MaxPreps top 25 national high school softball rankings

Video: Softball catch of the year
See Taiylor Ellingson make an amazing catch while crashing into the fence.

With three major tournament titles to its credit, Norco remains the overwhelming choice as the No. 1 team in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent Softball Top 25 Rankings.

The Cougars have captured the Dana Housley Memorial Tournament, the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions and the Michelle Carew Classic. In those 14 wins, the Cougars scored 89 runs and allowed just 12.

Though there are no more tournaments remaining in the regular season, the target on their back keeps getting bigger. Eight regular season games remain before postseason. The Cougars are 2-0 in Big XIII Conference play.

While Norco remained No. 1 for a sixth-straight week, the only change to the top 5 was Coral Springs Charter moving up to No. 5.



One of the week's biggest movers was previously ranked West Orange that went from unranked to No. 15. West Orange opened the season ranked No. 3.

Also returning to the Top 25 were Scott County and Sparkman. Scott County opened the season at No. 24 and Sparkman was ranked No. 23.

Also new to the Top 25 this week are Oak Park-River Forest, Jesuit, Penn and North Augusta.

1. (Last week 1) Norco (Calif.), 22-0
The Cougars won three times last week (4-1, 3-2 and 10-2) and continue to get impressive pitching from senior Taylor Dockins (22-0, 0.71 ERA). Norco has allowed 22 runs this season. They should get challenged on Tuesday by 15-4 Santiago (Corona), winners of five straight.

2. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 27-1
With lopsided wins over Mountain Point (Glendale) and previously ranked O'Conner (Phoenix), the Pioneers have won their last 10 games. The team has an on-base percentage of .464, including junior Marissa Schuld at .577. Schuld, who has 14 homers and 52 RBIs, is 17-0 with a 0.32 ERA.

3. (3) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 18-3
The Griffins bounced from their 1-0 loss to Norco to shutout Amador Valley (Pleasanton), Edison (Huntington Beach) and Fountain Valley by a convincing 26-0 margin.



4. (4) Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas), 24-1
The Hawks rebounded from their 4-3 loss on March 31 with a trio of wins and a 33-5 run differential. They end their regular season Tuesday versus Round Rock.

5. (6) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 20-1
The Panthers have won 13 straight with 10 shutouts during the steak. Senior Allison Muraskin is 20-1 with a 0.32 ERA. The Panthers have three regular season games remaining: at 14-3 Jupiter on Tuesday, Lake Worth Christian (Boynton Beach ) on Wednesday and American Heritage (Delray Beach) on Friday.

6. (10) Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.), 17-0
The Mustangs have won their last six by shutout and have 13 on the season. Freshman Sydney Hornbuckle is 12-0 with nine shutouts. They are also hitting .400 as a team with eight players batting higher than .300.

7. (8) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 16-0
The Knights cruise into Spring Break having allowed three runs in 16 victories, the most recent being a 17-0 shellacking of 10-2 St. Mary's Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.). Junior pitcher Kat Sandercock has pitched four no-hitters (three perfect games) and is 16-0 with a 0.08 ERA. She has 197 strikeouts in 92 innings. In three games last week, she allowed one hit and struck out 46.

8. (9) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 27-2-1
The Tigers have won 20 straight. Their two losses came at the hands of teams that are a combined 45-14. They visit previously ranked and 23-2 Johnson (San Antonio) on Friday.

9. (14) Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), 17-0
The Gladiators have allowed 22 runs this season and are hitting .415 with 37 home runs. Malia Quarles (batting .574), Alyssa Kumiyama (batting .541) and Madison Huskey (batting .458) have combined to hit 25 home runs and drive in 73 runs.



10. (12) Katy (Texas), 26-3
The Tigers have won 11 in a row and have scored 149 runs during that span. In February, they defeated No. 8 Carroll (Corpus Christi), 3-1. The Tigers have scored 282 runs on the season.

11. (16) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 21-2
Oakleaf has won 16 in a row and has allowed eight runs in those victories. The pitching-rich Knights have recorded 16 shutouts this season.

12. (18) Woodinville (Wash.), 11-0
The Falcons handed Richland its first loss of the season, 7-0, and beat Kamiakin (Kennewick), 10-3. They have scored 91 times in their 11 wins.

13. (20) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 19-0
The Bears, averaging 12 runs per game, took two from 14-4 Sandia (Albuquerque), 9-4 and 6-1, on Saturday.

14. (21) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 10-0
Lakewood stretched its win streak to 38, recording five wins last week by a combined margin of 35-2.

15. (NR) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 19-2
Winners of 15 straight, the Warriors have allowed 20 runs on the season. Senior pitcher Lauren Mathis is 9-1 with a 0.23 ERA. In 61 innings, she has allowed 15 base hits.



16. (NR) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 8-0
Led by senior pitcher Chardonnay Harris, the defending state 4A champion Huskies have won 19 straight games.

17. (19) Bentonville (Ark.), 21-1
The Tigers won three times last week by a 26-1 margin. Haley Cornell has 36 RBIs and 11 home runs.

18. (NR) Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.), 16-2
Since losing 1-0 to No. 11 Oakleaf, the Cardinals have won three times. Megan Murphy, Kennedy Sullivan and Mattea Ware have a combined 0.88 ERA.

19. (NR) Jesuit (Portland), 14-0
The Crusaders ran their two-season win streak to 31. In 14 games this season, they have allowed 14 runs.

20. (20) Lexington (Tenn.), 31-1
The Tigers' win streak ended at 31 with a 5-4 loss to Scotts Hill (Reagan). Despite the loss, the Tigers are hitting .461 as a team.

21. (24) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 17-0
The Colts' 2-1 win over 26-4 Marlboro Academy (Bennettsville, S.C.) came after winning 16 other games by a 12-run per game margin.



22. (25) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 28-0
The Raiders have seven starters hitting over .400. Kamryn Moctezuma leads the way at .588.

23. (NR) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 8-0
Senior Danielle Watson is 5-0 with four shutouts and has allowed four hits in 27 innings. She has 63 strikeouts. Sophomore Mackenzie Griman is hitting .727 with 21 RBIs and 10 extra base hits.

24. (NR) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 36-4
Pitcher Lily Calvert is 15-1. Coach Dale Palmer recently won his 900th career game.

25. (NR) North Augusta (S.C.), 18-1-1
The Yellowjackets' Shircoria Bosket and Karly Heath have combined to hit 19 home runs and drive in 56 runs. Heath is also 10-0 with 107 strikeouts in 59 innings and has yet to allow an earned run.

Dropped out: O'Connor (Ariz.), Kingwood (Tex.), Ballard (Ken.), Orange (N.C.), Johnson (Texas), and Orange Lutheran (Calif.).