MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

Mission Viejo (Calif.) won three games last week to up its record to 12-0 and retain the No. 1 ranking in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent Top 25 National Softball Rankings.

In her first varsity start, Mission Viejo freshman Kyra Snyder scattered six hits and struck out eight batters to guide the top-ranked Diablos past No. 11 Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 5-2, in the Best of the West tournament championship game at Pacifica High last Saturday.

Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.) remained No. 2 and Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.) held on at No. 3, but there was a big shakeup in the Top 25 as eight teams lost and four fell out of the rankings.

Alexander Central has allowed just five runs this season in 10 games and has outscored its opponents 73-2 in its last five games.



Defending mythical national champion Northern (Owings, Md.) opened the season last Friday with a 12-1 victory for its 80th victory in a row, then lost to Chopticon (Morganza, Md.), 5-3, on Monday to see an end come to the longest winning streak in the nation. Northern fell from the Top 25.

Chopticon (Morganza, Md.) improved to 3-0 and took over the No. 14 spot in the Top 25.

Also new to the Top 25 this week are The Woodlands (Texas), Clovis (Calif.), Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.) and Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.).

Previously ranked Greenwood (Bowling Green, Tenn.) ran its win streak to 46 before recording a 3-3 tie with Male (Louisville, Ky.), then lost 8-0 to McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.), which is 10-3.


1. (No. 1 last week) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 12-0
The Diablos added three wins last week, including another over preseason No. 1 Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 5-2. They play at Los Alamitos (Calif.) on Wednesday.

2. (2) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 10-0
Central had a trio of run-rule wins last week (11-1, 24-0 and 11-1). While scoring 101 runs, Central has allowed just five on the season. They host South Iredell (Statesville, N.C.) on Friday.



3. (3) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 5-0
The Dons swept the Queen of the Mountain Invite and pitcher Johanna Grauer has yet to allow an earned run this season. She has 59 strikeouts in 35 innings. Next up is unbeaten San Ramon Valley (Danville, Calif.) on Tuesday.

4. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 7-0
Jazmyn Jackson homered and tripled in a doubleheader sweep of Clovis West (Calif.). Mitty also got homers from Haley Wymbs, Megan Nordin and Anissa Bonilla. Mitty visits Presentation (San Jose, Calif.) on Tuesday.

5. (9) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 17-0
Of the Raiders' 17 wins, 12 have been shutouts. In addition to having outstanding pitching, they've scored 159 times and recorded 15-0, 6-0 and 5-3 wins last week. They host American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) on April 1.

6. (15) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.), 15-0
Hitting .435 as a team, Yonge has also stolen 105 bases (led by Sara Hendrix with 24). Yonge visits Interlachen (Fla.) on March 31.

7. (7) Hoover (North Canton, Ohio), 0-0
Hoover brings a 34-game winning streak into its season opener at Perry on April 1.

8. (12) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 17-0
Barbers Hill recorded a pair of shutouts last week – 8-0 over New Caney (Texas) and 6-0 over Crosby (Texas) – to keep its win streak alive. King (Houston) visits on Tuesday.

9. (13) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 9-0
Curtis continues to get outstanding pitching and has won 65 of its last 66 games. The Patriots host De La Salle (New Orleans) in a doubleheader on Tuesday.

10. (21) Ponte Vedra (Fla.), 18-0
The Sharks are doing everything right – batting .460, fielding .920 and limiting opponents to nine runs in 18 games (12 of those have been shutouts). They visit Palatka (Fla.) on Wednesday. Avery Geehr is 18-0 with a 0.21 ERA and 189 strikeouts in 102 innings.

11. (11) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 9-2
Pacifica lost to No. 1 Mission Viejo for a second time this season (5-2), but recorded a trio of lopsided wins in between the losses. Next up is an away game at Western (Anahiem, Calif.) on Tuesday.

12. (17) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 19-1
The Bobcats are led by Junior Merris Schroder (who has scored 28 runs and driven in 28 runs) and pitcher Christina Biggerstaff (14-1), who has 152 strikeouts in 94 innings. Cypress Springs (Cypress, Texas) visits Cy-Fair on Tuesday.



13. (20) Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas), 16-1
Kayla Ober, Karli Hamiton and Brittany Nollkamper have combined for 74 RBIs. Cinco has won seven straight since losing 3-2 on Feb. 22. Memorial (Houston) visits on Tuesday.

14. (NR) Chopticon (Morganza, Md.), 3-0
The Braves have outscored their opponents 29-4 in their three victories, including 5-3 over previous No. 10 Northern (Owings, Md). They host Huntingtown (Md.) on Tuesday.

15. (23) La Grange (Texas), 23-1
Since losing their opener, the Leopards have won 23 straight. They host Giddings (Texas) on Tuesday.

16. (NR) The Woodlands (Texas), 22-2
The Highlanders have won 12 straight. They visit Conroe (Texas) on Tuesday. Aubrey Leach is hitting .567 and has 25 stolen bases on the season and Abby Langkamp is 13-0 with a 0.42 ERA.

17. (NR) Clovis (Calif.), 9-0
The Cougars have had just one close game this season and allowed just 10 runs. Up next they host rival Clovis East on April 1.

18. (14) Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.), 9-1
The Aztecs dropped a one-run game to Dana Hills, then rebounded to beat Beaumont, 7-1. Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) hosts Esperanza on Tuesday.



19. (19) Bloom-Carroll (Carroll, Ohio), 0-0
B-C, which went 30-3 in 2013, opens the season April 1 at Centerville (Ohio).

20. (NR) Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.),, 12-0
Led by junior Faith Lowry (.541 batting average) and senior Kaitlyn Trent (.500), the Eagles are off to their best start since the 1987 team went 33-0. They visit Knoxville Central on Tuesday.

21. (NR) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 16-2
The Senators lost 4-3 on March 3 and by forfeit on March 15, but other than that have been a wrecking crew offensively this season. They play Scottsboro (Ala.) on March 31.

22. (22) Olathe East (Kan.), 0-0
The Hawks, who were 24-1 a year ago, are favored to repeat as Kansas 6A state champions. They open the season April 3 by hosting North (Shawnee Mission, Kan.).

23. (14) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 18-1
After scoring 30 runs in shutout wins, the Eagles lost 4-3 to Kingwood (Texas). They visit Klein Forest (Houston) on Tuesday.

24. (24) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 0-0
The 2013 state runner-up opens its season April 1 at Paramus Catholic (N.J.).



25. (16) Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.), 14-2
Mountain Ridge lost to previously ranked Horizon, 3-1 on Saturday and will try to rebound against Boulder Creek (Anthem, Ariz.) on Tuesday.

Dropped Out: Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa, Ala.), Northern (Owings, Md.), Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.).