Tomball is still standing tall in the Xcellent 25, but everyone is chasing new No. 1 Estrella Foothills.
File photo by Jason Jump
Two weeks ago we passed up Estrella Foothills in favor of Palm Beach Gardens when choosing a new No. 1 team for the Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings. But this time there was no denying the Wolves.
For the second time this season, Palm Beach Gardens drops out of the No. 1 spot in the national rankings due to a stunning upset loss. This time, the Gators fell to Jupiter 10-4 in the district championship.
The loss allows Estrella Foothills, winner of 29 straight games, to rise to the No. 1 spot. The Wolves are one of six undefeated teams in the Xcellent 25 but they are the only one with more than 20 wins.
Estrella Foothills has a surging Alexander Central team hot on its heels. The Cougars have been unbeatable since the return of Chelsea Wilkinson. With the tough competition in North Carolina this year (undefeated Topsail and Porter Ridge are also in the mix), Alexander Central could return to the No. 1 spot it held early in the season.
For now, however, Estrella Foothills is the No. 1 team in the country.
Two teams dropped out of this week's rankings, as both Xavier College Prep and Woodcreek suffered losses. They have been replaced by Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.) and Allen County (Scottsville, Ky.).
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings1. (2 last week) Estrella Foothills (Goodyear, Ariz.), 29-0The Wolves head into the final week of the regular season ranked No. 1 in the country following two wins last week that kept them undefeated and a stunning playoff loss by Palm Beach Gardens. Estrella Foothills knocked off Buckeye 17-5 and Agua Fria 11-1.
Taylor Godfrey had a home run and a triple with six RBIs in the win over Buckeye.
2. (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 19-1The Cougars won three times last week, including a 10-0 no-hitter win by
Chelsea Wilkinson against Hickory. The no-hitter was the 20th in Wilkinson's career. Alexander Central also topped Central Davidson 2-0 and Watauga 11-3.
3. (4) Norco (Calif.), 20-1The Cougars won their fourth straight games by shutout last week, beating JW North (Riverside) 10-0 and Roosevelt (Corona) 6-0.
4. (5) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 20-1The Mariners did not play last week, but resume action this week against Cypress and Kennedy (La Palma).
5. (1) Palm Beach Gardens (Fla.), 26-2The Gators began postseason play with a 5-2 victory over Palm Beach Central but suffered a stunning 10-4 defeat against Jupiter. The Gators committed six errors in the loss and had only three hits, while Jupiter bashed out 11 hits. Palm Beach Gardens had defeated Jupiter in their previous two meetings.
6. (6) Niceville (Fla.), 25-2The Eagles closed the regular season with a 10-0 win over Pace and then opened the postseason with a 4-3 win over Crestview and a 9-1 win over Mosley.
Lauren Donaldson was 2-for-4 with a grand slam, a triple and five RBIs in the win.
7. (7) Topsail (Hampstead, N.C.), 20-0Topsail played a close one with South Lenoir, winning 7-6 on a run in the seventh inning. The six runs nearly equaled the number of runs Topsail has given up all year. It had outscored its opponents 173-9. It was back to business against Clinton, with Topsail winning 13-0.
8. (9) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 16-0Not much trouble for the Dons this week, as they topped San Ramon Valley (Danville) and Livermore by identical 7-0 scores and edged California (San Ramon) 2-1.
Krista Williams was 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Livermore.
9. (10) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 15-0The Wildcats won five games last week, including three in conference play and two in tournament play. Keystone blanked Brookside (Sheffield) 20-0, Black River (Sullivan) 8-0 and Buckeye (Medina) 15-0. In the Wendy's Classic, Keystone edged Bartlett (Ill.) 5-1 and Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 13-4.
Kenzie Conrad was 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs and three runs scored in the win. She has six home runs on the season. She also picked up the win, her 10th of the year.
