Jess Cummings pitched a one-hitter, walked one and struck out 16 to lead No. 1 ranked Northern (Owings, Md.) to a
3-0 win over No. 2 Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.) over the weekend.
In defeating O'Connell for the third time in three years, Northern also increased its win streak to 68 games and firmly protected its No. 1 ranking in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Softball Rankings.
O'Connell fell from No. 2 to No. 14.
For Cummings, it was her 14th shutout of the season in 14 games. She has allowed just 10 singles in 87 innings and has 209 strikeouts. Opponents have yet to score against Northern this season.
Northern has won the past five consecutive Maryland 3A state championships, becoming the only school to accomplish that feat last year. O'Connell (19-1) has won 17 of the past 19 Virginia Independent Schools state titles.
Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) ran its win streak to 37 games over two seasons and moved into the No. 2 spot in this week's poll. The Monarchs, who have not lost more than four games in a season in the last 10 years, were unbeaten in 2008 (32-0).
Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) had a big week on the field with four lopsided wins and off the field moving from No. 8 to No. 3. The Timberwolves have lost just once since 2010.
Also dropping, but remaining in the Top 25 Poll, was Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.). Paramus (N.J.) ended Immaculate's 60-game winning streak, 1-0. Immaculate dropped from No. 9 to 19th.
New to the Top 25 this week is Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), 23-0 this season. The Gators have been dominating in 2013, allowing only 11 runs, and they have recorded 14 shutouts. Greenwood has beaten the last two state-ranked teams it has faced – No. 6 Ballard and No. 14 Bowling Green – by a combined score of 18-0.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings
Desiree Severance and Archbishop Mitty climbed to the No. 2 spot after Northern dispatched Bishop O'Connell over the weekend.
Photo by Scott Dinn
Prior to beating O'Connell, the Patriots beat Leonardtown, 2-0, as
Jessica Cummings struck out 15 and allowed one hit.
Erin Adams and
Carleigh Ruleman drove in the game's only runs. The Patriots followed that shutout with a 19-0 blanking of Westlake behind
Baylee Hutchinson's three-hitter. All 15 of the Patriots' wins have been shutouts. They play four games this week.
2. (3) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 23-0The Monarchs stretched their winning streak to 37 by beating Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), 18-0, Presentation (San Jose), 15-2, then Notre Dame (Belmont) 10-0. They visit St. Francis (Mountain View) on Wednesday.
3. (8) Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), 17-0The Timberwolves pounded out 24 runs on 23 hits in 14-1 and 10-0 wins over Coeur d'Alene in a clash of Idaho powers last Tuesday.
Casey Stangel pitched a one-hitter in each game. On the day she also had five hits and homered in each game. Stangel and
Jordyn McCracken teamed to shut out Moscow twice, each game ending 19-0.
Lindsey Willmon hit two homers in each game as T-Wolves hit 11 homers in the two five-inning games. Lake City is hitting .457 as a team. Next up: Another rematch with CDA on Wednesday.
4. (5) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 22-1The Red and Gold recorded a 7-1 win over El Toro to run their win streak to 18 games. Opponents have scored only 31 runs this season. They visit Dana Hills (Dana Point) on Wednesday.
5. (6) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 32-1Katie Brignac's walk-off single recorded a 3-2 win over No. 2 Riverside in the Class 2A finals. Brignac also was the winning pitcher, striking out six. It was the second-straight state title and seventh in program history for Curtis. Since having its winning streak stopped at 59, Curtis dominated opponents to reach the state final game, including a 3-0 win over Mamou in the regional finals as Brignac tossed a no-hitter and struck out 19. They also beat Winnfield, 11-1, and North Webster, 11-0, to reach the finals.
6. (7) El Diamante (Visalia, Calif.), 24-1-1In a 19-0 win over Mt. Whitney (Visalia),
Sierra Hyland pitched a no-hitter, homered and drove in five runs.
Rylee Pierce drove in five and also homered, her 14th of the season. In a 12-0 win over Hanford, Pierce had four hits and Hyland pitched a one-hitter as the Miners' win streak grew to 15. Hyland is 21-0 this season. The Miners visit Redwood (Visalia) on Friday.
7. (7) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 31-1Barbers Hill beat Vidor 3-0 and 9-1 to advance in the state playoffs with a game against Brenham on Friday. The Eagles have won 14 straight.
8. (10) Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.), 27-1The Huskies extended their winning streak to 20 after they beat Sandalwood (Jacksonville), 7-2, in a state quarterfinal game. They play Mandarin (Jacksonville) on Wednesday in a regional semifinal.
9. (12) North Medford (Ore.), 19-1Maryssa Becker no-hit Grants Pass on Tuesday, and struck out 13. Then on Friday, the Black Tornado beat Roseburg twice (8-0 and 7-1) as Becker scattered five hits in the two games and struck out 25. North Medford has won 13 in a row and hosts Phoenix on Tuesday.
