Video: How did she catch that?
See North Dakota's Taiylor Ellingson dive through a fence to make the catch.
Taylor Dockins tossed a six-hitter and
Bianca Gonzalez hit a three-run home run as Norco defeated Orange Lutheran 4-0 to win the prestigious Michelle Carew Tournament last Saturday.
Before the championship game win, Norco edged No. 3 Los Alamitos 1-0 in the semifinals. The Cougars have beaten seven teams that have been nationally ranked this season by a 35-2 margin.
As a result of its dominance over ranked teams and its 19-0 record, Norco remains atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent Softball Top 25 Rankings.
Pinnacle remained No. 2 and Los Alamitos held on to No. 3 with its 4-1 showing in the Carew event.
The rest of the Top 5 includes a pair of Texas squads Hendrickson and Johnson.
One of the week's biggest movers was Huntington, which entered the rankings at No. 13 after beating previously ranked and unbeaten Hurricane.
In addition to Huntington, new to the Top 25 this week are Cibola, Lakewood, Gahr, Oakleaf and Lexington.
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings

Naomi Hernandez, Norco
Photo by Steven Doi
1. (Last week 1) Norco (Calif.), 19-0The Cougars beat Los Alamitos 1-0 in the semifinals and Orange Lutheran 4-0 in the finals to win the Michelle Carew Classic. Senior pitcher Taylor Dockins has 94 career wins and is tied for second in the California Interscholastic Federation's Southern Section history, trailing only Mission Viejo alum Taylor McQuillin by nine. Norco has 11 regular season games remaining and could play as many as five in the playoffs.
2. (2) Pinnacle (Phoenix), 25-1The Pioneers have won their last eight games and No. 8 was an 8-4 win over No. 17 O'Connor (Phoenix) as
Marissa Schuld homered. A rematch with 22-4 O'Connor is slated for Tuesday.
3. (3) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 16-3The Griffins lost to No. 1 Norco 1-0 in the semifinals of the Michelle Carew Classic, then blanked previously ranked Amador Valley (Pleasanton) 6-0 in the third place game.
4. (6) Hendrickson (Pflugerville, Texas), 22-1 The Hawks rebounded from their first loss of the season (4-3 to Round Rock's Cedar Ridge) with a 15-2 shellacking of Round Rock Westwood (Austin) as five players drove in two runs or more.
5. (10) Johnson (San Antonio), 22-1The Jaguars have won 10 in a row, have scored 108 times and allowed just nine runs during that span. Their lone loss this season was by a 5-4 score.
6. (7) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.), 18-1The Panthers have won 11 straight. Senior pitcher
Allison Muraskin has an 18-1 record with a 0.30 ERA and 166 strikeouts in 94 innings.
7. (8) Orange Lutheran (Orange, Calif.), 16-3The Lancers lost in the finals of Michelle Carew Classic 4-0 to top-seeded Norco, but in reaching the finals they defeated Santiago (Corona), Kennedy (La Palma), Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.) and Amador Valley (Pleasanton). Three of the victories were via shutout.
8. (9) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 13-0 Eleven of the Knights' wins have been by shutouts, including the last seven. Four of those came last week as senior pitcher
Kat Sandercock allowed three hits and struck out 44 in 23 innings.
9. (13) Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas), 25-2-1The Tigers have won 18 straight and are hitting .393 as a team. Senior
Lisa Sosa has accounted for 65 runs (35 runs, 30 RBIs) on 40 base hits.
10. (14) Stockdale (Bakersfield, Calif.), 17-0The Mustangs have won their last six by shutout and have scored 60 times in that span. The Hornbuckles – junior
Cheyenne Hornbuckle and freshman
Sydney Hornbuckle – have it going. Cheyenne is batting .538 and Sydney is 13-0 with a 0.43 ERA.
11. (17) Kingwood (Texas), 22-3Another Texas team on a hot streak, the Mustangs have won 12 in a row. Their pitching has been superb as
Madison Lindsey,
Madeline Meier and
Jenika Lombrana have combined for a 0.97 ERA and limited opponents to a .137 batting average.
12. (15) Katy (Texas), 24-3 The Tigers have won nine in a row and scored 116 runs during their streak.
13. (NR) Huntington (W. Va.), 8-0The Highlands won Friday's battle of West Virginia unbeatens with a 5-2 win over 13-1 Hurricane (W.Va.).
14. (NR) Gahr (Cerritos, Calif.), 16-0The Gladiators are hitting .420 as a team with eight players hitting over .300. They have hit 33 home runs (
Madison Huskey has nine).
Malia Quarles is hitting .591 with 28 RBIs and
Alyssa Kumiyama is batting .545. Junior pitcher
Danielle Martinez is 11-0 with a 0.91 ERA.
15. (20) La Cueva (Albuquerque), 17-0 Last Saturday, the Bears shutout Santa Fe (N.M.), 20-0 and 16-0. They've scored 220 runs.
16. (NR) Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.), 19-2Behind the pitching of
Kelsey Sweatt, Oakleaf swept Florida's Kissimmee Klassic. Oakleaf, winners of 14 straight, took a 1-0 win championship game win from previously ranked Scott County (Georgetown, Ken.).
17. (12) O'Connor (Phoenix), 22-4The Eagles saw their 11-game win streak snapped by No. 2 Pinnacle (Phoenix) 8-4 last Friday. They get a rematch on Tuesday.
18. (21) Woodinville (Wash.), 9-0Last week, the senior-loaded Falcons routed Bothell 11-3, and Issaquah 13-1.
19. (19) Bentonville (Ark.), 18-1 The Tigers have won twice since losing to Rogers 4-3. Pitchers
Madison Prough and
Cailey Cochran have a combined 0.75 ERA and has 160 strikeouts in 103 combined innings.
20. (NR) Lexington (Tenn.), 24-0The Tigers won the Tennessee State Coaches Association Tournament over the weekend by winning seven times and beating teams from three states. They are hitting .465 as a team, led by junior
Kaitlin Kelley (.600 with 35 RBIs and five home runs).
21. (NR) Lakewood (Hebron, Ohio), 6-0Lakewood has stretched its win streak to 34 after starting 2017 6-0. In its last 53 games, Lakewood has lost just once.
22. (NR) Ballard (Louisville, Ky.), 11-0The Bruins have great numbers: 121 runs scored, 13 runs allowed.
23. (23) Orange (Hillsborough, N.C.), 9-0The Panthers' seniors are getting it done:
Mia Davidson is hitting .667 with nine homers and 39 RBIs and
Kristina Givens is hitting .600 and is 6-0 with a 0.70 ERA.
24. (24) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 15-0The Colts have 11 run-rule wins this season.
25. (NR) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 25-0The Raiders are averaging 10 runs per game. The team batting average is .439.
Dropped out: Grand Terrace (Calif.), Fort Myers (Fla.), Hurricane (W. Va.), Scott County (Ky.), Willis (Texas), Spain Park (Ala.) and East Carter (Ky.).