Six weeks of intermittent invitationals are in the books. All that's left for baseball (and softball) teams are 9 or 10 (on average) power-ranking games each to determine the participants in the four state tournament when they begin April 27 or the first week in May.

Which baseball teams stand out so far in Division I? A look at April 1 power-rankings offers a preview. Three of the top 10 teams hail from the East Valley -- Desert Vista (7-0, No. 7), Desert Ridge (8-1, No. 8) and Hamilton (5-1, No. 10). Can they continue to maintain their status and what's keyed their success? Here's a look:

At this point one can guess and say Desert 'something' and not be wrong in identifying a quality Division I baseball team. Desert Ridge and Desert Vista rest among the top 10 in Division I as does Scottsdale Desert Mountain (7-1), No. 3).  Desert Ridge has compiled a 17-5 overall record. The Jaguars tougher opponents have come in invitationals facing the likes of Notre Dame, Desert Mountain, Millennium, Chaparral  and Sunrise Mountain. Desert Ridge has a player-of-the-year candidate in senior and USC-bound Riley Unroe. Unroe's gaudy numbers through games of March 26 are a .569 batting average, 7 homers, 44 RBI and 16 stolen bases. The ace of the Jaguars'  pitching staff is Skyler Cohn with four wins and an earned run average just above 2. Cohn blanked a powerful Gilbert lineup, 15-0, shortly after the Tigers were 5-0 in the invitational they co-hosted during spring break and also topped Notre Dame. The Jaguars lone power-rankiing loss is to another top 10 D-I squad -- Millennium. Desert Ridge is halfway through its power-ranking schedule. Only one of its remaining foes is among the top 25 in the power-ranking. that's surprising Highland at No. 16, whom the Jaguars face twice down the stretch.

Desert Vista, which come on late last year to nab the No. 20 spot at state by winning four of its final five games, is 14-4, 7-0. Pitching from ace Tyler Viza and Sean McGuire has been a big factor. Viza is 3-0 with a 0.66 ERA and has thrown more worthy than that. McGuire  is 3-1 with a 2.68 ERA. Offensively it's balance that makes the Thunder go. Top hitters are Aaron Modi (.373, 15 RBI), Aaron Hicks (.348, 10 RBI), Cullen Bottock (.404, 15 RS), Garrison Schwartz (.412), Kevin Bartlett(.381, 10 RBI) and Cody Woodmansee (.298, 18 RS, 5 HR and 16 RBI). The Thunder's power-ranking schedule hasn't been particularly heavy so far, but a five-game stretch coming up will be. April 5 through April 15 the Thunder face in order Mountain Pointe, Horizon, Corona del Sol, Mountain Pointe and Brophy.

Hamilton (12-3), which just returned from a trip to Cary, N.C. to compete in USA Baseball's National High School  Invitational with 15 other teams from across the country, finished 3-1 there. The Huskies pitching, without top pitchers Patrick Murphy and Sean Rackowski, has proven solid and deep. Kent Hasler (4-2), Tyler Erwin (3-1), Cody Bellinger (3-0) and Nate Ohanian (2-0) have been outstanding. In its four games in North Carolina, Hamilton pitching allowed seven runs with each pitcher getting a start. In its 15 games its staff has given up a total of 37 runs. To put that in perspective, Gilbert High (see below) allowed 37 runs in a three-game week March 19-22. Hamilton plays 12 more power-ranking games (three, four, three and two) over the next four weeks. Having a deep staff should allow it to survive that stretch.

A couple more East Valley teams rest in the No. 16 through 24 slots of the D-I power-rankings -- Highland (6-2, 16), Corona del Sol (5-3, 17), Gilbert (5-3, 20) and Mountain Pointe (4-2, 22). They have more than half their power-ranking games remaining. Basha (4-4, 27), Red Mountain (5-4, 29), Mesquite  (5-4, 30) and Perry (4-5, 31) have enough games left to make a case for postseason.