MaxPreps top 25 national high school softball rankings

Video: Catch Through The Fence
See this insane playoff catch as Jenna Howell crashes through the fence.

Unbeaten Norco remained atop the MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 Softball Rankings in a week that saw four Top 10 teams lose, including Nos. 2 and 3.

Norco ran its record to 11-0 with a pair of lopsided wins (13-4 and 14-1) and held a comfortable lead over unbeaten No. 2 Desert Ridge and No. 3 Spain Park, which has won its first 20 games of 2017.

Preseason No. 1 Los Alamitos lost for the second time to slip to 8-2 and fell five spots to No. 8.

Previously unranked and 10-0 Lakewood Ranch vaulted into the Top 10 at No. 6. The Mustangs have recorded five shutouts and allowed one run in four other victories.

Also new to the Top 10 this week are No. 7 Amador Valley and No. 10 Willis.

Previously-ranked Mission Viejo returned to the rankings at No. 14 after beating Los Alamitos.

Also new to the Top 25 this week are St. Mary's, Johnson, Kingwood and North Carolina unbeaten Cape Fear.


1. (last week 1) Norco (Calif.), 11-0
The Highlanders took two from Diamond Ranch (Pomona), 14-1 and 13-4.
Next up: Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga) on Friday.

2. (4) Desert Ridge (Mesa, Ariz.), 11-0
Sophomores Shaylee Ackerman is 6-0 with 83 strikeouts in 52 innings. She is also hot at the plate (.606 average, 25 RBIs and seven homers) and Jadyn Gonzales (hitting .615) is tearing it up.
Next up: Showdown with No. 5 Pinnacle (Phoenix) on Tuesday.

3. (5) Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.), 21-0
The Jaguars swept through the Oxford Tournament, winning four games by a combined 25-11 margin. They beat 18-3 Oxford, 3-0, in the finals behind Jenna Olszewski's two homers and eighth grader Annabelle Widra's no-hitter.
Next up: Oak Mountain (Birmingham) on Tuesday.

4. (6) Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas), 19-0
The Hawks have allowed one or no runs in 14 games this season. They have five one-run wins.
Next up: Round Rock on Tuesday.

5. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 17-1
The Pioneers had their win streak snapped at 17, losing 1-0 to No. 14 Hamilton (Chandler). Marissa Schuld is hitting .441 with 10 home runs and 38 RBIs. She is also 10-0 with a 0.26 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 54 innings.
Next up: No. 2 Desert Ridge on Tuesday.

6. (NR) Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.), 10-0
All cylinders are firing: pitchers have an 0.67 ERA, team batting average is .387 and defense is fielding at .959. Eight different players have homered and 10 have stolen a base.
Next up: Bartow Tournament of Champions on Friday.

7. (11) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 6-0
Behind the pitching of junior Danielle Williams, the Dons blanked Benicia and Archbishop Mitty (San Jose).
Next up: Granada (Livermore) on Thursday.

8. (3) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 8-2
In the Best of the West Tournament, the Griffins routed Mater Dei (Santa Ana), 12-0, but lost 2-0 to No. 14 Mission Viejo.
Next up: 8-0 Gahr (Cerritos).

9. (9) La Habra (Calif.), 8-2
The Highlanders' two losses have been 2-0 to No. 1 Norco and 3-1 to No. 14 Mission Viejo.
Next up: Valencia on Friday.

10. (14) Willis (Texas), 20-1
The Wildkats have won 16 in a row since losing 1-0 to Plano. Senior Casey Dixon is 14-1 with 144 strikeouts in 75 innings. She also has hit five home runs.
Next up: Brenham (Tex.) on Tuesday.

11. (NR) St. Mary's (Stockton, Calif.), 8-0
Junior Carley Morfey is off to a 7-0 start with a 0.21 ERA and Alex Preston and Kiana Parrish have combined for 29 hits and 19 RBIs and 17 runs scored.
Next up: West (Tracy) on Monday.

12. (23) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 15-3
The Huskies avenged an early season loss to No. 5 Pinnacle, winning 1-0 in the finals of the Desert Mountain Invitational. Madison Seigworth pitched a four-hitter and struck out 10 and Abby Andersen drove in the winning run in the top of the seventh. The Huskies have won eight straight.
Next up: 13-3 Desert Vista (Phoenix) on Tuesday. 13. (15) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 3-0
Kat Sandercock has 10 RBIs and has allowed one hit in three wins this season.
Next up: Bishop McNamara (Forestville, Md.) on Tuesday.

14. (NR) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 8-3
Kyra Snyder pitched a pair of 2-0 shutouts in the semifinal and finals of the Best of the West Tournament to lead the Diablos. Senior All-American Camryn Ybarra homered in the title game against No. 7 Los Alamitos.
Next up: No. 7 Los Alamitos on Thursday.

15. (17) Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.), 27-1
The Wildcats have won 18 straight since losing 3-2 to Princeville. Junior Olivia Aycock is batting .494 with 39 runs scored and 29 stolen bases.
Next up: Randolph (Huntsville) on Tuesday.

16. (10) Grand Terrace (Calif.), 5-1
Bounced back from 6-5 loss to 12-2 Redlands to win three times by a combined 21-8 margin.
Next up: Roosevelt (Eastvale) on Mar. 30.

17. (25) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 13-1
Since losing 3-2 in eight innings to 9-4 West Nassau (Callahan), the Panthers have won six straight. Four wins came in winning the Speedball Classic that included a 5-0 win over previously ranked American Heritage (Plantation).
Next up: Archbishop McCarthy (Ft. Lauderale) on Tuesday.

18. (NR) Johnson (San Antonio), 17-1
Another Texas team running on all cylinders – 43 runs in five wins since losing one-run game.
Next up: Madison (San Antonio) on Tuesday.

19. (19) D.H. Conley (Greenville, N.C.), 5-0
The Vikings routed J.H. Rose (Greenville), 25-0, in their only outing last week.
Next up: 6-0 C.B. Aycock (Pikeville) on Tuesday.

20. (20) Katy (Texas), 19-3
The Tigers have won four in a row.
Next up: Tompkins (Katy) on Tuesday and Mayde Creek (Houston) on Mar. 29.

21. (21) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 7-2
Orange Lutheran did not play last week. The Lancers have lost twice by 3-2 margins.
Next up: St. Anthony (Long Beach) on Saturday.

22. (22) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 19-2-1
The Tigers have won 12 straight since losing to Katy.
Next up: Flour Bluff (Corpus Christi) on Monday.

23. (24) Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.), 2-0
The 2016 state champions (36-2) opened with shutout wins over Conner and Mercy (Louisville) as junior Kennedy Sullivan allowed one hit and struck out 25. She also homered in the 2-0 win over Mercy in a game in which she struck out 16.
Next up: Mercy (Louisville) on Tuesday.

24. (NR) Kingwood (Texas), 16-3
The Mustangs started the year highly ranked, but after losing three of five games in late February, have rebounded with six-straight victories. In that span, they have scored 58 times and allowed just six runs.
Next up: Summer Creek (Houston) on Tuesday.

25. (NR) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 8-0
The Colts have come out swinging and have scored 115 runs in their first eight games. On six occasions, they've scored a dozen or more.
Next up: Holly Springs (N.C.) on Monday.

Dropped out: MacArthur (Houston, Texas), Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), Chelsea (Ala.), Clovis (Calif.), and American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.).