10. (11) Niceville (Fla.), 27-1A pair of shutout victories extended Niceville's winning streak to 20. And in the process, the Eagles won the district title. They won a state quarterfinal over Milton, 2-1. They play Wednesday in regional semifinal against Mosely.
Samantha Show, Pearland
Photo by John Godwin
The Oilers opened the playoffs with a 15-0 win over North Shore (Galena Park) as
Samantha Show pitched a perfect game with 12 strikeouts and drove in four runs with three base hits. It was the fourth no-hitter and 27th win of the season for Show, who has driven in 69 runs. By winning, the Oilers advance to a Saturday playoff game.
12. (15) Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), 31-1The Mustangs ran their win streak to 25 with an 11-0 shutout win over Copper Canyon (Glendale) as
Tatume Birt went 4-for-4. They also beat Greenway 2-0 to advance in the state playoffs and will meet Casa Grande on Tuesday.
13. (19) North Johnston (Kenly, N.C.), 19-0 The Panthers have won all 19 games this season by a 192-6 margin and have won their last 13 by shutout. They beat Southern Wayne (Duley), Franklinton and Bunn by a combined 35-0 score as
Lauren Batten and
Caroline Turner split time in the circle for the Panthers. They host Corinth Holders (Wendell) on May 3.
14. (2) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 19-1Before losing 3-0 to No. 1 Northern, O'Connell got two no-hitters from
Tori Finucane, including a perfect game with 13 strikeouts in a five inning 13-0 win over St. John's. She also beat Bishop McNamara, 10-0, with a one-hitter and 13 strikeouts. She also drove in four runs. In the one game Finucane did not pitch last week, O'Connell got a no-hitter from
Erin Sweeney in a 25-0 win. O'Connell has another busy week with four games slated.
15. (16) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 22-1The Cougars beat South Caldwell (Hudson), 6-1, and Hibriten (Lenoir) 6-0, to run their win streak to a dozen. The Cougars, who have won 83 of their last 88 games, play Enka on Wednesday.
16. (18) Woodinville (Wash.), 14-1The Falcons beat Eastlake, 4-2, as
Madi Schreyer scattered five hits and drove in two runs. The Falcons played Inglemoor on Tuesday.
17. (17) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 31-2The Bobcats routed Alief Taylor in the first round of playoffs, 20-0, to run their win streak to 13 games. They play Memorial (Houston) on Saturday.
Raeann Garza, Logan
File photo by Ernie Abrea
Logan has won six straight, including three wins last week - two by shutouts.
Raeann Garza picked up three wins to run her record to 13-1. The Colts play Kennedy (Fremont) on Wednesday.
19. (9) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 14-1The Eagles ran their win streak to 61 with a 2-0 win over Ridgewood as
Steph Thomas pitched a three-hitter and fanned nine, but then lost ,1-0, to Paramus Catholic on Wednesday. They bounced back as Thomas blanked Immaculate Conception (Lodi), 10-0, and DePaul (Wayne), 8-0. The Eagles hosted Clifton on Tuesday.
20. (21) Connell (Wash.), 15-0Senior
Ashley Thompson threw a perfect game, striking out all 15 batters in a run-rule five inning game to run her no-hit streak to seven in an 11-0 win over previously unbeaten Warden. The streak ended in the second game of a doubleheader as she allowed two hits in an 8-1 win. She homered in the first game and sophomore Hope Sawyer hit two run home runs in game two. In 15 games this season, Thompson has allowed 10 hits. Connell hosts Columbia (Burbank) on Tuesday.
21. (22) Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.), 29-2 With a 17-8 win over Deer Valley (Glendale), a 6-5 triumph over Centennial (Peoria) and a 9-1 win over Willow Canyon (Surprise) helped Mountain Ridge run its win streak to 18. Led by
Corrin Green's 11 home runs and .571 batting average, the Cougars are hitting .434 as a team. The No. 1 seed plays Perry on Tuesday.
22. (23) La Grange (Texas), 32-2 The Leopards have won 27 straight with a 14-4 six-inning playoff win over Halletsville, as
Breanna Homer and
Madison Oltmann homered. They meet Bandera on Friday.
23. (24) Coronado (Lubbock, Texas), 32-2Behind homers from
Eva Holland and Kaitlin Dawson, the Mustangs beat Bel Air (El Paso) twice, 16-6 and 15-5, to advance to play Carroll (Southlake) on Saturday.
24. (25) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 16-2The Dons recorded 10-0 wins over Livermore and Foothill (Pleasanton) last week. They have outscored their opponents 78-7 with 13 shutouts coming from junior
Johanna Grauer. They play at Carondelet (Concord) on Tuesday.
25. (NR) Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), 23-0 The Gators, who have a 202-11 scoring advantage over their opponents, had a 4-0 week last week, scoring 49 runs while allowing only two. They have won 24 straight and their last loss was in the Kentucky state semifinals last year, 2-1. The Gators visit Bowling Green rival Warren Central on Tuesday.
Dropped Out: Marina (Huntington Beach, Calif.).
