MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

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Eagle, which concluded its unbeaten season three weeks ago, remains atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings sponsored by the Army National Guard. But several states have yet to conclude state tournament play and a pair of highly ranked and unbeaten teams will have a lot to say about the final poll.

Kentucky and Connecticut are two of the states that will finish seasons this weekend. East Carter (Ky.) is ranked No. 3 and Fitch (Conn.) is rated No. 9. Both have moved up in the polls each week with each victory and will complete their seasons this weekend.

Despite the perfect efforts of East Carter and Fitch, California's Grand Terrace (28-1 and winner of 26 in a row) remains No. 2. Last weekend, Grand Terrace claimed the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section D-3 championship with a 5-2 win over Redondo Beach and held on to No. 2.

With the poll season winding down, can Eagle hold off Grand Terrace and the two unbeatens?

New to the Top 25 are Mission Viejo (Calif.), West Forsyth (Clemmons, N.C.), Hempfield (Penn.), Lebanon (Ind.) and Keller (Texas). Mission Viejo was ranked No. 1 in the Top 100 Preseason Poll in February.

Click here to see softball state champions from across the nation, with a link to playoff brackets as well


1. (last week No. 1) Eagle (Idaho), 29-0 *season over
The Mustangs won their second-straight 5A state title and finished the season 29-0 (59-1 over two seasons).

2. (2) Grand Terrace (Calif.), 28-1 *season over
Eastern Michigan signee Daniel Rico hit a two-run homer as Terrace ran its win streak to 26 in beating 23-9 Redondo Beach (Calif.), 5-2, for the CIF-Southern Section D3 title. Only CIF-SS D1 17-7 Great Oak (Temecula, Calif.) beat Terrace this season and that was 1-0 on March 1.

3. (3) East Carter (Grayson, Ky.), 34-0
The Raiders got a one-hit, 14-strikeout pitching performance from sophomore Montana Fouts in beating Rowan County (Morehead), 2-0, and will open state tournament play on Thursday against 36-4 East Jessamine (Nicholasville). Fouts has 415 strikeouts in 187 innings and has allowed just 23 hits on the season.

4. (4) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 30-1 *season over
Won Florida's 9A state title.

5. (5) La Grange (Texas), 40-2 *season over
Briana Angel homered and drove in four runs as the Leopards captured the Texas state 4A championship with an 8-1 win over Paris (North Lamar). Angel was named Tournament MVP. Both of the Leopards' 2016 losses came in extra-inning affairs.

6. (6) Curry (Jasper, Ala.), 47-2 *season over
The Yellowjackets won 21 straight and captured the state 4A title.

7. (9) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 29-0 *season over
Courtney Knepper had a two-run single and shortstop Kate Peacock hit a three-run home run as Lakewood scored six times in the second inning to defeat Keystone (LaGrange) to win its fourth state 2A title.

8. (8) Bald Knob (Ark.), 36-0 *season over
The Bulldogs won their third-straight state 3A title and improved their win streak to 60.

9. (10) Fitch (Groton, Conn.), 26-0
Gatorade State Player of the Year winner Caroline Taber pitched a three-hitter with eight strikeouts as top-ranked Fitch beat Mercy (Middletown), 8-3, in Class L. A 3-0 win over Torrington followed in the semifinals, with the state title game Friday.

10. (11) Gainesville (Fla.), 28-2 *season over
Gainesville won Florida's 7A title.

11. (13) Downers Grove South (Ill.), 35-3
Led by Gatorade State POY Caroline Hedgcock, the Mustangs have won 15 straight and in that stretch have outscored their opponents 117-24. Hedgcock is 12-0 in the circle, has a state-record 22 home runs and 66 RBIs.

12. (12) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.), 20-0 *season over
Sporting a 103-game winning streak, Sherwood has won five straight Maryland titles in the largest division.

13. (15) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 30-1
Winners of 29 in a row, the Blue Eagles won in the New Jersey North Non-Public title game on Tuesday against Mount St. Dominica Academy (Caldwell), 2-0. Donovan Catholic is up next in the state title game.

14. (16) McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.), 36-2
First Region MVP Audrey Dodd threw a three-hitter and Lindsey Carroll blasted a grand slam as the Mustangs ripped Marshall County, 8-0, to advance to the state tournament. The Mustangs played on Thursday against 29-8 Male (Louisville). The Mustangs won the first meeting between the two teams, 11-3.

15. (NR) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 27-4 *season over
With five players driving in runs, the Diablos ended the 25-game winning streak of Valley View (Moreno Valley), 9-6, to win the CIF-SS D2 championship. The four losses came against teams that went deep into the postseason and combined for a 104-24 won-loss record.

16. (NR) West Forsyth (Clemmons, N.C.), 30-2 *season over
Purdue signee Brooke Perry pitched a pair of complete game wins (3-0, 4-3) over previously ranked Cape Fear to lead the Titans to the state 4A title. Perry isn't the only senior heading to college in the fall to play softball – Cammy Pereira (Furman), Hannah Runge (UNC Wilmington), Caitlin Hill (Catawba) and Sydney Vaughn (Salem College) have also signed.

17. (19) Neshoba Central (Philadelphia, Miss.), 27-1 *season over
Neshoba Central won the 5A state title and ended the season with 22 straight wins.

18. (25) Jesuit (Portland, Ore.), 30-2 *season over
The Crusaders routed Glencoe (Hillsboro) to close out the season with 18 straight wins and the state 6A championship.

19. (21) Ironwood Ridge (Tucson, Ariz.), 35-4 *season over
The Nighthawks captured the Arizona D2 state title, winning 20 of their last 21 games.

20. (22) Campbell (Ewa Beach, Hawaii), 18-1 *season over
Campbell repeated as state large school champion.

21. (NR) Lebanon (Ind.), 27-1
Led by Jessica Weaver's four-hit shutout, the Tigers beat Owens Valley 3-0 to move into Saturday's state D3 title game. Weaver is 22-0 with a 0.65 ERA and 208 strikeouts in 139 innings. She is also batting .500 with 11 homers and 44 RBIs.

22. (23) Bentonville (Ark.), 27-1 *season over
The Tigers won the Arkansas 7A title and finished the season with 19 straight wins.

23. (24) Union Grove (Wis.), 27-2
Union Grove defeated defending state champion Westosha 8-2 to reach the state D1 quarterfinals that were played Thursday against North (Oshkosh).

24. (NR) Hempfield Area (Greensburg, Pa.), 21-2
Junior Morgan Ryan (Notre Dame commit) fired a four-hitter, Madison Stoner homered and the Spartans blanked No. 3 Baldwin 2-0 Friday to repeat as WPIAL champions. Last season, they beat North Allegheny, 3-0, with Ryan tossing a one-hitter.

25. (NR) Keller (Texas), 32-6
Winners of 23 of their final 25 games, the Indians blanked Pearland 5-0 to win the Texas 6A state championship. Tournament MVP Kaylee Rogers shut out Pearland for the first time in 25 games.

Dropped out: Lakota East (Ohio), Frisco (Texas), Valley View (Calif.), Orange Lutheran (Calif.) and Cape Fear (N.C.).