MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

No. 1 Mission Viejo took Easter week off, but remained No. 1 in this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings ... but barely.

While the Diablos were gearing up for the last half of their season with a 12-day break, No. 2 Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), No. 3 Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C), No. 4 Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), No. 5 Ponte Vedra (Fla.) and Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas) remained unbeaten and did so in impressive fashion.

With the way Nos. 2 through 6 are playing, anything close to a hiccup by Mission Viejo could lead to a new No. 1.

Other unbeaten teams in the Top 25 include Mauldin (S.C.), South Salem (Ore.), Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.), East (Olathe, Kan.), Vacaville (Calif.), Camas (Wash.), Immaculate Heart (Washington Township, N.J.) and Eastern Tech (Baltimore).

Back in the rankings this week are a pair of teams that spent four weeks (or more) ranked in the Top 10 – St. Thomas Aquinas (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) and Curtis (River Ridge, La.).

New to the rankings this week are St. Amant (La.) and Eastern Tech.


1. (No. 1 last week) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 15-0
Prior taking a week off, the Diablos beat El Toro (Lake Forest) on April 10 and host Tesoro (Rancho Santa Margarita) Tuesday.

2. (2) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.), 16-0
Johanna Grauer continues to dominate with 179 strikeouts in 113 innings and a 16-0 record, but she allowed two earned runs in a recent start (the only earned runs she has allowed this season). Her ERA is 0.12. The Dons visit 14-2 Granada (Livermore) on Wednesday.

3. (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 21-0
Central's win streak stands at 52 after routs over South Iredell (Statesville), 14-1, and 26-0 over Statesville. Central has outscored its opponents 270-19 this season. Next up, once-beaten North Stokes (Danbury) on Thursday.

4. (4) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.), 20-0
Mitty shut out Soquel 1-0 and Hillsdale (San Mateo) 3-0, to run its record to 20-0. Junior pitcher Desiree Severance is 15-0 with seven shutouts and a 0.63 ERA.

5. (5) Ponte Vedra (Fla.), 26-0
The Sharks opened the postseason with wins over Menendez (St. Augustine) and Clay (Green Cove Springs). On Thursday, they host Paxon (Jacksonville) in a 4-5A Regional quarterfinal.

6. (7) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas), 24-0
The Eagles wrapped up their regular season with 15-0 and 6-0 wins to run their win streak to 24. Eight of their last nine wins have been by shutout and they have outscored their foes 222-11. Next up is the postseason on April 29 against a team yet to be determined.

7. (8) Cy-Fair (Cypress, Texas), 25-1
The Bobcats recorded their eighth-straight shutout and 16th of the season by blanking Langham Creek (Houston) and Cy-Ridge (Houston). Next up is the postseason.

8. (13) Mauldin (S.C.), 21-0
The Mavericks got three home runs from Kaitlyn Wagers and a trio of shutouts from Amanda Storch in running their record to 21-0. They host Spartanburg Tuesday.

9. (11) Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas), 25-1
Cinco Ranch beat Katy 3-2 last Tuesday and hosts Fort Bend Christian Academy (Sugar Land, Texas) on Wednesday.

10. (14) Halls (Knoxville, Tenn.), 33-1
Since losing 1-0 to Collierville, the Red Devils have won 28 straight. It was a good week for Halls as it scored 42 runs in three games. Next up is 33-3 Gibbs (Corytown, Ky.) on Tuesday.

11. (12) La Grange (Texas), 30-1
The Cougars have won 30 straight.

12. (15) Columbia (Lake City, Fla.), 19-1
Kayli Kvistad hit a three-run homer in the seventh inning to move the Tigers into the Regional Quarterfinals versus Escambia on Wednesday.

13. (21) South Salem (Ore.), 13-0
The Saxons have recorded 10 straight shutouts and have outscored their opponents 111-4. They visit Sprague (Salem) on Tuesday.

14. (16) The Woodlands (Texas), 28-2
The Highlanders ran their win streak to 19 with shutout wins over College Park (The Woodlands) and Oak Ridge (Conroe). Up next is the district playoffs.

15. (17) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 25-1
The Eagles beat Dekaney (Houston) 22-0 and Klein (Texas) 13-0. Up next is College Park (The Woodlands) on Thursday in the district playoffs.

16. (NR) St. Amant (La.), 28-1
St. Amant hosts Chalmette on Tuesday in a Bi-District opener.

17. (18) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.), 8-0
The Warriors have scored 105 runs in just eight games. They visit Blake on Tuesday.

18. (19) Olathe East (Kan.), 8-0
The Hawks, who have won 32 of their last 33 games, swept East (Shawnee Mission) and meet West (Shawnee Mission, Kan.) on Tuesday. Mckenna Davis is batting .720.

19. (20) Immaculate Heart Academy (Washington Township, N.J.), 11-0
IHA has won its last five by shutout and has given up just seven runs this season. Next up is Ramapo (Franklin Lakes) on Tuesday.

20. (22) Vacaville (Calif.), 18-0-1
Sophomore pitcher Katie Kibby is 18-0 with a 0.65 ERA. The Bulldogs host Vintage (Napa) on Wednesday.

21. (23) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.), 44-2
The Senators, who have won 23 straight, host Bob Jones (Madison) on Tuesday.

22. (24) Camas (Wash.), 8-0
The Papermakers play Skyview (Vancouver) on Wednesday.

23. (NR) Curtis (River Ridge, La.), 25-2
Since losing a pair of one-run games four weeks ago, the Patriots have reeled off 20 straight wins.

24. (NR) Eastern Tech (Baltimore), 13-0
The Mavericks are rolling, having outscored their opponents 185-7. And with Jordan Cargile in the circle, they have recorded nine shutouts. Their most recent win was 4-3 over Northern (Owings, Md). Up next is C.B. Wright Milton (Bel Air) on Tuesday.

25. (NR) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.), 24-2
STA returns to the Top 25 after a two-week hiatus. The Raiders visit Hollywood Hills (Hollywood) for the District 15-7A title later this week.

Dropped Out: Clovis (Calif.), Greenwood (Bowling Green, Ky.), Bloom-Carroll (Carroll, Ohio) and Russellville (Ark.).