MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

As the team enters the final week of the season, Northern (Owings, Md.) ran its win streak to 74 games with a pair of 8-0 wins last week.

The Knights not only will play in Tuesday's Maryland 3A State semifinals, but also remain atop the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings. Twenty of their 21 wins this season have been shutouts and they have allowed just one run — unearned — this season.

Previous No. 2 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) lost in the first round of the CIF section playoffs to No. 8 seed Gilroy, 6-3, and saw its season end at 27-1. Because of the loss, Mitty fell from the Top 25.

As a result, Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) moved to No. 2 after concluding its season 28-0 with its second Idaho 5A state championship in three years.

El Diamante (Visalia, Calif.), North Johnston (Kenly, N.C.), Vintage (Napa, Calif.) and North Medford (Medford, Ore.) also suffered losses and dropped from the Top 25.

The biggest mover this week was Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), moving from No. 16 to No. 4. Greenwood set a Kentucky record for consecutive wins at 34 this season. The old mark of 30 was set by Reidland in 2000.

Joining the Top 25 this week were No. 12 Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.), No. 19 Barrington (Ill.), No. 20 Glencoe (Hillsboro, Ore.), No. 21 Coral Reef (Miami) and Texans San Benito (No. 24) and Deer Park (No. 25).

MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings

1. (1 last week) Northern (Owings, Md.), 21-0
In winning the regional title, Northern won on a pair of 8-0 games over Huntingtown (Md.) and Chopticon (Morganza, Md.) — both one-hitters by Jess Cummings, who struck out 25 in the two wins. Erin Adams had four RBIs and Kierstie Schaefer had three RBIs. The Knights move on to the State 3A semifinals on Tuesday.

*2. (3) Lake City (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho), 28-0
The Timberwolves captured their second state title in three years, sweeping four opponents at the state tournament. Casey Stangel pitched a pair of shutouts, including a 10-0 no-hitter over Skyline (Idaho Falls) and 10-0 two-hitter over Eagle in the finals. The T-Wolves have won 77 of their last 79 games and two state titles (2011 and 2013).

3. (4) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 26-1
The Red and Gold beat Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) 14-0 in the first round of CIF-SS Division II playoffs as sophomore Alyssa Palomino hit her record-breaking 18th homer of the season. Palomino broke Orange County's single-season home run record previously held by Oklahoma University All-American Lauren Chamberlain, who hit 17 home runs for El Toro in 2010. The Diablos play Ayala (Chino Hills, Calif.) on Tuesday.

4. (16) Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), 34-0
The Gators, who have a 300-15 scoring advantage over their opponents, won five games last week — three by 1-0 scores — to set a new Kentucky state record for consecutive wins.

*5. (5) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 32-1
Curtis won Louisiana 2A state title and has won 64 of its last 65 games.

*6. (8) Sunrise Mountain (Peoria, Ariz.), 36-1
The Mustangs won the 2013 Arizona D-II title and have won four state titles in seven years.

*7. (11) Bishop O'Connell (Arlington, Va.), 30-1
Led by All-Americans Tori Finucane and Jillian Ferraro, the Knights defeated Paul VI Catholic (Fairfax, VA), 9-0, in the Virginia Independent Schools Athletic Association Division I final to give Bishop its first 30-win season. Finucane struck out 14 in a three-hit shutout and Ferraro had four RBIs. It was also the Knights' 18th title in 20 years. Prior to their final two wins, the Knights defeated Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach) 10-0 and Bishop Ireton (Alexandria) 11-0 as Finucane pitched a no-hitter and a two-hitter and struck out 21 in the two games. She also homered, as did Ferraro and Mary Burk. After losing to No. 1 Northern in mid-April, the Knights won their final dozen games.

8. (14) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 28-1
The Cougars beat McDowell (Marion, N.C.), 6-0, and Lake Norman, 14-8, for their 26th straight win and 97th out of their last 102 games. On Tuesday, they face defending state champion Porter Ridge (Indian Trail) in the fourth round of state playoffs.

9. (10) Hoover (North Canton, Ohio), 28-0
The Vikings beat Perry, 10-2, and routed Timken (Canton), 13-0 in the first two rounds of the state tournament. They play on Tuesday versus Lake (Uniontown).

10. (17) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 25-1 
The Eagles have recorded 12 straight shutouts since losing 1-0. Last week, junior Steph Thomas pitched a pair of two-hitters and had 21 strikeouts in wins over Teaneck and 8-0 over Ramsey. And on Monday, Thomas pitched a one-hitter and struck out 10 in a 4-0 win over Mahwah. They play Newark Academy (Livingston) on Wednesday.

11. (15) Woodinville (Wash.), 22-1
The Falcons beat three teams to run their win streak to 14 and move on to state as the No. 1 seed. Madi Schreyer no-hit Issaquah as the Falcons won 6-0, then struck out 14 in 5-0 win over Bothell. In a 12-4 win over Redmond, Emily Jackson, Tori Lettus and Alyssa O'Farrell supplied the offense, combining for six hits (four doubles) and six RBIs.

12. (NR) Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.), 22-0
Washburn has outscored its foes 278-16. Most recent wins were over Washington (Kansas City) 28-0 and Manhattan 10-0. Alyssa Carney and Jenny Metzger drove in two each against Manhattan and Samantha Carson threw a no-hitter and struck out nine in the 28-0 win as Rural scored 22 runs in the first inning. Carson also had four RBIs and Carney had four hits and three RBIs. She also struck out 13 in the Manhattan win. Washburn opens State 6A tournament play against Northwest (Shawnee Mission) on Wednesday.

