MaxPreps top 25 national high school softball rankings

Video: How did she catch that?
See North Dakota's Taiylor Ellingson dive through a fence to make the catch.

Taylor Dockins tossed a six-hitter and Bianca Gonzalez hit a three-run home run as Norco defeated Orange Lutheran 4-0 to win the prestigious Michelle Carew Tournament last Saturday.

Before the championship game win, Norco edged No. 3 Los Alamitos 1-0 in the semifinals. The Cougars have beaten seven teams that have been nationally ranked this season by a 35-2 margin.

As a result of its dominance over ranked teams and its 19-0 record, Norco remains atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent Softball Top 25 Rankings.

Pinnacle remained No. 2 and Los Alamitos held on to No. 3 with its 4-1 showing in the Carew event.



The rest of the Top 5 includes a pair of Texas squads Hendrickson and Johnson.

One of the week's biggest movers was Huntington, which entered the rankings at No. 13 after beating previously ranked and unbeaten Hurricane.

In addition to Huntington, new to the Top 25 this week are Cibola, Lakewood, Gahr, Oakleaf and Lexington.

1. (Last week 1) Norco (Calif.), 19-0
The Cougars beat Los Alamitos 1-0 in the semifinals and Orange Lutheran 4-0 in the finals to win the Michelle Carew Classic. Senior pitcher Taylor Dockins has 94 career wins and is tied for second in the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section history, trailing only Mission Viejo alum Taylor McQuillin by nine. Norco has 11 regular season games remaining and could play as many as five in the playoffs.

2. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 25-1
The Pioneers have won their last eight games and No. 8 was an 8-4 win over No. 17 O'Connor (Phoenix) as Marissa Schuld homered. A rematch with 22-4 O'Connor is slated for Tuesday.

3. (3) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 16-3
The Griffins lost to No. 1 Norco 1-0 in the semifinals of the Michelle Carew Classic, then blanked previously ranked Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 6-0 in the third place game.



4. (6) Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas), 22-1
The Hawks rebounded from their first loss of the season (4-3 to Round Rock's Cedar Ridge) with a 15-2 shellacking of Round Rock Westwood (Austin) as five players drove in two runs or more.

5. (10) Johnson (San Antonio), 22-1
The Jaguars have won 10 in a row, have scored 108 times and allowed just nine runs during that span. Their lone loss this season was by a 5-4 score.

6. (7) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 18-1
The Panthers have won 11 straight. Senior pitcher Allison Muraskin has an 18-1 record with a 0.30 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 94 innings.

7. (8) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 16-3
The Lancers lost in the finals of Michelle Carew Classic 4-0 to top-seeded Norco, but in reaching the finals they defeated Santiago (Corona), Kennedy (La Palma), Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.) and Amador Valley (Pleasanton). Three of the victories were via shutout.

8. (9) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 13-0
Eleven of the Knights' wins have been by shutouts, including the last seven. Four of those came last week as senior pitcher Kat Sandercock allowed three hits and struck out 44 in 23 innings.

9. (13) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 25-2-1
The Tigers have won 18 straight and are hitting .393 as a team. Senior Lisa Sosa has accounted for 65 runs (35 runs, 30 RBIs) on 40 base hits.



10. (14) Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.), 17-0
The Mustangs have won their last six by shutout and have scored 60 times in that span. The Hornbuckles – junior Cheyenne Hornbuckle and freshman Sydney Hornbuckle – have it going. Cheyenne is batting .538 and Sydney is 13-0 with a 0.43 ERA.

11. (17) Kingwood (Texas), 22-3
Another Texas team on a hot streak, the Mustangs have won 12 in a row. Their pitching has been superb as Madison Lindsey, Madeline Meier and Jenika Lombrana have combined for a 0.97 ERA and limited opponents to a .137 batting average.

12. (15) Katy (Texas), 24-3
The Tigers have won nine in a row and scored 116 runs during their streak.

13. (NR) Huntington (W. Va.), 8-0
The Highlands won Friday's battle of West Virginia unbeatens with a 5-2 win over 13-1 Hurricane (W.Va.).

14. (NR) Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), 16-0
The Gladiators are hitting .420 as a team with eight players hitting over .300. They have hit 33 home runs (Madison Huskey has nine). Malia Quarles is hitting .591 with 28 RBIs and Alyssa Kumiyama is batting .545. Junior pitcher Danielle Martinez is 11-0 with a 0.91 ERA.

15. (20) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 17-0
Last Saturday, the Bears shutout Santa Fe (N.M.), 20-0 and 16-0. They've scored 220 runs.



16. (NR) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 19-2
Behind the pitching of Kelsey Sweatt, Oakleaf swept Florida's Kissimmee Klassic.  Oakleaf, winners of 14 straight, took a 1-0 win championship game win from previously ranked Scott County (Georgetown, Ken.).

17. (12) O'Connor (Phoenix), 22-4
The Eagles saw their 11-game win streak snapped by No. 2 Pinnacle (Phoenix) 8-4 last Friday. They get a rematch on Tuesday.

18. (21) Woodinville (Wash.), 9-0
Last week, the senior-loaded Falcons routed Bothell 11-3, and Issaquah 13-1.

19. (19) Bentonville (Ark.), 18-1
The Tigers have won twice since losing to Rogers 4-3. Pitchers Madison Prough and Cailey Cochran have a combined 0.75 ERA and has 160 strikeouts in 103 combined innings.

20. (NR) Lexington (Tenn.), 24-0
The Tigers won the Tennessee State Coaches Association Tournament over the weekend by winning seven times and beating teams from three states. They are hitting .465 as a team, led by junior Kaitlin Kelley (.600 with 35 RBIs and five home runs).

21. (NR) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 6-0
Lakewood has stretched its win streak to 34 after starting 2017 6-0. In its last 53 games, Lakewood has lost just once.



22. (NR) Ballard (Louisville, Ky.), 11-0
The Bruins have great numbers: 121 runs scored, 13 runs allowed.

23. (23) Orange (Hillsborough, N.C.), 9-0
The Panthers' seniors are getting it done: Mia Davidson is hitting .667 with nine homers and 39 RBIs and Kristina Givens is hitting .600 and is 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA.

24. (24) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 15-0
The Colts have 11 run-rule wins this season.

25. (NR) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 25-0
The Raiders are averaging 10 runs per game. The team batting average is .439.

Dropped out: Grand Terrace (Calif.), Fort Myers (Fla.), Hurricane (W. Va.), Scott County (Ky.), Willis (Texas), Spain Park (Ala.) and East Carter (Ky.).