in the final week of the season.

Baseline League Schedule:

Monday: Damien at Chino Hills, Etiwanda at RCHS, Upland at Los Osos
Tuesday: RCHS at Etiwanda, Los Osos at Upland
Thursday: Chino Hills at Damien,
Friday: Damien at Chino Hills, Etiwanda at RCHS, Upland at Los Osos

Baseline League Standings:
Damien (14-5 overall, 8-1 in league)
Chino Hills (15-5, 7-2)
Rancho Cucamonga (16-7, 5-4)
Los Osos (10-8, 4-5)
Etiwanda (8-12, 2-7)
Upland (9-12, 1-8)

Del Rey League:

La Salle won its second consecutive Del Rey League series.

After taking two of three last week with Cathedral, the Lancers went 2-1 against Serra.

La Salle has three this week with St. Paul.

And then the Lancers finish out their regular season schedule next week against first-place Bishop Amat.

La Salle Schedule:
Monday: La Salle at St. Paul
Thursday: La Salle at St. Paul
Saturday: La Salle at St. Paul

Del Rey League:
Bishop Amat (13-6 overall, 6-0 in league)
La Salle (7-7, 4-2)
Cathedral (10-9, 3-6)
St. Paul (10-13, 2-4)
Serra (7-16, 3-5)

Hacienda League:

The two-game series between South Hills and Los Altos looks so even on paper.

Both the Huskies and Conquerors are 5-1 in league.

Los Altos has 16 wins overall, as compared to 15 for South Hills.

In league games, The Conquerors have outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 43-5, and the Huskies hold a 43-8 advantage against league foes.

After the two-game set between the league co-leaders, South Hills finishes its regular season with a pair of games next week with fifth-place Wilson, while Los Altos takes on fourth-place Diamond Bar.

South Hills Schedule:
Tuesday: Los Altos at South Hills
Thursday: South Hills at Los Altos

Hacienda League:
Los Altos (16-4 overall, 5-1 in league)
South Hills (15-6, 5-1)
Walnut (11-9, 4-2)
Diamond Bar (10-7, 2-4)
Wilson (2-5, 2-4)
Rowland (1-8, 0-6)

Olympic League:

Maranatha controls its own destiny.

With five games to go, the Minutemen lead second-place Valley Christian by one game.

MHS won their three-game series with the Defenders, two games to one.

This week, Maranatha has a three-game set with third-place Village Christian.

And the Minutemen will finish out their regular season schedule next week, as they battle last-place Heritage Christian in a two-game set.

Maranatha Schedule:
Tuesday: Maranatha at Village Christian
Thursday: Maranatha at Village Christian
Friday: Village Christian at Maranatha

Olympic League:
Maranatha (15-3 overall, 6-1 in league)
Valley Christian (14-5, 6-2)
Village Christian (5-11, 3-6)
Whittier Christian (8-13, 3-6)
Heritage Christian (3-11, 2-6)

Mission Valley League:

This past week, Marshall Fundamental claimed its first Mission Valley League championship in school history.

In spite of that historic accomplishment, though, the Eagles (13-1 overall, 10-0 in league) have just three games left in the regular season and wanted to head into the CIF-SS playoffs on a high note.

After a nonleague contest today (Monday) with South Pasadena, Marshall Fundamental will end the week with an MVL showdown with second-place Arroyo.

Marshall Fundamental Schedule:
Monday: South Pasadena at Marshall Fundamental
Friday: Arroyo at Marshall Fundamental

Mission Valley League:
Marshall Fundamental (13-1 overall, 10-0 in league)
Arroyo (6-2, 6-2)
Gabrielino (5-3, 5-3)
El Monte (5-4, 5-4)
Mountain View (4-5, 4-5)
South El Monte (2-8, 2-8)
Rosemead (0-10, 0-10)

Pacific League:

With four games to play, the next to final week of the 2021 season doesn’t hold very much intrigue.

Arcadia holds a one-game lead over CV and they’ll battle fifth-place Muir in a pair of games this week.

