MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

Amador Valley has moved atop the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings as Mission Viejo's two-month stay at No. 1 came to an end with its first loss of the season.

AV started the season at No. 3 and moved to second after winning the prestigious Michelle Carew Memorial Tournament in March.

On two occasions, Mission Viejo defeated Pacifica in mid-March to claim the top spot and remained there for nine weeks. However, on May 16, Pacifica (24-4) got revenge with a 2-1, nine-inning victory. As a result, Mission Viejo fell to No. 5 and Pacifica returned to the Top 25 at No. 16.

With the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs underway, Pacifica and Mission Viejo won't play one another this season as Pacifica is Division 1 and Mission Viejo Division 2.

Alexander Central moved from No. 3 to No. 2 and Barbers Hill moved to No. 3. Archbishop Mitty and Mission Viejo round out the Top 5.

Also new to the Top 25 this week is Deer Park.


1. (No. 2 last week) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 24-0
Amador Valley beat Foothill as Johanna Grauer ran her record to 24-0 and raised her batting average to a team-high .388. Ashley Lotosynski has 26 RBIs in 24 games. The North Coast Section playoffs began Tuesday.

2. (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 29-0
Central moves into the third round of the 4A state playoffs having outscored its opponents 374-20 and 39-0 in the playoffs. In a 12-0 playoff win over Ardrey Kell (Charlotte), Kiana Millsaps and Bailey Rhoney combined to throw a no-hitter and allowed only one baserunner on a walk. Up next: unbeaten Robinson (21-0) on Tuesday.

3. (4) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 31-0
The Eagles beat Santa Fe 3-0 to move into a 4A Regional semifinal game on Saturday against Dawson (Pearland).

4. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 27-1
Mitty beat Valley Christian ace Brynne Fitzpatrick for the second time in two weeks to win the West Catholic League title and head into the playoffs with momentum. Mitty's only loss this season is to Valley Christian.

5. (1) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 21-1
The Diablos lost 2-1 in nine innings to preseason No. 1 Pacifica (Garden Grove). Diablos ace Taylor McQuillin suffered her first loss of the season by giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits and 13 strikeouts.

6. (8) Lebanon (Ohio), 28-0
Lebanon has given up only 18 runs while scoring 260 this season after playoff wins over Stebbings, 21-1, and Fairmont, 12-0.

7. (9) Olathe East (Kan.), 20-0
The Hawks have won 39 straight. They swept Shawnee Mission Northwest last week and open the playoffs this week.

8. (13) Vacaville (Calif.), 27-0-1
The Bulldogs opened the Sac-Joaquin Section playoffs with a trio of wins as sophomore Katie Kibby twirled a pair of shutouts and limited Pleasant Grove (Elk Grove) to one run.

9. (10) The Woodlands (Texas), 36-3
The Highlanders beat Plano West, 9-3 and 8-3, to move into the state 5A Regional Semifinals on Saturday versus 27-6 Rockwall.

10. (11) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.), 20-0
The Warriors beat Blake, Howard and Perry Hall by a combined 28 runs to run their win streak to 59. They last lost on May 20, 2011. Next up: State 4A semifinals on Tuesday.

11. (12) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 25-0
Angelina Mcguire has 49 RBIs and Steph Thomas has a 0.29 ERA. Up next: Mahway (N.J.) on Tuesday.

12. (14) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.), 28-0
The Black Knights beat Rocky River (Mint Hill) and Glenn (Kernersville) in the first two rounds of the state 4A playoffs. Next up: 20-4 Southern Alamance (Graham).

13. (16) Crown Point (Ind.), 24-0
Miranda Elish is 18-0 with 170 strikeouts in 93 innings and a 0.22 ERA as the Bulldogs wind down the regular season. The Bulldogs host Highland on Friday.

14. (20) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 63-4-1
Sparkman beat Hillcrest-Tuscaloosa 6-5 in eight innings to close out the tourney undefeated. Leadoff hitter Bevia Robinson scored two runs for Sparkman and was named the 6A Tourney MVP.

15. (17) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 30-2 *Season over
The Raiders won Florida's 7A state title for the second-straight year.

16. (NR) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.), 24-4-1
Faith Canfield was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double and hit the game-winning walkoff home run to defeat previous No. 1 Mission Viejo in nine innings, 2-1. Pacifica pitcher Kaylee Carlson scattered four hits over the nine innings while striking out seven.

17. (18) Eastern Tech (Baltimore), 23-0
After recording nine straight shutouts, the Mavericks gave up three runs in a 25-3 win over Loch Raven (Towson). They are hitting .540 as a team and have 108 extra base hits. They played McDonogh in the state semifinals on Tuesday.

18. (23) South Salem (Ore.), 24-1
After losing, the Saxons scored 89 runs and allowed just 10 in winning their final nine games. Up next: The playoffs.

19. (18) Daniel Boone (Birdsboro, Pa.), 21-1
Though its perfect season ended with a 2-0 loss to 20-2 Brandywine Heights (Topton), Daniel Boone still received the No. 1 seed as playoffs open this week. Boone plays Central Dauphin (Harrisburg) today.

20. (15) Bay City Western (Auburn, Mich.), 24-2
Hannah Leppek had 26 strikeouts in two of Bay City's three wins. She also drove in five runs with a home run and a triple.

21. (23) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 30-2 *Season over
Won state 3A title.

22. (22) La Grange (Texas), 36-2
The Cougars will meet LaVernia in the 3A state playoffs on Saturday. Missy Zoch is 27-0 with a 1.04 ERA.

23. (25) Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.), 34-3
Baylor has won 20 straight. The Red Raiders looked like a team poised to make a run at its fourth-consecutive TSSAA D2-AA softball state title Friday as it disposed of Ensworth 18-0 in three innings and 15-2 in five innings to win the best-of-three quarterfinal series and advance to the state tournament.

24. (24) West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.), 28-1 *Season over
The Jaguars won the state 4A title.

25. (NR) Deer Park (Texas), 35-5
A winner of 16 in a row, Deer Park has scored 69 runs in eight playoff games. Payton McBride is 18-3 with a 0.97 ERA and Caitlin Plocheck has 56 RBIs. Next up: Bellaire (Texas) in the state 5A playoffs.

Dropped Out: Mauldin (S.C.), Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas).