Video: Catcher hits runner and coach with errant throw
See the wacky play for yourself.Pitching is the name of the game in softball and Crown Point might have the best one-two pitching combination in the country. As a result, the Bulldogs have moved atop this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings sponsored by the Army National Guard.
Led by all-American pitchers Miranda Elish (signed with Oregon) and Alexis Holloway (committed to Notre Dame), Crown Point has outscored its opponents 62-3 in eight games. Seven of the wins have been shutouts.
Elish, a senior, has allowed just one hit and two walks in 25 innings. She has 55 strikeouts and has yet to allow a runner to score. Holloway, a junior, has allowed just five hits and has 48 strikeouts in 24 innings. She has allowed just two earned runs.
Combined, opponents are getting less than one hit every eight innings against Crown Point's aces.
Unbeaten Eagle (19-0) seemed positioned to move to No. 1, but has not been dominating in its last three games. Eagle remains No. 2 because of the impressive pitching of senior Bradie Fillmore with 102 strikeouts in 45 innings (8-0 with an 0.78 ERA) and junior Autumn Moffatt (10-0). Fillmore has signed with Cal and Moffatt has committed to BYU. Like Elish and Holloway, Fillmore and Moffatt each have thrown three no-hitters this season.
New to the Top 25 this week are unbeatens Tahoma (Wash.) and East Carter (Grayson, Ky.).
MaxPreps Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings presented by the Army National Guard
Allee Bunker and Huntington Beach knocked off previous No. 1 Los Alamitos.
Photo by Charles Goldstein
1. (8 last week) Crown Point (Ind.), 8-0The Bulldogs got no-hitters from
Miranda Elish and
Alexis Holloway in winning twice last week. Each recorded a dozen strikeouts in their wins. Elish hasn't allowed a hit in April and is hitting .667. Holloway is batting .538 and
Mackenzie Dunlap is batting .545.
2. (2) Eagle (Idaho), 19-0The Mustangs beat Capital (Boise), 13-3. They have scored 256 runs and allowed 17, but in their last three games, they have allowed 13 runs (a season-high five on two occasions). Next up: Columbia (Nampa) on Tuesday.
3. (3) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 17-2 The Diablos ran their win streak to 10 with lopsided wins over Capistrano Valley (Mission Viejo) and El Toro (Lake Forest), 12-0. Their two losses have come against 17-2 Los Alamitos and 19-4 Mater Dei (Santa Ana).
4. (4) La Grange (Texas), 29-1 The Tigers ran their win streak to 29 with 5-0 win over Navasota, as
Missy Zoch pitched a one-hitter and then handed Halletsville only its second loss of the season, 8-2, as
Hatti Moore and
Riley Fisbeck homered.
5. (5) Deer Park (Texas), 30-2The Deer ran their win streak to 15 with routs over Channelview, 17-0, and Sterling (Baytown), 12-2. Up next: the postseason.
6. (6) Viera (Fla.), 25-1The Hawks, winners of 24 straight, play on Tuesday against 23-3 Deltona (Fla.) in a 7A Regional playoff game. In beating New Mryna Beach (Cla.) 6-0 last week, the Hawks recorded their 14th shutout of the season.
7. (7) Grand Terrace (Calif.), 15-1Melanie Olmos shutout West Ranch and Fontana with a pair of two-hitters and struck out 23 in the 4-0 and 12-0 wins. She has allowed just 11 hits and two earned runs in 54 innings.
8. (10) Canyon del Oro (Tucson, Ariz.), 26-1-1 With their 12-1 win over Casa Grande, the Dorados ran their win streak to 14. They also blanked Rincon/University (Tucson), 12-0. A showdown looms on Tuesday against 28-3 Ironwood Ridge (Tucson), also a winner of 14 straight.
9. (11) West Orange (Winter Garden, Fla.), 26-1 The Warriors, winners of 19 straight, play 16-12 Lake Brantley (Altamonte Springs) on Tuesday in a 9A Region 1 semifinal.
