Mater Dei Is No. 1 in Final Baseball Poll

Mater Dei High School’s baseball team followed the lead of its basketball team and finished the season as the top-ranked team in the Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. prep baseball poll.

The Monarchs (22-1) open play in the Southern Section 4-A playoffs on Friday against Los Alamitos, which is ranked 10th. Mater Dei is the top-seeded team in the division and last won the 4-A title in 1980.

The writers’ poll:

Pos. School (League) Record 1. Mater Dei (Angelus) 22-1 2. La Quinta (Garden Grove) 21-2 3. Santa Ana (Century) 20-4 4. Sunny Hills (Freeway) 20-5 5. Canyon (Century) 19-3-1 6. Esperanza (Empire) 17-7 7. El Toro (South Coast) 18-8 8. Ocean View (Sunset) 18-7 9. Western (Orange) 17-7 10. Los Alamitos (Empire) 18-8

Others receiving votes: Katella, Valencia, University and Estancia.