MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings

Logan (Union City, Calif.) knocked Amador Valley out of the No. 1 spot.

Photo by Ernie Abrea

The Keystone Wildcats completed arguably the greatest season in school history with a 7-2 win over Greenville in the Ohio Division II state championship game. Besides finishing 32-0 with 20 shutouts and a state-record 45 home runs, the Wildcats added another honor by picking up a No. 1 national ranking by MaxPreps.

Keystone moved into the top spot in the Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings after Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.) lost to Logan (Union City, Calif.) 1-0 in the North Coast Section Division I championship game. The loss dropped the Dons out of the No. 1 ranking and allowed Keystone to move in.

The Wildcats edged out two other teams with similar outstanding pedigrees. Norco (Calif.) won the Southern Section Division I championship, one of the hardest tournaments in the country, and finished the season at 31-2. Meanwhile, Porter Ridge (Indian Trail, N.C.) completed a 32-0 season and completed a gauntlet run to a North Carolina 4A state title with wins over ranked teams Alexander Central, North Davidson and Holly Springs.

Keystone gets the nod here, though, due to its tradition, its strong starting lineup and its ability to fend off one of the nation's top teams. Keystone won its third state championship and in doing so avenged its only defeat from last year. The Wildcats defeated Poland Seminary, and ace pitcher Erin Gabriel, 4-0 in the semifinals despite getting only two hits.

Keystone also has two of the top players in the state in shortstop Erin Pond and pitcher Kenzie Conrad. Both are committed to Akron next season and both are returning all-state players.

While the Xcellent 25 will continue to publish until the official end of the high school sports season in mid-June, Keystone can be crowned as the official "mythical" national champion since every team in the current Xcellent 25 has completed its season.

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings

1. (2) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 32-0
Defeated Greenville 7-2 to win the Ohio Division II state championship game. After trailing 2-0 entering the sixth inning, Keystone scored seven runs over the final two frames to defeat Greenville. Keystone also shut out Poland Seminary 4-0 in the semifinals.

2. (3) Norco (Calif.), 31-2
Norco grabbed a 6-0 lead and that was all standout pitcher Emily Lockman needed to defeat Santiago (Corona) 6-4 for the Southern Section Division I championship.

3. (4) Porter Ridge (Indian Trail, N.C.), 32-0
Defeated Holly Springs 2-0 and 2-0 to win North Carolina 4A state championship. The Pirates finished the season with 22 shutouts.

4. (5) Northern (Owings, Md.), 25-0
Maryland 3A state champions. Season over.

5. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 28-2
Central Coast Section Division II champions. Season over.

6. (8) Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), 35-3
Arizona Division I champions. Season over.

7. (10) Woodinville (Wash.), 26-0
Washington 4A state champions. Season over.

8. (13) Deer Park (Texas), 31-8
Won Texas 5A state championship with 6-0 win over Klein Collins with Kristen Davenport getting the shutout and also providing two run-scoring hits to earn MVP honors. Deer Park also defeated O'Connor 13-2 in semifinals with a 15-hit offensive performance.

9. (12) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 29-2
Season over.

10. (14) Soddy Daisy (Tenn.), 46-5
Tennessee 3A state champions. Season over.

11. (18) Klein Collins (Spring, Texas), 31-5
Defeated Plano East 6-3 in Texas 5A state semifinals. Lost to Deer Park 6-0 in state championship game.

12. (7) Plano East (Texas), 35-4
Lost to Klein Collins 6-3 in Texas 5A semifinals.

13. (9) Poland Seminary (Ohio), 26-3
Lost to Keystone 4-0 in Ohio Division II semifinals.

14. (15) The Woodlands (Texas), 30-5
Season over.

15. (16) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 27-1
Season over.

16. (17) Tomball (Texas), 25-4
Season over.

17. (11) O'Connor (Helotes, Texas), 31-3
Lost to Deer Park 13-2 in Texas 5A semifinals. Season over.

18. (19) Pembroke Pines Charter (Fla.), 22-4
Florida 6A state champions. Season over.

19. (20) Niceville (Fla.), 29-3
Season over.

20. (21) Chamberlain (Tampa, Fla.), 27-4
Florida 7A state champions. Season over.

21. (22) Durant (Plant City, Fla.), 24-4
Florida 8A state champions. Season over.

22. (23) Eau Gallie (Melbourne, Fla.), 28-3
Season over.

23. (NR) Logan (Union City, Calif.), 24-1
Defeated Amador Valley 1-0 to win North Coast Section championship. The win avenged Logan's only loss of the season, which came against Amador Valley in March. Raeann Garza was the winning pitcher and she also had an RBI double for the game-winning hit.

24. (1) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 26-1
Lost to Logan 1-0 in the North Coast Section Division I championship game, ending a 38-game win streak.

25. (24) Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, Calif.), 23-5-1
Season over.

The Other 25

26. (25) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 28-10
Lost to Norco 6-4 in Southern Section Division I championship game.

27. (26) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.), 27-4
Season over.

28. (28) Bryant (Ark.), 34-0
Arkansas 7A state champions. Season over.

29. (29) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 38-6
Alabama 6A state champions. Season over.

30. (30) Palmetto (Miami), 23-7
Season over.

31. (31) Jupiter (Fla.), 23-7
Season over.

32. (32) Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.), 27-3
Season over.

33. (33) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 27-4
Florida 5A state champions. Season over.

34. (34) Chino Hills (Calif.), 32-3
Defeated South Torrance 3-0 to win Southern Section Division III championship.

35. (35) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 28-3
Season over.

36. (36) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), 33-6
Season over.

37. (44) North Medford (Medford, Ore.), 27-1
Defeated South Salem 3-0 to win Oregon 6A state championship.

38. (37) Sam Houston (Lake Charles, La.), 23-4
Louisiana 5A state champions. Season over.

39. (38) Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), 33-5
Arizona Division II state champions. Season over.

40. (39) Walla Walla (Wash.), 26-2
Season over.

41. (46) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 30-0
Defeated Paramus 8-1 and Pope John 2-0 last week to remain undefeated.

42. (47) Hoover (North Canton, Ohio), 29-3
Defeated Lebanon 2-0 to win Ohio Division I state championship.

43. (NR) Hillcrest (Simpsonville, S.C.) 31-3
South Carolina 4A state champions.

44. (40) Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), 33-2
Season over.

45. (41) Vestavia Hills (Ala.), 54-9
Season over.

46. (42) Gulliver Prep (Miami), 27-5
Florida 4A state champions. Season over.

47. (43) Volcano Vista (Albuquerque, N.M.), 29-1
New Mexico 5A state champions. Season over.

48. (49) Pearland (Texas), 37-7
Season over.

49. (50) Katy (Texas), 30-2
Season over.

50. (48) Holly Springs (Holly Springs, N.C.), 23-4
Lost to Porter Ridge 2-0 and 2-0 in North Carolina 4A state championship series.

Dropped Out: No. 27 Allen County, No. 45 Conant.