MaxPreps top 25 national high school softball rankings

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For the 10th-straight week, Norco holds the top spot in MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 Softball Rankings. But with the poseason here, two other Top 25-ranked teams could be standing between the Cougars and a mythical MaxPreps National Championship.

The Cougars, winners of all 30 games this season, open California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section D1 tournament Tuesday. But the road to the CIF-SS title will be tough with No. 2 Los Alamitos and No. 20 Orange Lutheran wanting another crack at the nation's top team.

Both Los Alamitos and Orange Lutheran lost to Norco in early April in the Michelle Carew Classic.

But it's easy to hear "don't forget about us" from the rest of the Top 10. Coral Springs Charter moved to No. 3 after winning its third-straight Florida 5A title and 23rd game in a row.



Bishop O'Connell went 27-0 and captured the Virginia state D1 title. And No. 5 Gahr has won 26 games with a goal of winning the CIF-SS D2 title.

Moving into the Top 10 is LaCueva.

The biggest mover of the week was Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio) which vaulted from unranked to No. 15. Ranked earlier this season, Lakewood has won 10 straight games by shutout.

Also new to the Top 25 this week are Canyon, Hamilton, Swan Valley, West Orange and Parkland.

1. (Last week 1) Norco (Calif.), 30-0
The Cougars take on 18-6 Vista Murietta (Murietta, Calif.) in Tuesday's second round of the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section D1 tournament. In its 30 wins, Norco has allowed just 31 runs.

2. (3) Los Alamitos ( Calif.), 24-3
The Griffins, winners of nine in a row, host 18-9 Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) in the second round of the CIF Southern Section D1 tournament.



3. (4) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 30-1
The Panthers defeated Eustis 2-1 to win their third-straight 5A softball championship. Behind the pitching of senior Allison Muraskin, a Maxpreps National Player of the Year finalist, they won their final 23 games. Their lone loss was 3-2 to Nassau in eight innings on March 10. Muraskin finished 28-1 with a 0.26 ERA and 269 strikeouts in 161 innings.

4. (6) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 27-0
The Knights swept through the state tournament winning 10-0, 11-0 and 8-0. They allowed six runs all season. Junior Kat Sandercock, a finalist for MaxPreps National Player of the Year, concluded her season with a 26-0 record and a 0.09 ERA. She had 330 strikeouts in 151 innings and also batted .471 with 25 extra base hits and 57 RBIs.

5. (5) Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), 26-0
The Gladiators defeated Rosary Academy (Fullerton) 6-4 in the first round of the CIF Southern Section D2 tournament and plays 17-6 St. Lucy's (Glendora) on Tuesday.

6. (9) Woodinville (Wash.), 20-0
The Falcons have won six-straight games by shutout and open state 4A play on Friday.

7. (7) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 30-2
Oakleaf won its final 26 games and the state 8A title. Oakleaf allowed one run in the postseason in winning seven times, but needed a four-run rally in the seventh inning to handle 22-8 Wellington in the championship game. Opponents scored 28 runs against Oakleaf this season.

8. (8) Katy (Texas), 34-3
The Tigers have won 19 straight and beat previously ranked Atascocita (Humble) twice to advance to the 6A regional finals against 36-6 Deer Park.



9. (10) Hurricane (W. Va.), 33-1
The Redskins got a three-run homer from Jayme Bailey to beat Parkersburg 11-1 and earn a berth in the state 3A tournament, set to begin on Wednesday.

10. (11) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 28-0
The Bears won the state 6A title.

11. (15) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 24-1
Penn closed out the regular season with seven straight wins. As a team, Penn is hitting .464. Up next, the state 4A tournament.

12. (13) Bentonville (Ark.), 29-1
Morgan Nelson had three hits and drove in five runs as the Tigers routed North Little Rock 11-3 for the state 7A title and closed out the season with 14 wins in a row. Ten different players homered during the season. It was the Tigers' second-straight state title.

13. (23) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 30-1
Oak Park has won 10 straight. In the final week of regular season play, Oak Park scored 53 times in four wins.

14. (18) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 24-0, 26-0
The Colts are in the state 4A semifinals Tuesday against 26-2 Southern Alamance.



15. (NR) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 26-1
Courtney Vierstra's one-hit, 12-strikeout effort was backed by home runs from Megan Davis, Brenna Brownfield and Tigan Braskie as the Lancers cruised to the D2 district championship with a 10-0, six-inning win against Bloom-Carroll. Lakewood, which has won 10-straight games via shutout, plays Tuesday in the regional final.

16. (NR) Swan Valley (Saginaw, Mich.), 27-0
The senior-loaded Vikings are hitting .466 team with Rebecca Curtis (.639 with nine triples, 15 doubles and 56 runs scored) and Grace Dutoi (62 RBIs, nine homers and a .543 batting average) leading the way. Lauren Addy has 46 steals in 20 games to go with a .516 average.

17. (17) Donovan Catholic (Toms River, N.J.), 22-0
Donovan Catholic won a 2-1 battle Friday over state power Middleton North to close out the regular season. State A division play opens Thursday.

18. (NR) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 28-3
Lauren Mathis pitched a four-hitter and struck out 13 as West Orange defeated Palm Harbor, 1-0, for its second-straight 9A state title. The Warriors shut out five of their last six postseason opponents while outscoring them by a 28-3 margin.

19. (19) Moniteau (West Sunbury, Pa.), 18-0
Moniteau, which has allowed 11 runs this season, opens the postseason Monday.

20. (24) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 26-4
The Lancers started the postseason with a 12-2 win and have won 10 in a row.



21. (NR) Canyon (New Braunfels, Texas), 34-4
Winners of 22 of their last 23, the Eagles beat Birdville twice to advance to the state 5A regionals Friday against 33-5 Chapin (El Paso).

22. (25) Deer Park (Texas), 36-6
Deer Park has won 24 of its last 25 and has four players batting over .400.

23. (NR) Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.), 30-6
Hamilton won its final 12 games, including a 7-2 state 6A title game victory over previously No. 2-ranked Pinnacle (Phoenix). In its final 12 games, Hamilton pitchers recorded eight shutouts and allowed seven runs. Hamilton beat Pinnacle two-out-of three games this season. In the title game, sophomores Macy Simmons and Lorena Vasquez-Inzunza homered and junior Madison Seigworth struck out 12 in a complete-game effort.

24. (NR) Parkland (Allentown, Pa.), 23-0
Behind the pitching of seniorAubree Fritzinger, the Trojans beat Emmanus (Pa.) 1-0 to win the Eastern Penn Conference title. Fitzinger is 18-0 with a 0.90 ERA.

25. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 34-2
The Pioneers lost for the second time this season to Hamilton. The second loss, however, came in the state 6A championship game.

Dropped out: Forney (Tex), Dakota (Macomb, Mich.), Leonardtown (Md.), Crown Point (Ind.), Westminster (Ala.), Atascocita (Humble, Texas.).