MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

Pitchers grab the spotlight as the top six teams in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Softball Rankings remained unchanged.

Northern (Owings, Md.) opened its season as junior Jess Cummings struck out 13 and pitched a no-hitter in a 13-0 run-rule win over Patuxent. The win was No. 2 Northern's 47th in a row. Cummings has not lost in high school.

Not to be outdone, No. 3 ranked Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) got a no-hitter and two other wins from senior Tori Finucane and improved to 5-0 on the season.

After tossing four shutouts the week prior, Johanna Grauer of No. 1 Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), had the week off.

No. 6 John Curtis (River Ridge, La.) and No. 8 Jack Britt (Fayetteville, N.C.) also got outstanding performances from their pitchers last week. With junior ace Katie Brignac unable to pitch, Curtis relied on sophomore Peyton Pigniolo to reach its 50th-straight win. She won three games and struck out 42 batters in improving to 10-0. Brignac is 7-0 and has 32 wins in a row.

Britt got no-hitters from Mary Williams and Steph Thomas and moved from No. 25 into the Top 10. In nine games this season, Williams and Thomas have allowed only four base hits.

Three Top 25 teams lost last week with No. 7 Pearland (Texas) falling 14 spots and No. 21 Carolina Forest (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) slipping from No. 21 to No. 25 after suffering its first loss of the season. Both Pearland (24-2) and Carolina Forest (12-1) suffered 3-2 losses.

And Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) dropped out of the Top 25 after losing in the championship game of the Desert Mountain Tournament, 10-0. Basha slipped to 14-2 on the season. 

Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.) moved into the Top 25 at No. 18 by winning the Foothill Tournament behind the shutout pitching of sophomore Tera Blanco.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 4-0
After shutting out four foes in the Queen of the Mountain Tournament, the Dons took the week off. They visit Livermore on March 26.

2. (2) Northern (Owings, Md.), 1-0 
Northern recorded its 47th-straight win with a season-opening 13-0 rout of Patuxent (Md.). Jess Cummings pitched a no-hitter and struck out 13 and Erin Adams had two hits and drove in four runs. Northern hosts McDonough (Pomfret, Md.) on Wednesday.

3. (3) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 5-0 
Tori Finucane struck out 37 in a trio of run-rule wins over Our Lady of Good Counsel (Olney, Md.) (12-1), St. John's (Washingon D.C.) (15-0) and 14-0 over Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.). In five starts, Finucane has struck out 67 of the 108 batters she has faced (30 innings total) and is hitting .600 with 10 RBIs. Bishop visits 6-0 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) on Wednesday.

4. (4) Logan (Union City, Calif.), 5-0 
In extending its winning streak to 25 games, Logan defeated Monte Vista, 6-1, as Kim Goulart and Raeann Garza had three hits each and Garza ran her record to 5-0.  Logan faces American of Fremont on Tuesday.

5. (5) Marcus (Flower Mound, Texas), 19-0 
Marcus recorded shutout wins over Ryan (Denton, Texas) and Lewisville (Texas). Coppell hosts Marcus on Tuesday.

6. (6) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 17-0
With a 1-0 win over Teurlings Catholic, Curtis ran its win streak to 50 straight. Pitchers Katie Brignac (7-0) and Peyton Pigniolo (10-0) have been dominating for the Lady Patriots. They face 9-3 Riverside (Reserve, La.) on Tuesday.

7. (8) Frontier (Bakersfield, Calif.), 15-0
Hitting .430 as a team, Frontier has outscored its foes, 163-22 and had a big week with four wins and 48 runs. Brenna Vasquez (.610) and Karissa Nickeson (.676) lead six starters with .400 or higher averages. The Titans host Liberty (Bakersfield) on Wednesday.

8. (25) Jack Britt (Fayetteville, N.C.), 9-0 
Jack Britt beat Cape Fear 3-0, Pinecrest (Southern Pines) 10-0, and Seventy First (Fayetteville) 24-0 and allowed just one hit in the three games. Britt got a no-hitter from Mary Williams, who struck out 17 and beat Cape Fear, 3-0. Williams has allowed three hits on the season and is 5-0. She has fanned 65 in 31 innings. Stephanie Thomas is 4-0 and has allowed just one hit in 20 innings with 46 strikeouts. Next game at Pine Forest (Fayetteville).

9. (9) Woodinville (Wash.), 0-0
With Washington's Gatorade POY Madi Schreyer (Stanford) in the circle, the Falcons have lost just twice in the last three seasons. They open season on March 30 versus No. 13 North Medford, Ore. (5-0).

10. (10) Coronado (Lubbock, Texas), 23-1
Monique Garcia picked up her 16th win with a two-hit shutout over Central (San Angelo) on Saturday. The Mustangs also beat Midland Lee (Midland), 3-2. They have won 13 in a row and host Tascosa (Amarillo, Texas) on Tuesday.

