MaxPreps Top 25 national high school softball rankings

Video: Mission Viejo's Taylor McQuillin
See the top pitcher on the top team in the nation at work

Top ranked Mission Viejo continued to get superb pitching to remain unbeaten and atop MaxPreps' Xcellent 25 National Softball Rankings. The Diablos have stayed atop the rankings since the preseason edition.

Alexander Central matched Mission Viejo's 12-0 start and will go after its 80th consecutive win Wednesday by hosting Statesville (N.C.).

Pioneer (San Jose, Calif.) continues to get dominant pitching from sophomore Holly Azevedo and remained No. 3.

For the first time this season there was no change in the Top 10, though four new teams joined the Top 25 and four fell in the rankings.

New to the Top 25 this week are unbeatens American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) and Reed (Sparks, Nev.), plus once-beaten Coronado (Lubbock, Texas) and Bald Knob (Ark.).


1. (No. 1 last week) Mission Viejo (Calif.), 12-0
Mission Viejo beat 15-5 Santa Margarita (Rancho Santa Margarita) 4-0 for its ninth shutout win of the season. Up next: The prestigious 32-team Michelle Carew Classic begins play on Wednesday.

2. (2) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.), 12-0
The Cougars ran their win streak to 79 with 5-0 win over North Lincoln (Lincolnton).

3. (3) Pioneer (San Jose, Calif.), 13-0
Pioneer has eight shutouts in 13 tries. In 74 innings, Holly Azevedo (13-0) has yet to allow an earned run. Alex Luna has six home runs, 20 RBIs and is hitting .425.

4. (4) Atascocita (Humble, Texas), 17-1
Opponents have been outscored 28-1 in Atascocita's last four wins.

5. (5) Orange Lutheran (Calif.), 15-0
The Lancers are hitting .403 as a team and have 48 extra base hits, including 16 roundtrippers.

6. (6) Hagerty (Oviedo, Fla.), 21-1
The Huskies (21-1) defeated Cantonment Tate (19-3) 5-2 in the Blue Bracket championship game. Samantha Worrell threw a perfect game in ending Bradford's (Starke) perfect season. Hagerty has now won 15 straight games. Sarah Harrison was tournament MVP.

7. (7) Crown Point (Ind.), 0-0
The Bulldogs open the season on Saturday.

8. (8) Aledo (Texas), 15-0
The Bearcats have run their win streak to 40. In their last six games, they have outscored their opponents 75-7 with five being run-rule wins.

9. (9) Rockwall (Texas), 12-0-1
After a week off, Rockwall returns to action Thursday at North Garland.

10. (10) St. Amant (La.), 12-0
St. Amant is averaging 10 runs per game.

11. (11) Edwardsville (Ill.), 1-0
Edwardsville opened the season with a 17-0 win over Gillespie (Ill.).

12. (NR) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.), 15-0
Jenna Goodrich is 9-0 and batting .583. Freshman Hannah Sipos has 24 RBIs and is hitting .512.

13. (NR) Coronado (Lubbock, Texas), 19-1-1
Kaitlynn Dawson pitched a one-hit shutout over six innings and Mckenzie Cristan hit two home runs as Coronado run-ruled Monterey to run its record to 19-1-1.

14. (14) Santiago (Corona, Calif.), 13-1
Batting .385 as a team, Santiago has 42 extra base hits this season. Senior Ashley Coleman is 6-0 with a 1.25 ERA.

15. (15) La Grange (Texas), 21-0
La Grange reached 200 runs scored this season in a 15-0 win over Navasota. La Grange's last five victories have been by shutout. The team, hitting .445, has 90 extra base hits.

16. (16) Neshoba Central (Philadelphia, Miss.), 11-0
Hailey Lunderman continues putting up big numbers as the Rockets continue win. She is batting .625 and has 10 stolen bases. A trio of pitchers have combined for a 0.91 ERA .

17. (NR) Reed (Sparks, Nev.), 14-0
The Raiders have six players hitting over .400 and eight different players have homered at least once in a game. Sophomore pitcher Julia Jensen is 12-0 with a 0.74 ERA and 113 strikeouts in 66 innings.

18. (18) Viera (Fla.), 19-1
Averaging three stolen bases per game, Viera has won six straight.

19. (19) Forest (Ocala, Fla.), 21-2
Forest lost to No. 6 Hagerty at the Kissimmee tournament.

20. (20) Meade County (Brandenburg, Ky.), 9-0
After winning four games by one run, Meade routed Fairdale 16-1 in mercy-rule win.

21. (23) Curry (Jasper, Ala.), 22-2
Curry's 15-game win streak ended against Westminster Christian (Huntsville), but five of its last six games have ended in shutout wins. Opponents are batting .082 against 20-game winner Ashlee Swindle.

22. (22) Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.), 0-0
The returning state champions open their season on Friday.

23. (NR) Bald Knob (Ark.), 5-1
Autumn Humes guided Bald Knob to a 5-0 week with her arm and her bat. Highlighted by a no-hitter, she was 4-0 with a 0.56 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 25 innings. At the plate she batted .667 (12-for-18) with a double, triple, three home runs, 12 RBIs and eight runs scored.

24. (24) Keystone (La Grange, Ohio), 0-0
The season opener is April 11.

25. (25) Southside (Gadsden, Ala.), 15-1
Southside ran its win streak to nine with two more victories.

Dropped Out: North Little Rock (Ark.), Central (Fresno, Calif.), Bradford (Starke, Fla.), Pinnacle (Phoenix).