If the Apaches sweep the Mustangs, they would need just one of two next week against the Falcons to claim the Pacific League championship.

Perhaps the only noteworthy item to watch is to see if Burbank can bounce back from a couple of butt-whooping defeats from Arcadia to win one of two with Crescenta Valley.

Pacific League Schedule:
Tuesday Glendale (5-9, 2-7) at Pasadena (5-13, 3-7), Muir at Arcadia, Burbank at CV
Wednesday: Pasadena at South Pasadena
Friday: Pasadena at Glendale, Arcadia at Muir, CV at Burbank

Pacific League:
Arcadia (15-3 overall, 8-0 in league)
CV (16-6, 9-1)
Burbank (10-3, 8-2)
Burroughs (8-9, 5-4)
Muir (3-7, 3-7)
Pasadena (5-13, 3-7)
Glendale (5-9, 2-7)
Hoovr (4-12, 0-10)

Palomares League:

There isn’t a lot of drama left in the Palomares League.

For all intents and purposes, Ayala and Bonita will not be caught for first and second place, respectively.

That leaves a three-way fight for third place between Claremont, Alta Loma and Glendora.

GHS has the most direct path to a third seed, as the Tartans face off twice against Claremont this week, and then Alta Loma and Glendora end the regular season with a two-game set.

GHS enters the final two weeks one-game behind both the Wolfpack and Braves.

Palomares League Schedule:
Mon: GHS at Los Altos
Wed: Colony at Ayala, Bonita at Alta Loma, GHS at Claremont
Thurs: Downey at GHS
Fri: Ayala at Colony, Alta Loma at Bonita, Claremont at GHS

Palomares League:
Ayala (17-1 overall, 11-0 in league)
Bonita (11-4, 8-3)
Claremont (11-12, 5-6)
Alta Loma (5-11, 5-6)
Glendora (10-12, 4-7)
Colony (1-17, 0-11)

Rio Hondo League:

Monrovia has quietly won 12 consecutive games and controls their own destiny.

With four games to go, the Wildcats lead second-place La Canada by two games.

Monrovia defeated LCHS, 2-1, back on April 20.

And the Wildcats and Spartans meet twice this week.

In eight RHL games, Monrovia has outscored their opponents by a combined margin of 45-8, and La Canada has a 48-15 advantage in league games.

After two with La Canada, the Wildcats finish out the regular season next week in a two-game series against fourth-place Temple City.

Monrovia-La Canada Schedule:
Tuesday: La Canada (Monrovia (16-2, 8-0) vs La Canada (11-3, 6-2)
Friday: Monrovia at La Canada

Rio Hondo League Standings:
Monrovia (16-2 overall, 8-0 in league)
La Canada (11-3, 6-2)
South Pasadena (8-8, 5-5)
Temple City (3-7, 3-5)
San Marino (1-13, 0-10)

Valle Vista League:

San Dimas is on the verge of claiming another VVL championship, and they host last-place and winless Diamond Ranch this week in a pair of games.

The only interesting scenario this week is the two-game series between Charter Oak and Northview.

Northview and COHS both have the opportunity to potentially clinch second place with a sweep over the other.

The Vikings enter the week on a four-game win streak, while the Chargers just dropped a pair of VVL games to first-place San Dimas.

The likely matchups are Luke Bauer or Ethan Galindo versus Zack Bauer on Wednesday, and either Bauer or Galindo will go head to head with Chris Ceballos on Friday.

In six league games, COHS has outscored their opponents, 58-14, and Northview has scored 56 runs, while allowing 22.

Valle Vista League Schedule:
Tues: Diamond Ranch at San Dimas
Wed: Charter Oak at Northview
Thurs: Diamond Ranch at San Dimas
Fri: Northview at Charter Oak
Sat: Arcadia at Charter Oak

Valle Vista League:
San Dimas (13-4 overall, 6-0 in league)
Charter Oak (13-10, 4-2)
Northview (14-7, 4-2)
West Covina (7-12, 2-4)
Covina (4-5, 1-4)
Diamond Ranch (0-8, 0-5)