13. (16) Logan (Union City, Calif.), 23-1
The Colts beat Irvington (Fremont, Calif.) 11-1 as Tayler Peters homered, then blanked Mission San Jose (Fremont, Calif.) 17-0 on a no-hitter by Raeann Garza to run their win streak to a dozen and advance to the next round of the CIF playoffs.

14. (19) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 22-2
The Dons shutout San Ramon (Danville) 10-0 and Foothill (Pleasanton) 11-0 to run their shutout streak to nine — all by junior Johanna Grauer, who pitched a perfect game and went four-for-four against Foothill. The Dons begin CIF playoffs on Tuesday.

15. (16) Connell (Wash.), 21-0
Ashley Thompson pitched a pair of no-hitters — giving her 13 on the season — as Connell won its district tournament and moves on to state. Thompson's most recent victims were Warden and Riverview and in the process, Thompson broke the Washington career record for strikeouts. She has 1,056 in her career. The old mark was 1,044. Riverside (Spokane) Friday.

*16. (20) Las Cruces (N.M.) 30-1
The Bulldawgs ran their win streak to 26 straight with a 10-0 Class 5A state title win over Cibola (Albuquerque). Prior that, the Bulldawgs routed three foes — 11-0 over Valley (Albuquerque), 14-3 over Volcano Vista (Albuquerque), and 10-1 over Carlsbad. In the postseason, Las Cruces outscored five opponents 59-6. Shortstop Audrey Velasquez was the hitting star for the Bulldawgs, going four-for-four in the title and 12-for-13 in the final three games. Alexis Dotson was also four-for-four in the win over Cibola.

*17. (21) Boiling Springs (Spartanburg, S.C.), 33-1
The Bulldogs outscored the opposition 68-6 in winning all eight postseason contests, including the final two by 10-0 scores over Summerville to win the State 4A championship. Taylor Cabe pitched both shutouts as the Mustangs ran their win streak to 30 games. Webber Roberts had three hits and drove in two runs in the game. The lone loss for the 31-1 Bulldogs was March 17 against Byrnes, 7-6 in extra innings. The Bulldogs won their final 18 games by shutout.

18. (16) Massac County (Metropolis, Ill.), 30-0-1
Led by Kaylee Childers and Gracyn McBride, the Patriots defeated Vienna 10-0 and Carterville 7-0 to win the Regional title and run their winning streak to 30. Childers, who is hitting a team high .527, is 26-0 with a 1.43 ERA and McBride has driven in 51 runs. The Patriots play Red Bud on Wednesday.

19. (NR) Barrington (Ill.), 30-1
The Fillies have won 17 straight and are averaging more than 10 runs per game (316 total) while allowing just 37. Since losing 3-2 on April 20, the Fillies have outscored their opponents 152-18. On the season, they have recorded 11 shutouts. In their most recent win, the Fillies rode a five-hit, 10-strikeout performance in the circle from sophomore Keenan Dolezal (23-1) to beat Central (Burlington). They have now won 30 games or more in 12 of the past 13 seasons. They will host their own Class 4A super-sectional on June 3.

20. (NR) Glencoe (Hillsboro, Ore.), 25-1
Behind the pitching of Katie Sutherland-Finch, Glencoe has won 20 straight since a 2-1 loss to 23-2 South Salem, and has outscored its foes 143-23. Glencoe opened the first round of the 6A State Playoffs with a 7-0 win over South Medford as Sutherland-Finch allowed a seventh inning single and struck out 18. Glencoe moves on to round two on Wednesday.

*21. (NR) Coral Reef (Miami), 26-2
Led by pitcher Dayna Wilson, the Barracudas won the Florida 8A title by sweeping through the tournament with a 5-4 win over Cypress Bay (title game), 1-0 over Timber Creek, 4-1 over Goleman and 18-8 over Palmetto. Wilson pitched nine-inning complete games in the semifinals and title game victories. In addition to the state tournament, Coral Reef captured victories in the Kissimmee Klassic Tournament, GMAC Tournament, District 16-8A Championship, and Region 4-8A Finals.

22. (23) La Grange (Texas), 36-3
Collecting 30 hits, LaGrange beat King (Kingsville) twice, 7-1 and 17-0 to advance to the Regional Finals on Wednesday against Sealy. In the 17-0 win, Breanna Homer and Madison Knesek each drove in four runs. In the 7-1 win, junior Abby Morgan ran her record to 17-0 as she pitched a one-hitter.

*23. (24) Estrella Foothills (Goodyear, Ariz.), 33-2
Estrella won the Arizona D-III title.

24. (NR) San Benito (Texas), 31-2
The Lady Greyhounds moved to the Final 8 of the Texas 5A Playoffs with a 3-2 win over O'Connor (San Antonio). They will play 23-7 Smithson Valley on Friday.

25. (NR) Deer Park (Texas) 37-4
Freshman Payton McBride pitched a one-hitter and struck out 12 in a 2-0 first game win, then homered in a 6-3 win as Deer Park swept Cinco Ranch. Winners of 27 straight, Deer Park moves on to the 5A Regional Finals against Brazoswood (Clute).

Dropped out: No. 2 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), No. 6 El Diamante (Visalia, Calif.), No. 7 North Johnston (Kenly, N.C.), No. 9 North Medford (Medford, Ore.) and No. 22 Vintage (Napa, Calif.), No. 25 Coronado (Lubbock, Texas).

*Season over