MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

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Oakleaf knocked off another impressive opponent last week when it downed Clay (Green Cove Springs, Fla.), 7-1. It was the second highly regarded team the Knights manhandled since moving atop the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard.

So No. 1 is where they will stay.

The Knights have allowed just 12 runs in 19 games and their pitchers have combined for 181 strikeouts in 105 innings.

Etiwanda took the week off, but remained No. 2 sporting a 17-0 record. Riding four one-hitters by Auburn-bound senior Ashlee Swindle, Curry won nine games to capture last week's Gulf Coast Classic II and moved to No. 3 in this week's rankings. Swindle allowed just 18 hits in pitching all nine victories and had five wins on the final day. She has an 0.38 ERA this season with 162 strikeouts and has allowed only six earned runs in 112 innings.

Rounding out the Top 5 are unbeaten Eagle and once-beaten and former No. 1 Los Alamitos.

New to the Top 25 this week are unbeatens San Benito (Texas), West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.), Reed (Sparks, Nev.), Union County (Union, S.C.) and West Forsyth (Clemmons, N.C.) and once-beaten Cibola (Yuba, Ariz.).

Poll watchers will keep a close eye on the Kissimmee Softball Classic in Florida Thursday through Saturday, as the 32-team event includes Top 25 teams Oakleaf, Gainesville, Newsome and North Fort Myers. In the 16-team Blue Bracket, which includes the aforementioned Top 25 teams from Florida, the combined won-loss record of the teams is 205 wins and 35 losses.


1. (1 last week) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 19-0
Pitcher Kelsey Sweatt is 9-0 and averaging better than two strikeouts per innings. The Knights play Atlantic Coast (Jacksonville) on Tuesday.

2. (2) Etiwanda (Calif.), 17-0
The Eagles host 9-2 Norco, a team they beat earlier this season 7-5, on Tuesday. The Eagles are hitting .513 as a team and are averaging a dozen runs per outing. Six different players have hit a home run for a total of 28.

3. (4) Curry (Jasper, Ala.), 21-0
Swindle made the biggest headlines for the Yellow Jackets, but in the tournament Justus Perry was 20-for-25 with three home runs with 16 RBIs, while Kaylee Horton was 17-for-23 with seven RBIs and Emily Aaron was 11-for-19 with eight RBIs.

4. (6) Eagle (Idaho), 9-0
The Mustangs went 4-0 to win Nampa's Sugar Town Tournament and outscored their foes 36-2. Senior Bradie Fillmore has three and Autum Moffat has two no-hitters this season. The Mustangs have allowed just three runs this season while scoring 135.

5. (7) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 12-1
The Griffins defeated Gahr, 6-4, and Cypress, 3-1. Pitching both victories, junior Ryan Denhart improved her record to 10-1, and has posted a 1.21 ERA. The Griffins, who don't play again until the Michelle Carew Classic on April 6, have allowed just 15 runs this season.

6. (NR) San Benito (Texas), 20-0
The Greyhounds beat former coach Elias Martinez and South Harligen, 9-2. It was Martinez's first return to San Benito after 18 years of coaching there.

7. (8) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 10-2
The Diablos don't play again until April 6 in the Michelle Carew Classic. The two losses have been against No. 5 Los Alamitos and 11-2 Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) and both have been avenged.

8. (10) La Grange (Texas), 23-1
The Tigers ran their win streak to 23 with 5-4 win over Navasota. Senior Briana Angel has driven in 32 runs and scored 31.

9. (9) Gainesville (Fla.), 14-1
Opponents are hitting just .128 against 14-1 senior Katie Chronister, who has 145 strikeouts in 89 innings and a 0.46 ERA. She also leads the team in hitting with a .442 average. After a two-week break, the Hurricanes return to play on Tuesday.

10. (17) Deer Park (Texas), 23-2
The Deer beat former No. 15 Atascocita, 2-1, in 10 innings as Payton McBride (14 strikeouts) outdueled Shelby McGlaun (12 strikeouts).

11. (NR) Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 8-0
The Raiders opened the season with an unimpressive 13-12 win over 5-4 Bishop Manogue (Reno), but since have won seven impressively, outscoring their opponents 83-10. Included in the seven wins were five straight to win their own spring tournament.

12. (16) Eastlake (El Paso, Texas), 21-0
The Falcons routed Riverside (El Paso), 20-1, and edged Del Valley, 10-9. They are averaging 14 runs scored per game. The team has 97 extra-base hits on the season, including 27 round-trippers.

13. (NR) West Ranch (Valencia, Calif.), 10-0
Jessica Harper has five homers, 17 RBIs and Jaclyn Napoli is hitting .552 as the Wildcats enter spring break unbeaten.

14. (13) Pioneer (San Jose, Calif.), 10-1
Since losing a 4-3 game to 7-1 Mt. Pleasant (San Jose) in eight innings, the Mustangs recorded three straight shutout victories. Holly Azevedo has allowed one earned run this season (0.10 ERA) and has 119 strikeouts in 68 innings. She has four no-hitters and is hitting .514, third-highest on the team (Mackenzie Drake, .590 and Brooke Niewoehner, 543).

15. (19) Bald Knob (Ark.), 14-0.
The Bulldogs have won 38 straight over two seasons. Senior Autumn Humes (11-0, 0.23 ERA) has pitched one no-hitter and four one-hitters this season.

16. (18) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.), 11-0
Senior Carson Pace is 10-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 89 strikeouts in 54 innings. The Knights play 9-0 Enka on Wednesday.

17. (20) Campbell (Ewa Beach, Hawaii), 5-0
Behind Danielle Cervantes' one-hitter, Campbell blanked Millani, 5-0.

18. (14) McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.), 6-1
McCracken County ran its win streak to 33 by winning its first four games, but then lost 9-8 before a pair of run-rule victories kept the Mustangs in the Top 25.

19. (3) Newsome (Lithia, Fla.), 14-1
Newsome lost 1-0 to 16-2 Plant City, as freshman Ashley Blessin pitched a two-hitter and fanned 10. Other than that, the Wolves have allowed just nine runs this season and only three in their last 11 games. Pitchers Claire Feldman and Cassidy Davis have combined to average 1.65 strikeouts per inning.

20. (11) North Fort Myers (Fla.), 16-1
North Fort Myers lost to Barron Collier in nine innings, 1-0, then beat Bishop Verdot (Fort Myers), 6-4. Senior Jessie Valerius is hitting .508 with 30 RBIs.

21. (NR) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 22-1
The Raiders' only loss is 8-7 to 16-3 Arcadia (Phoenix). Since that loss, Cibola has won 16 in a row – 10 by shutout. Eight starters hitting over .300 for a team that is hitting .402.

22. (NR) West Forsyth (Clemmons, N.C.), 12-0
The Titans are the only team to defeat Forbush (East Bend) and Northwest Guilford (Greensboro) this season. They have outscored their opponents 112-13.

23. (NR) Union County (Union, S.C.), 7-0
The Yellowjackets have allowed just six runs, while averaging more than 10 per game this season. Dating back to last season, the reigning two-time 3A state champions have won 19 in a row and 37 of their last 39.

24. (25) Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 1-0
Oak Park opened the season with a 10-0 win at Maine South (Oak Ridge).

25. (24) Penn (Mishawaka, Ind.), 0-0
Penn opens the season Tuesday at Portage (Penn.).

Dropped out: Guyer (Texas), Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.), Grand Terrace (Calif.), Keystone (Ohio), Crown Point (Ind.).