Video: MaxPreps Softball Preseason Top 100Los Alamitos made the most of the spotlight and dominated highly regarded teams from four states to grab the No. 1 spot in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.
The Griffins won perhaps the most prestigious tournament on the West Coast on Saturday by walloping Mater Dei, 11-1, in the championship game of the Dave Kops Tournament of Champions in Bullhead City, Arizona.
In the semifinals, Mater Dei defeated previous No. 1 Mission Viejo (Calif.), 4-2.
The Griffins allowed just one run in wins over Cactus (Glendale, Ariz.), Rio Rancho (N.M.), Palo Verde (Las Vegas) and Orange County rivals Pacifica (Garden Grove) and Mater Dei (Santa Ana).
Tournament MVP Ryan Denhart, who shut out Pacifica (4-0) in the semifinals, held 7-1 Mater Dei in check for six innings in the final, allowing five hits and striking out 10. In the championship game, the 8-0 Griffins collected 11 hits, including home runs by Mary Iakopo, Caitie Ladd and Jade Loe.
Los Alamitos and Mission Viejo are scheduled to play each other Thursday.
Meanwhile, Oakleaf (Fla.) improved to 17-0 to hold on to the No. 2 spot. Trailing Oakleaf is No. 3 Newsome (Lithia, Fla.), No. 4 Curry (Jasper, Ala.) and No. 5 Guyer (Denton, Texas), which has started the season 18-0.
New to the Top 25 this week are Mater Dei and North Fort Myers (Fla.).
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Mary Iakopo and Los Alamitos are the new No. 1 team in the nation.
File photo by Heston Quan
The Griffins took the 21st Dave Kops TOC in winning five games and outscoring their opponents, 30-1. They have 16 players who have signed or committed to play softball collegiately: seniors
Ariana Belarde (Menlo College),
Jenna Holcomb (Tennessee),
Jade Loe (Cal State Dominguez Hills),
Amanda Nishihira (Columbia) and
Allson Young (Fort Lewis College); juniors
Paige Austin (Biola),
Ryan Denhart (Maryland),
Allison Englant (Ohio),
Andrea Gonzalez (Iowa State),
Mary Iakopo (Oregon),
Jenna Kean (Arizona),
Caitlin Ladd (Michigan State),
Michele Ota (UC San Diego),
Alexa Schultz (Oklahoma) and
Cami Sellers (Boston College); sophomore
Daisy Munoz (Cal State Fullerton) and freshman Sara Ladd (Michigan State), though she is not on the varsity roster.
2. (2) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 17-0Freshman
Baylee Goddard is hitting .529 and leads the team with 19 RBIs and senior
Kelsey Sweatt is 7-0 with a 0.14 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 48 innings. She has allowed just 14 hits this season and only one in her last 14 innings.
3. (5) Newsome (Lithia, Fla.), 14-0The Wolves have given up just eight runs this season, while scoring 133. Five pitchers have allowed just 36 hits and have a combined 0.60 ERA and 138 strikeouts in 82 innings.
4. (6) Curry (Jasper, Ala.), 10-0 Justus Perry is batting .568 with a team high 10 RBIs, followed by
Ashlee Swindle (.560),
Kaylee Horton (.538) and
Taylor Rowe (.478). Swindle is also 9-0 with a 0.59 ERA.
5. (NR) Guyer (Denton, Texas), 18-0The Wildcats have blanked 12 opponents, allowing just 19 runs. Offensively, they have scored 162. Grace Willis has been a standout in the circle.
6. (9) Eagle (Idaho), 2-0The reigning state 5A champions opened their season with a 20-0 rout of Timberline (Boise), then hit five home runs (two by Maxpreps National Junior of the Year
Bradie Fillmore, who was 5-5) in a 20-1 win over Skyview (Nampa).
Madison Strickler drove in six runs.
7. (13) Etiwanda (Calif.), 12-0The Eagles scored 56 runs in winning five games and the championship at the Jurupa Valley Tournament last weekend. The senior-loaded team is averaging more than two home runs per game and all nine starters are hitting .444 or higher, with seven hitting .500 or better.
8. (11) Gainesville (Fla.), 14-1Gainesville defeated Santa Fe (Alachua), 5-0, and Orange Park, 10-1, as
Katie Chronister allowed six hits and struck out 18 in 12 innings.
9. (12) La Grange (Texas), 18-1 The Leopards have won 18 straight since their season-opening 4-3 loss to Mansfield. Senior
Blake-Ann Fritsch is batting .692 with 45 hits, 35 runs scored and 26 RBIs. She has 16 multi-hit games and 19 stolen bases.
10. (NR) Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.), 7-1 The Monarchs finished second at the Dave Kops TOC, but before losing in the title game, they beat previous No.1 Mission Viejo and 6-1 Gahr (Cerritos), as well as three others.
11. (1) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 7-1 The Diablos lost in the semifinals (to Mater Dei) of the Dave Kops TOC last weekend and placed third with a 4-0 win over Pacifica. Up next is No. 1 Los Alamitos on Thursday.
12. (19) Ironwood Ridge (Tucson, Ariz.), 11-1Ironwood Ridge is hitting .420 as a team and three senior pitchers have combined for a 2.62 ERA. Since losing 7-4 to Canyon del Oro, Ironwood Ridge has won five in a row by a combined 50-6 margin.
13. (14) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 14-0The Patriots swept the Culver Prep Slam Fest with four straight wins, including 12-2 in the title game win over Jensen Beach.
14. (NR) North Fort Myers (Fla.), 15-0 Seven starters are batting over .400 and pitchers
Mackenzie Peterson and
Emma Johnson have allowed only one earned run through 15 games.
15. (15) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 16-2Junior
Tierrah Williams is 4-0 (0.64 ERA, 47 strikeouts in 33 innings) and has driven in 18 runs with a .447 batting average. One-run losses have been to 17-4 Caldwell (Texas) and 19-3 Kingwood (Texas) – Atascocita's Tuesday opponent.
16. (21) Eastlake (El Paso, Texas), 16-0The Falcons, who host Horizon (El Paso) on Tuesday, are hitting .451 as a team with six starters hitting over .400.
17. (18) Grand Terrace (Calif.), 4-1The Titans' only loss was 1-0 to Great Oak (Temecula).
18. (22) Deer Park (Texas), 21-2The Deer have won five in a row since losing.
19. (16) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 0-0The Kingsmen open their season March 29.
20. (10) McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.), 0-0Riding a 29-game win streak, McCracken County opens the season Thursday at Marshall County.
21. (8) Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 0-0Reed was rained out in Sacramento and opens its season Thursday at Bishop Manogue (Reno).
22. (20) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 0-0The Wildcats open their season March 28 at Whiteville.
23. (17) Crown Point (Ind.), 0-0Crown Point opens its season March 28 at Hobart.
24. (24) Campbell (Ewa Beach, Hawaii), 3-0Campbell won 7-6 and its other game was a forfeit.
25. (23) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 0-0Oak Park-River Forest opens its season next week.
Dropped out: Valencia (Calif.), Greenwood (Ark.), Canyon del Oro (Ariz.)