10. (11) Poland Seminary (Ohio), 12-1Poland Seminary played well in the Wendy's Classic, knocking off Elyria Catholic 9-1 to set up the opportunity to take on Keystone on Saturday. However, rain cancelled the remainder of the tournament. Poland Seminary also handed Canfield its first loss of the season.
11. (12) Beech (Hendersonville, Tenn.), 40-1Beech made it 34 games in a row by beating Wilson Central 12-0 and Portland 14-3 last week. Beech hit five home runs against Portland as
Alex Banks,
Jule Kranz,
C.j. McClain,
Kassidy McCoy and
Peyton Kurgan all hit one out. Banks also won her 38th game of the season (38-1) and
Heather Montgomery stole her 58th base of the season.
12. (8) Walla Walla (Wash.), 10-1Richland snagged a 13-5 win from Walla Walla, getting to standout pitcher Alyson Ambler for seven runs in the fourth inning. Walla Walla led in the nightcap 5-0, but the game was called on account of darkness.
13. (13) Tomball (Texas), 21-2The Cougars lit up the scoreboard this week, beating Dekaney (Houston) 28-0, Klein Oak (Spring) 12-8 and Westfield (Houston) 15-0.
Kelsey Vincent,
Lexie Comeaux,
Katie Doerre and
Kiana Workman all had home runs during the week.
14. (14) Alvin (Texas), 31-3Alvin closed out the regular season with a district championship, defeating Dickinson 3-0 and Clear Creek 10-2.
15. (15) The Woodlands (Texas), 25-3The Highlanders won the 5A District 14 championship by topping College Park (The Woodlands) 12-1 and Conroe 12-0 last week.
Jessica Snyder was 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBIs against Conroe.
16. (16) Porter Ridge (Indian Trail, N.C.), 20-0Porter Ridge had a relatively close game last week, defeating Marvin Ridge (Waxhaw) 6-4. It was back to business as usual with a 10-0 win over Anson (Wadesboro) on Friday.
17. (17) Northern (Owings, Md.), 13-0The Patriots won their 40th straight by beating Huntingtown 7-2, Lackey (Indian Head) 15-0 and Leonardtown 5-0 last week.
Jess Cummings had double-digit strikeouts in two of the games, fanning 10 against Lackey and 13 against Leonardtown.
18 (18) Eau Gallie (Melbourne, Fla.), 25-2Eau Gallie won the Class 6A District 7 championship with a 6-1 victory over Melbourne, as
Megan Lafon allowed only two hits for the defending state champs.
19. (19) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 17-2The Monarchs resumed league play last week and edged Valley Christian (San Jose) 3-1.
Vanessa Alvarez tossed a one-hitter, striking out four.
20. (21) El Diamante (Visalia, Calif.), 22-1El Diamante won its only game of the week, defeating Golden West 3-0 behind
Sierra Hyland's two-hitter with five strikeouts.
21. (23) Winter Springs (Fla.), 25-2Winter Springs won its district championship, defeating Evans 15-0 and Lake Howell 5-4.
Katherine Penn was 2-for-4 with three RBIs against Lake Howell while
Katie Mandigo had two home runs against Evans.
22. (24) Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), 27-1Sunrise Mountain won easily, defeating Cactus (Glendale) 17-1 and avenging its lone defeat with an 8-0 win over Kellis (Glendale).
Taylor Nowlin threw a perfect game against Kellis while
Melissa Sechrest was 2-for-3 with a double and four RBIs.
23. (25) Plano East (Texas), 28-3Plano East completed the regular season last week by edging Plano 8-7 and whipping Lewisville 22-5.
Kierin Stevens had a home run against Plano while
Holly Kern and
Jacque Anthony each had one against Lewisville.
24. (NR) Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.), 29-3The Mountain Lions have won 13 in a row and have the most wins of any Division I team in the state of Arizona.
25. (NR) Allen County (Scottsville, Ky.), 18-1The Patriots are ranked No. 1 in the state of Kentucky and have a big interstate battle with Beech today.
Dropped Out: No. 20 Xavier College Prep, No. 22 Woodcreek.