10. (1) Los Alamitos (Calif.), 17-2The Griffins ran their win streak to eight, then lost 3-2 to Huntington Beach, which lost earlier in the week to Edison. The two teams meet again on May 10.
11. (12) Bald Knob (Ark.), 26-0The Bulldogs ended the regular season at 26-0 with a 10-1 win over Green County Tech. They also edged White Hall 2-0, beat Benton 6-0, and routed Cedar Ridge 19-0 to run their win streak to 48 over two seasons. District tournament play begins Friday for the reigning state champs.
12. (13) Campbell (Ewa Beach, Hawaii), 12-0 The Sabers beat Kapolei 4-3 and Mililani 3-1 in 10 innings to run their win streak to 17 over two seasons. Their last loss was 4-3 to Mililani last May 8.
13. (15) Cibola (Yuma, Ariz.), 30-1 The Raiders ran their win streak to 24 with an 18-0 rout of Yuma, as nine players drove in at least one run. The regular season ends April 27 at 3-18 Palo Verde (Tucson).
14. (14) San Benito (Texas), 27-1The Greyhounds ended their regular season with a 15-0 win against Rivera (Brownsville) and captured the 32-6A District title. They open the 6A playoffs on Friday.
15. (16) Union County (Union, S.C.), 20-0The Yellowjackets concluded their regular season with a trio of wins to run their win streak (over two seasons) to 33.
16. (17) Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.), 16-0The Golden Eagles won four games last week by a margin of 85-1 and have scored 279 runs while allowing just 13 in 16 games. The latest victim was East (Wichita), losing 28-0 and 27-0 in a doubleheader in which Bishop collected 53 base hits and allowed just three.
17. (19) Gainesville (Fla.), 24-2The Hurricanes defeated Creekside (Jacksonville) 3-0 in the 7A regional quarterfinals and on Tuesday play 14-11 Columbia (Lake City) in the 7A regional semifinals. The Hurricanes have defeated Columbia three times this season by a combined 16-1 margin.
18. (18) Huntington Beach (Calif.), 17-2After having her team's 12-game winning streak snapped by crosstown rival Edison,
Ivy Davis pitched a two-hitter against then-No. 1 Los Alamitos in a 3-2 win. The Oilers play Los Alamitos again on May 10.
19. (21) Robinson (Texas), 29-0-1The Rockets have outscored their last four opponents 48-2 and have scored 342 times this season.
20. (20) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.), 10-0Sherwood's winning streak reached 96 with 17-0 wins (over Walter Johnson and Whitman) and 10-0 (over Paint Branch) victories.
Kara Carney,
Marisa Mancini and
Kelly Bouma have combined for 44 RBIs.
21. (NR) East Carter (Grayson, Ky.), 21-0 The Raiders routed Elliott County (Sandy Hook) on Monday, 16-1. Sophomore
Montana Fouts is hitting .536 with 25 RBIs and four other starters -- all underclassmen -- are hitting over .400. Fouts is also 17-0 with a 0.13 ERA and has 255 strikeouts in 109 innings. She has allowed just 11 hits and walked only five. She has pitched eight no-hitters and four one-hitters this season.
22. (24) Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.), 19-0 The Colts have outscored their opponents 262-10 and have recorded 12 shutouts. They close out the regular season Thursday, hosting South View (Hope Mills).
23. (23) Eastlake (El Paso, Texas), 28-1 Since losing to El Paso rival Parkland (25-6-1), the Falcons scored 36 in winning their final three regular season games. The postseason begins Wednesday at Burgess (El Paso).
24. (NR) Tahoma (Kent, Wash.), 16-0The Bears are averaging better than 12 runs per game, while allowing just 18 total. In 14 wins, the Bears have scored 10 or more. The reigning state 4A champs have won 20 in a row and have lost just once the last two seasons.
25. (25) Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 22-1-1Reed had a good week, as it edged Bishop Manogue (Reno) 6-5, beat Reno twice and had a 10-run win over Damonte Ranch (Reno).
Dropped out: Jackson (Wash.), Penn (Ind.).