Alvin High continues its climb to the top of the Xcellent 25 with a spectacular 23-1 record.
Photo by John Godwin
The Alvin Yellowjackets used the momentum from last week's win over Pearland to win four more games and vault into the No. 3 spot in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Softball Rankings presented by Army National Guard.
Alvin takes over the No. 3 spot from North Davidson, which lost twice in the Lady Wildcat Invitational in South Carolina. The Black Knights were one of five teams to exit the rankings this week.
The others falling out this week were Newton County (Miss.), Beech (Hendersonville, Tenn.), Bartow (Fla.) and Carson (Calif.).
Moving in this week is Orange Lutheran, Durant, Torrey Pines and Sunrise Mountain. Riverdale also returns to the top 25 after a one week absence.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings1. (1 last week) Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.), 13-0Top-ranked Palm Beach Gardens escaped Park Vista with a 3-2 win in eight innings last week.
Tiffany Lower had two triples on the night to go with a double and an RBI. The Gators are scheduled for spring break and then return with tough games against Gulliver Prep and Poland Seminary at the end of the month.
2. (2) Lee-Davis (Mechanicsville, Va.), 0-0Season opens Thursday at Henry (Ashland, Va.).
3. (5) Alvin (Texas), 23-1The Yellowjackets continued to play well following the win over Pearland last week as they racked up four straight wins. Alvin defeated Clear Brook 8-3, Clear Springs 9-1, Clear Lake 6-0 and Angleton 8-0.
4. (6) Niceville (Fla.), 16-1The Eagles won easily last week, topping Choctawhatchee 10-0 and Fort Walton Beach 16-3 in district play.
5. (8) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.), 12-0The Bears were off last week but opened play in the Desert Mountain Tournament this week. Basha is favored to win the event.
6. (9) Estrella Foothills (Goodyear, Ariz.), 19-0The Wolves captured the Gracie Haught Invitational in Payson with an 8-2 win over Benson.
Kasia Smith is undefeated on the season at 15-0 in the circle with a 0.79 ERA and 108 strikeouts in 71 innings pitched.
Norco lost to Santiago twice last year,but took a bite out of the Sharkswith a win last week.
File photo by Chad McDermott
Norco is ranked No. 1 in the Southern Section Division I coaches rankings. It picked up a 12-4 win over defending Division I champion Santiago on Friday.
8. (11) Tomball (Texas), 12-1Tomball was on spring break last week and will return to play this weekend against Klein Oak.
9. (12) Pearland (Texas), 22-2Pearland bounced back from the loss to Alvin with three shutout wins. The Oilers defeated Clear Springs 8-0, Clear Lake 6-0 and Dickinson 16-0.
10. (13) Woodcreek (Roseville, Calif.), 8-0The Timberwolves returned to action Monday after a week layoff and shut out Granite Bay 3-0.
Amanda Horbasch struck out nine in the win.
11. (14) Plano East (Texas), 20-1Plano East topped Allen 7-5 and Hebron 8-1 in district play.
12. (17) El Diamante (Visalia, Calif.), 12-0The Miners won three times, blanking Madera 8-0 and Clovis twice in a doubleheader 3-1 and 4-2 on Tuesday.
Sierra Hyland struck out 12 and hit a home run in the win over Madera.
13. (15) The Woodlands (Texas), 17-3The Highlanders won their only game last week, defeating Oak Ridge 5-3. The Woodlands also beat Oak Ridge 5-3 on Tuesday.
Chelsea Wilkinson is back in thepitching circle for Alexander Central.
File photo by Fabian Radulescu
finally returned to the circle and pitched a no-hitter in a 10-0 victory over West Stokes. The Cougars also routed Forbush 14-1 and Hickory 19-1.
15. (20) Soddy Daisy (Tenn.), 4-0The Trojans are unbeaten with only two runs allowed in four games. Last week they dropped Olltewah 7-1, Cleveland 10-1 and Girls Prep 5-0.
16. (NR) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 11-0The Lancers have moved up to No. 2 in the Southern Section Division I coaches rankings. Orange Lutheran has big wins over Etiwanda, Marina and Don Lugo this season.
17. (NR) Durant (Plant City, Fla.), 12-1Ranked among the top large school teams in Florida, Durant had a 12-game win streak, including a victory over Eau Gallie.
18. (7) Eau Gallie (Melbourne, Fla.), 14-1The Commodores knocked off Bartow 1-0 in the Bartow Tournament, but fell to Duran 4-1 for their first loss of the season. They bounced back to beat Braden River 4-1. Eau Gallie plays in the Gulliver Prep Tournament this weekend.
19. (18) Walla Walla (Wash.), 0-0Season opened Tuesday vs. Southridge (Kennewick, Wash.).
20. (19) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 0-0Season opens April 3 vs. Edison (Milan, Ohio).
21. (22) Robbinsville (N.J.), 0-0Season opened last week vs. Monroe Township (N.J.).
22. (23) Poland Seminary (Ohio), 0-0Season opens April 9 at American Heritage (Delray Beach, Fla.).
23. (NR) Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), 14-0The Mustangs are the top Division II team in Arizona with eight shutouts in their 14 wins so far this season.
24. (NR) Torrey Pines (San Diego), 9-0The Falcons captured the Cougar Classic and are undefeated in the North County Tournament with a win over La Costa Canyon last week.
25. (NR) Riverdale (Murfreesboro, Tenn.), 11-1The Warriors won the Commando Classic for the fifth time in the past seven seasons with
Rachel Albritton striking out 84 batters during the tournament. Riverdale played Alexander Central on Tuesday and is set to play North Davidson today.
Dropped out: No. 3 North Davidson; No. 4 Newton County; No. 21 Beech; No. 24 Bartow; No. 25 Carson.
