Unless there is a major, monster upset in Indiana, it looks like the race for No. 1 in the Extra Elite 80 national rankings will come down to two teams.
California’s last, best shot at having a No. 1 team in the nation this season pretty much ended when previously undefeated, previous No. 2 and top seed Oaks Christian (Westlake Village) was topped by Los Alamitos, 4-0, last Saturday in the CIF Southern Section Division I semifinals.
That section’s top playoff bracket already was hard enough, but this year the section had its second-round, quarterfinals and semifinals staged over a five-day window. Oaks Christian hit the road to Riverside County for its quarterfinal game and then two days later had to travel again to Orange County to take on the Griffins, who were No. 1 in the nation in 2017. Los Al pitcher Sydney Saldana (New Mexico State) tossed a four-hitter in the shutout while the Griffins also got a three-run homer by Giselle Alvarez.
Los Alamitos 4, Oaks Christian 0. FINAL
Sydney Saldana pitches a complete game shutout for the Griffins. Giselle Alvarez delivered the big swing in the third inning, a 3-run homer.
Los Al returns to the CIF finals for first time since 2017. pic.twitter.com/ZSPYpxwBWR
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) May 14, 2022
Los Alamitos will now take on new Extra Elite 80 No. 9 Roosevelt of Eastvale in the CIFSS D1 championship. Oaks Christian, as a semifinalist, is eligible to still play in the CIF Southern California regional championships in Division 1, but it’s very uncertain how many teams both in NorCal or SoCal will be deciding to play in the CIF regionals.
The first major travel ball weekend also will be on the same day as the regional finals (June 4) and in Oaks Christian’s case the school will have its graduation on the same day of the regional semifinals.
Extra Elite 80 No. 1 Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) improved to 35-0 last week with a two-game sweep of Waller (Waller, Texas) in the Class 5A regional quarterfinals. The Lions did have to go to extra innings to win the second game, 7-3, but got separation thanks to a three-run homer for Syracuse-bound third baseman Madelyn Lopez. Lake Creek will now take on Friendswood in the regional semifinals and still has three weeks to go in its quest to win its state title.
If Lake Creek doesn’t win out, Roncalli seems to be even more of a favorite to go all the way and finish unbeaten with a state title in Indiana. This is the team, after all, led by national player of the year Keegan Rothrock. She struck out 12 in a 6-1 win on Tuesday against a Center Grove (Ind.) squad that was coming off of a big win over previously unbeaten Whiteland. We could have started out Roncalli No. 1 in the nation like others, but teams from California, Texas and Florida do tend to play tougher schedules.
ARIZONA STATE CHAMPIONS
One of the big softball states nationally to complete its season on Monday and over the weekend was Arizona. It’s a state that really should look into the concept of doing state playoffs with open divisions or competitive equity seedings like they are in California so championship teams like Xavier Prep (6A), Willow Canyon (5A) and Salpointe Catholic (4A) really could determine on the field which one of them is the best.
Xavier Prep of Phoenix took the 6A crown for the second straight season with a 13-0 blowout of Hamilton (Chandler). Harvard-bound Riley Flynn tossed a one-hitter for the Gators after earlier notching a no-hitter in the state playoffs. The Gators moved up into this week’s national rankings as a newcomer at No. 33.
Willow Canyon of Surprise, which has a split with Xavier Prep in two games between the two this season, captured the 5A state title with a 2-1 triumph over Canyon View (Waddell). Marissa McCann struck out 15 while sophomore Riley Turlington hit a homer to lead the Wildcats. They have been inserted into this week’s national rankings as a newcomer at No. 43.
Salpointe Catholic of Tucson already has been in the top 20 of the Extra Elite 80 and capped off its season on Monday with a 10-7 victory over Canyon del Oro (Tucson). It was the third win by the Lancers over the Dorados this season. Gianna Meres (home run), Jaelyn Castillo (4-for-4, RBI) and Yannixa Acuna (3-for-3, RBI) led the way at the plate.
— Mark Tennis, contributor to Extra Inning Softball
*****
(After games of Tuesday, May 17)
*Indicates season complete.
**Indicates forfeits not included in record.
***Indicates season complete & no forfeits.
1. (1) Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 35-0
2. (3) Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.) 24-0*
3. (4) Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) 27-2
4. (5) O’Connor (Heliotes, Texas) 28-1
5. (6) Fairhope (Fairhope, Ala.) 40-2-1
6. (8) St. Francis (Mountain View, Calif.) 25-2
7. (9) Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.) 32-2*
8. (14) Clovis North (Fresno, Calif.) 21-2
9. (18) Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) 26-3
10. (10) Oxbridge Academy (West Palm Beach, Fla.) 22-1-1
*** Scroll down to see the rest of the Top 50 plus the Next 30 and the teams that dropped out…
