Little change as Norco remains No. 1, while 14 of this week’s Top 25 are unbeaten.
Video: Amazing diving catch sends No. 2 team to quarterfinals
Watch Nikki Skerlong's full-extension, diving snag for her Ouachita Parish squad.
For the seventh straight week, unbeaten Norco held onto the top spot in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent Softball Top 25 Rankings.
While Norco remained on top, the second- through fifth-spots also remained unchanged.
But there were plenty of changes in this week's Top 25 as four teams joined the Xcellent Rankings for the first time and two others (Johnson and Westminster) rejoined the Top 25.
One of the week's biggest movers was 11-0 Crown Point, which vaulted into the Top 25 at No. 18.
Also new to the Top 25 this week are Center Grove, Donovan Catholic and Moniteau.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings
Katy moves up one spot, to No. 9, in the Xcellent 25 softball rankings.
Photo by Mark Goodman
The Cougars soundly beat Santiago (Corona) and Centennial (Corona).
2. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 30-1The Pioneers have won their last 10 games.
3. (3) Los Alamitos ( Calif.), 18-3The Griffins have won their last three by a 26-0 margin.
4. (4) Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas), 25-1The Hawks downed Round Rock 2-0 for their fourth-straight win.
5. (5) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 23-1The Panthers have won 16 straight and ended the regular season with four-straight shutouts.
6. (9) Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), 17-0The Gladiators have allowed 22 runs while scoring 159 this season. They have 37 home runs and 88 extra base hits in 17 games.
7. (7) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 16-0The Knights took last week off, but have allowed just three runs in 16 victories.
8. (11) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 24-2Oakleaf has won 19 in a row.
9. (10) Katy (Texas), 27-3The Tigers have won 12 in a row and have scored 130 runs in their last 10 contests.
10. (12) Woodinville (Wash.), 12-0The Falcons blasted Eastlake (Sammamish) 10-0 during their only action of a wet week.
11. (14) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 13-0Lakewood stretched its two-season win streak to 41, but the prestigious Wendy Invitational was cut short due to inclement weather.
12. (13) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 21-0The Bears took two from El Dorado, 9-6 and 15-2, as they continue to bat over .400 as a team.
13. (16) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 12-0The Huskies have won 23 straight games.
14. (17) Bentonville (Ark.), 21-1, 23-1 The Tigers, who have allowed 20 runs this season, have won seven straight by scoring 66 times.
15. (18) Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.), 19-2The Cardinals have won six in a row, four by shutout.
16. (23) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 13-0Mackenzie Griman has 26 RBIs on 23 base hits in just 13 games and
Danielle Watson has 107 strikeouts in 49 innings and is 9-0.
17. (22) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 30-0The Raiders have scored 10 runs or more in a game 19 times.
18. (NR) Crown Point (Ind.), 11-0Behind the pitching of senior
Alexis Holloway, the Bulldogs have allowed 13 runs.
19. (NR) Westminster Christian (Huntsville, Ala.), 40-2Annie Willis had it going on last week as the Wildcats won the Hoover Classic. She has 11 homers and has posted a 34-1 record with a 0.36 ERA and 429 strikeouts in 196 innings this season. The Wildcats have won 12 in a row.
20. (21) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 18-0The Colts beat Whiteville 7-2.
21. (NR) Center Grove (Greenwood, Ind.), 12-0The Trojans are hitting .435 as a team and pitchers
Abby Herbst and
Nicole Abrams are each 6-0 and have a combined ERA of 0.95.
22. (NR) Donovan Catholic (Toms River, N.J.), 10-0Freshman
Kayla Roncin has 10 RBIs and is hitting .571, while sophomore pitcher
Lindsay Nelson is 9-0 with a 0.44 ERA.
23. (NR) Moniteau (West Sunbury, Pa.), 10-0The team batting average is .443 and three players are hitting over .575. That's plenty of support for pitcher
Kennedy DeMatteis, who is 10-0 with a 0.55 ERA.
24. (25) North Augusta (S.C.), 20-1-1The Yellowjackets, who have allowed just 16 runs this season, blanked Midland Valley (Graniteville) and Aiken to run their win streak to 11 games.
25. (NR) Johnson (San Antonio), 25-2Johnson beat previously ranked Carroll (Corpus Christi), to rejoin the Top 25.
Dropped out: Jesuit (Ore.), Lexington (Tenn.), Sparkman (Ala.), West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.) and Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.).