11. (11) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 15-1 
Mission Viejo beat Los Alamitos, 11-3, and Santa Margarita, 3-0. The Diablos' only loss was at the Arizona TOC event (3-1) to Norco, but since have been unbeatable in defeating their last 10 foes, 79-14. Four of their last five opponents have not scored. They host El Toro (Lake Forest) on Tuesday.

12. (12) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 13-1 
The Sharks defeated West Ranch (Valencia), 6-5 and 15-7 on Saturday. Next up: March 27 at Bishop Amat (La Puente).

13. (15) North Medford (Ore.), 5-0
North Medford beat Foothill (Palo Cedro, Calif.) twice, 3-0 and 19-8, then blanked Grants Pass 10-0 twice. The Black Tornado have run-ruled four of their five opponents this season. They play Southridge (Beaverton, Ore.) and West Salem on Tuesday. On Saturday, they visit No. 8 Woodinville (Wash.).

14. (14) Sierra (Manteca, Calif.), 11-0
The Timberwolves beat Oakdale and Lathrop. Host 6-1 Kimball (Tracy, Calif.) on Tuesday.

15. (18) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose), 10-0
With wins over Presentation (San Jose) 9-1, 2-1 over Leland (San Jose) and 3-1 over Notre Dame (Belmont, Calif.), the Monarchs have won 23 in a row. Sophomore Haley Wymbs is hitting .481 and senior Catherine Callaway is hitting .485. Mitty hosts Notre Dame (Salinas) on Wednesday. 

16. (16) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 0-0
With Steph Thomas on the mound (27-0), Immaculate Heart was unbeaten in winning the 2012 state title. The Eagles open their season April 1 hosting Paramus Catholic (N.J.).

17. (17) Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), 3-0 
The Timberwolves opened with a trio of wins, but had to work hard to win two of them — 10-6 over Richland (Wash.) and 7-6 over University (Spokane, Wash.). They also routed Hanford (Wash.) 21-2. They host rival Lakeland (Rathburn, Idaho) on Wednesday.

18. (NR) Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.), 9-1
Led by pitcher Tera Blanco, the Vikings won the Foothill Tournament last weekend. The Vikings shut out host Foothill Saturday, 8-0, in the tournament final. Sydney McCollum hit home runs in consecutive plate appearances to lead the offense and Blanco was named MVP of the tournament. She allowed only four runs during the tournament run in which Marina outscored its four opponents, 26-4. The Vikings host 12-4 Rosary (Fullerton) on Tuesday.

19. (19) Cienega (Vail, Ariz.), 15-1
Defeated Desert View, 9-1, and Douglas, 10-0. Led by senior A.J. Hervey, who has four home runs, 22 runs and a .568 batting average, the team is hitting .392. CHS will visit Desert View (Tucson) on Wednesday.

20. (20) Lake Howell (Winter Park, Fla.), 15-1 
The Silver Hawks defeated Oviedo, 16-0, as Ashia Kerr and Autumn Hanners each homered and doubled. They host 14-0 Bradford (Starke, Fla.) on Thursday. Ashton Adkins 14-0 with 116 strikeouts in 80 innings, leads Bradford, while Hanners has 12 wins and 98 strikeouts in 77 innings.

21. (7) Pearland (Texas), 24-2  
After beating Memorial (Pasadena) 14-1, the Oilers had their 14-game win streak snapped by Manvel, 3-2. The Oilers travel to Houston to play Dobie on Tuesday.

22. (22) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 22-2
With a 16-1 win over Langham (Houston) and 9-1 over Cypress Creek (Houston) Mariah Gibson improves to 17-1 and has a 0.55 ERA.  The Bobcats host Cypress Springs (Cypress) on Tuesday.

23. (23) Olathe East (Kan.), 0-0
Led by state Gatorade winner Allison Stewart (13-0, 0.20 ERA and 52 RBIs), Olathe opens the season on March 28 at North (Shawnee Mission, Kan.).

24. (24) North Marion (Citra, Fla.), 14-1 
North Marion beat Dunnellon 3-1 as Holly McKinnon struck out 16 in a 4-hitter. As long as McKinnon is throwing shutouts, the Colts are winning. McKinnon has 10 shutouts and 155 strikeouts in 95 innings. She has allowed just one earned run this season. Host Dunnellon again on April 1.

25. (21) Carolina Forest (Myrtle Beach, S.C.), 12-1 
Carolina Forest lost to Conway, 3-2 and beat Sumter 11-6. It will host Sumter on Wednesday.

Dropped Out: No. 13 Basha (Chandler, Ariz.)