RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
There were still several high places for the final Extra Inning Elite 80 national high school softball rankings that needed to be secured in the final two weeks of the season. Two of them were, but another one was not.
In the next to last rankings that were compiled two weeks ago, the final No. 1 position had been secured by Lake Creek of Montgomery, Texas, after it won the Class 5A state title in Austin a few days earlier.
No. 2 Ballard of Louisville, Ky., wasn’t done yet, and neither was No. 3 Marist of Chicago, or No. 5 Roncalli of Indianapolis, Ind.
Ballard had no trouble winning its second straight Kentucky state title (which only has one champion with no divisions). Head coach Alan Jones’ squad topped Henderson County of Henderson in the title game, 12-4. Brooke Gray, a Louisville recruit who was sick and didn’t play in Ballard’s only loss of the season, pitched a four-hitter and struck out 10. University of Kentucky recruit Emily Donaldson led the offense by going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, four runs scored and two RBI. The Bruins also capped a two-year run in which they went 75-1.
Congratulations @brookegray2023 our 2023 state tournament MVP and 2023 KY Miss Softball!!! You deserve it all!!! #hardworkpaysoff ❤️🥎 pic.twitter.com/Cp4icAjfUY
— Ballard Fastpitch (@BallardSoftball) June 11, 2023
Marist had an even easier time of it in the final two games of the Illinois Class 4A playoffs. The Red Hawks outscored their two foes at the annual final four style format played in Peoria by a 19-1 margin and had a 71-4 margin for all of their playoff games. In the state title contest, Marist blasted Yorkville, 9-1. Sophomore Gianna Hillegonds did the pitching and will be a player to watch next season. Senior Isabel Cunnea (Northwestern) ended the season with a school record of 23 home runs. Junior Caroline O’Brien (committed to Notre Dame) also set a school record with 64 runs scored. Senior Eileen Donahue (Illinois) also had a big year with 10 homers and 36 RBI.
It was not the same for Roncalli, however, in Indiana. The Royals were going for their third straight Class 4A state title, but were stunned in a 2-1 loss in the state final in nine innings by Penn of Mishawaka. They will probably be talking about the career of Roncalli’s Keegan Rothrock for many years to come and the Florida-bound Rothrock had a huge moment in her last game with a home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that tied the score at 1-1. Penn took a 2-1 lead in the top of the ninth by scoring a run after an error and a wild pitch and the Royals couldn’t answer in the bottom of the inning.
Sophomore Olivia Signorino pitched the final innings for Penn and hung in there after giving up the one homer. Penn had to obviously come way up from its previous No. 40 position in the final EIS rankings with Roncalli having to be behind.
So excited to win state with these girls! I am so proud of each and every girl on this team. It was a fight tonight, and I am so incredibly happy to be on the winning side. Great game tonight PSB!!! @PSB_PennHS pic.twitter.com/Y1MXcYmTzS
— Olivia Signorino (@OliviaSignorino) June 11, 2023
Another upset that caused changes for the final rankings came in the Virginia Class 4 playoffs when previous No. 15 and previously unbeaten Hanover of Mechanicsville lost to Louisa County in the semifinals, 5-3. Louisa County then went on to beat Halifax County in the final, 9-1, and completed a 24-1 season. The Lions also avenged the one loss they did have and had to jump up into the final top 50 part of the final rankings. Winning pitcher Emily Gillespie also had a three-run double in the state final.
Another team that finished off a dominant season is from Kaukauna High in Wisconsin (located near Green Bay). The Ghosts won their third straight D1 state title with a 4-0 win over Superior (which also was unbeaten entering the title game) and pushed their state record winning streak to 81 games. There’s a good chance that Kaukauna will keep rolling next year, too. Its leading player, sophomore Karly Meridith, was recently named the Gatorade State Player of the Year. Meredith had two RBI and pitched the shutout in the final game.
Perhaps the best pitched game among any of the state title games in the nation played over the final two weeks of the season came from senior Sage Mardjetko of Lemont, Ill. She needed 12 innings before her team could pull out a 1-0 win over Antioch in the Class 3A final. And in those 12 innings, Sage pitched a no-hitter and struck out 24 batters. Lemont (35-1 and No. 19 in the final EIS rankings) scored the winning run on a squeeze bunt by Nicole Pontrelli. Jacey Schuler, a sophomore committed to Michigan State, matched zeroes being put up by Mardjetko and gives Antioch fans plenty to be excited about for next season.
Congratulations to all of these teams below (and many more who just missed being among the final top 80) for all of their success!
*****
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Through all results of 2023 high school season)
TOP 10
- (1) Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 44-1
- (2) Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 36-1
- (3) Marist (Chicago, Ill.) 37-2
- (4) Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.) 35-1
- (6) Hollister (Hollister, Calif.) 30-3
- (7) Canyon (New Braunfels, Texas) 33-1
- (8) Bartow (Bartow, Fla.) 29-3
- (9) Pearland (Pearland, Texas) 41-3
- (11) Pace (Pace, Fla.) 28-2
- (10) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) 27-4-1
*** Scroll down to see the rest of the 2023 Extra Elite 80 teams!
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