Video: Reagan Seamon steals homeWatch a run scored in one of the most unconventional waysThough one of them has not played a game this season, the top three teams remained atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings.
No. 1 Mission Viejo blasted San Clemente, 17-0, and No. 2 Archbishop Mitty got off to a good start in winning its openers by a combined 16-3 margin.
Alexander Central, looking to extend its 68-game winning streak, is battling wind and rain and its March 4 opener looks doubtful.
New to the Top 10 this week are Horizon (Phoenix) and Atascocita (Texas). New to the top 25 this week are Red Mountain, Viera and La Grange.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings
1. (No. 1 last week) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 1-0Mission Viejo opened the season with a 17-0 blowout of San Clemente that featured a 12-run inning.
2. (2) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 2-0The Monarchs opened the season with a 5-3 win over Mt. Pleasant (San Jose) and blanked Piedmont Hills (San Jose) 11-0 on a combined one-hitter from
Desiree Severance and
Lauren Lopez.
Danielle Bowers had five hits in the two games. Up next is Milpitas on Saturday.
3. (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 0-0The Cougars, working on a 68-game winning streak, open the season March 4 against St. Stephens (Hickory, N.C.) March 4.
4. (5) The Woodlands (Texas), 10-0Aubrey Leach (.704, 18 runs, 15 stolen bases) and
Abby Langkamp (6-0) have The Highlanders perfect through 10 games.
5. (4) Deer Park (Texas), 7-1 Since losing 3-2 to Oak Ridge (Conroe), Deer Park has won four straight, including 6-5 over previously ranked Kingwood. Up next is the MC-Sienna Tournament, which opens on Thursday.
6. (15) Horizon (Scottsdale, Ariz.), 6-0Led by pitcher
Tamara Statman (6-0), the Huskies swept through the Dobson/Marcos De Niza Invitational. Statman had 61 strikeouts in 35 innings and batted .556.
Gabby Moreno drove in a dozen teammates in the tournament. Up next is Desert Vista (Phoenix) on Thursday.
7. (7) Crown Point (Ind.), 0-0The Bulldogs, who open the season March 30, return pitchers
Miranda Elish and
Alexis Holloway, who combined to win 29 of 30 games year ago.
8. (8) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 0-0Pacifica, the lone team to defeat Mission Viejo in 2014, won 29 of 33 games a year ago.
9. (9) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 0-0The Senators won 63 games last year and open the season this week.
10. (NR) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 9-0 Atascocita is hitting .429 as a team and is averaging over 10 runs per game.
Shelby McGlaun is on a tear, hitting .682 with four homers and 7-0 pitching.
11. (11) Edwardsville (Ill.), 0-0 Edwardsville was 36-4 a year ago and opens its season April 11.
12. (12) Aledo (Texas), 0-0Top 5A team in Texas opens its season this week.
13. (13) Chino Hills (Calif.), 0-0Six starters return from 30-6 team a year ago. Chino Hills opens its season Wednesday at King (Riverside).
Lindsey Steverson, Red Mountain
Photo by Mark Jones
14. (NR) Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), 7-0The Mountain Lions have reloaded and their 7-0 start gives them 14 straight wins dating back to 2014.
Lindsey Steverson is setting the bar high with four homers and a .625 batting average for a team that is hitting .429.
15. (10) Bloomingdale (Valrico, Fla.), 7-1Since losing 1-0 to Wharton (Tampa), Bloomingdale has won three straight.
16. (16) Norco (Calif.), 0-0All-league returnees
Taylor Dockins and
Abby Lockman lead the historically strong program, as its season opens Saturday.
17. (17) North Little Rock (Ark.), 0-0The reigning 7A state champions open their season March 12 against No. 21 Russellville.
18. (18) Carson (Calif.), 0-0The Colts enter the season riding an 18-game winning streak.
19. (20) Pioneer (San Jose, Calif.), 1-0The Mustangs won their opener 2-0 and host Half Moon Bay on Wednesday.
20. (NR) La Grange (Texas), 10-0The Leopards have hit 16 homers and are hitting .465 after 10 games They play Little Cypress-Mauriceville (Orange) on Thursday.
21. (21) Russellville (Ark.), 0-0North Little Rock is the season-opener, scheduled for March 12.
22. (22) Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.), 0-0The returning state champions open their season on April 3.
23. (NR) Viera (Fla.), 13-0The
7A Hawks are off to their best start in school history and have
outscored their foes 126-25. They already have 48 extra base hits.
24. (24) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 0-0Keystone's season opener is April 11.
25. (25) Baker (Mobile, Ala.), 2-0The Hornets scored 20 runs in a pair of wins over Montgomery (Semmes).
Dropped out: Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.), Kingwood (Texas), Flower Mound (Texas), Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.).