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The 2009 summer college baseballseason has been underway for the better part of three weeks for some leagues,and not even a week for others. Despite the staggered start, it seems apparentalready that the powerful Cape Cod League will get a stiff challenge atop PGCrosschecker’s ranking of the nation’s top summer teams again from theCalifornia Collegiate League’s Santa Barbara Foresters, the reigning NationalBaseball Congress World Series champions.
The Foresters (8-2) are ranked No. 2 in the summer’s first ranking of the top 25 summer-league clubs. The No.1 spot, not surprisingly, is occupied by a
Cape
League
team, the newly-named Chatham Anglers, winners of their first three games thisseason. There’s no assurance that
Chatham
Cape
League
, but the Foresters should stayin contention throughout, particularly with a pitching staff headed by
Wichita
State
ace Tim Kelley and
San Diego
righthander A.J. Griffin, a Team USA pitcher in 2008.
willcontinue its early pace in the highly-competitive
We’ll rank the top 25 teamsevery Wednesday from 20-plus leagues around the country, and here’s our earlytake on the top teams.
| 1. | Chatham Anglers | Cape Cod | 3-0 |
| Ex-Chatham A's getting early production from Oklahoma State 2B Tom Belza (.363-1-1) and Baylor RHP Shawn Tolleson (1-0, 0.00). |
| 2. | Santa Barbara Foresters | California Collegiate | 8-2 |
| Foresters getting stellar pitching from Wichita State RHP Tim Kelley (1-0, 0.60), Westmont RHP Tim Crabbe (1-0, 0.00, 13 IP/17 SO) |
| 3. | Forest City (N.C.) Owls | Coastal Plain | 12-2 |
| SIU Edwardsville RHP Spencer Patton (1-0, 0.90, 20 IP/30 SO) and N.C. State IF Pratt Maynard (.340-1-13) hot in early going. |
| 4. | Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox | Cape Cod | 3-1 |
| Florida Gulf Coast RHP Chris Sale (1-0, 0.00) and Michigan RHP Tyler Burgoon (0-0, 0.00, 2 SV) lead pitching-rich Red Sox. |
| 5. | Eau Claire (Wis.) Express | Northwoods | 13-5 |
| Express takes early lead in standings, gets production from NWL batting leader Jon Bonfe (.420-0-14), a Sierra (Calif.) JC 3B. |
| 6. | Waynesboro (Va.) Generals | Valley | 7-2 |
| Auburn C Tony Caldwell (.395-1-9) and Vanderbilt SS Alex McClure (.371-0-5) set hot early pace for traditional Valley power. |
| 7. | Wareham Gatemen | Cape Cod | 2-1 |
| Duke LHP-1B Eric Pfisterer (1-0, 0.00, 5 IP/10 SO; .333-0-1) and UConn OF George Springer (.400-0-1) pivotal for Gatemen. |
| 8. | DeLand Suns | Florida Collegiate | 8-1 |
| Ex-big league skipper Davey Johnson has pitching-rich Suns on a roll; '09 fourth-rounder Thomas Berryhill is 1-0, 0.00 with 2 SV. |
| 9. | Mat-Su Miners | Alaska | 4-1 |
| LHP Danny Almonte (0-1, 4.00) of Little League infamy on roster, but Central Florida 3B Shane Brown (.381-0-3, 4 2B) a bigger factor. |
| 10. | Kelowna (B.C.) Falcons | West Coast | 6-1 |
| Falcons ride six-game winning streak on hot bats of Auburn C Ryan Jenkins (.393-0-8) and Furman OF Reese Wade (.464-0-4). |
| 11. | North Shore (Mass.) Navigators | New England Collegiate | 7-3 |
| 12. | Harwich Mariners | Cape Cod | 2-1 |
| 13. | Outer Banks (N.C.) DareDevils | Coastal Plain | 12-7 |
| 14. | Bethesda (Md.) Big Train | Cal Ripken Sr. | 8-2 |
| 15. | Battle Creek (Mich.) Bombers | Northwoods | 13-6 |
| 16. | Madison (Wis.) Mallards | Northwoods | 13-6 |
| 17. | Carney (Va.) Pirates | Clark Griffth | 7-1 |
| 18. | San Luis Obispo Rattlers | California Collegiate | 8-3 |
| 19. | Youse's Maryland Orioles | Cal Ripken Sr. | 7-4 |
| 20. | Brewster Whitecaps | Cape Cod | 2-1-1 |
| 21. | Victoria Generals | Texas Collegiate | 7-2 |
| 22. | Vienna (Va.) Senators | Clark Griffith | 6-2 |
| 23. | Kutztown (Pa.) Rockies | Atlantic Collegiate | 6-1 |
| 24. | Quincy (Ill.) Gems | Prospect | 9-3 |
| 25. | Glens Falls Eagles | New York Collegiate | 8-3 |
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