Extra Elite 80 High School Softball Team Rankings: Lake Creek (Texas) One of Three Undefeated Teams Atop This Week’s Ratings (May 4, 2022)

Things will get fast and furious over the next few weeks in the race for positioning in this year’s national high school softball rankings.

For the Extra Elite 80, it’s not just when about almost the entire country playing in the high school season at the same time, but it’s also a time for section, regional and state playoffs.

Several states are already well underway with state playoffs and there is even one of them – in Louisiana – which is done.

National No. 1 Lake Creek of Montgomery, Texas won its Class 5A bi-district round matchup over Magnolia last weekend with a two-game sweep. The Lions won 11-0 and then 8-5. Ava Brown pitched at least four innings in each of the games. Madelyn Lopez had three RBI in the second game. The team advanced to the area round this week against Weiss of Pflugerville.

Keep in mind that in the Texas playoffs a team like Lake Creek could lose a game and still move on into the next round since best-of-three formats can happen. With the teams chasing the Lions in this week’s rankings, however, one loss may be enough for one of the others to move in front in a future ranking.

In California for the first time ever, it also will be possible for a team to lose in the postseason yet still get to continue. It would have to be a team, however, that loses in either the semifinal or final of a CIF section playoff for it to be able to play in the CIF Northern California or CIF Southern California regional playoffs.

Moving up to No. 2 in this week’s Extra Elite 80 is unbeaten California team Oaks Christian of Westlake Village. The Lions start the CIF Southern Section D1 playoffs as the top seed. They ended the regular season last week with a 5-0 win over Rio Mesa of Oxnard behind a perfect game with 14 strikeouts by Notre Dame-bound Micaela Kastor.

Previous No. 2 Clovis North dropped a league game to Buchanan of Clovis, but is still very much alive to win its section and regional championships.

The one team in the rankings that has already wrapped up its season with a state title is St. Amant of St. Amant, La.

The Gators cruised in their Class 5A state title game match-up last weekend with West Monroe in a 10-0 rout that was called after five innings. It was St. Amant’s second title in four years (with no playoffs in 2020, of course, with the pandemic) and put the final record at 33-2. Addison Jackson led the way with a perfect game in the circle plus she hit a homer and a double with her bat.

St. Amant debuted at No. 28 in this week’s Extra Elite 80 and will no doubt move up as other teams from other states lose in their upcoming state playoffs.

— Mark Tennis, contributor to Extra Inning Softball

*****

(After games of Tuesday, May 4)
(Previous rank in parentheses)

* Indicates forfeits not included
** Indicates season complete

1. (1) Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 32-0
2. (3) Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, Calif.) 28-0
3. (4) Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.) 16-0
4. (5) Deer Park (Deer Park, Texas) 33-2
5. (8) O’Connor (Heliotes, Texas) 25-1
6. (11) Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) 23-2
7. (10) Granada (Livermore, Calif.) 21-1
8. (9) Fairhope (Fairhope, Ala.) 36-2-1
9. (2) Clovis North (Fresno, Calif.) 18-1
10. (6) Oxbridge Academy (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 18-1-1

*** Scroll down to see the rest of the Top 50 plus the Next 30 and the teams that dropped out…

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