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It’s not a complete certainty, but the odds of a Texas team winning a University Interscholastic League state title this weekend in Austin and finishing No. 1 in the nation remain very high.
Lake Creek of Montgomery did not drop from the No. 1 position in the Extra Elite 80 this week despite having its state record win streak snapped in a 8-2 loss to Georgetown in the Class 5A regional finals. This is because it was a best two-of-three format for that round and head coach Melissa Hall’s squad won in the other two games.
Georgetown, which lost to Lake Creek in last year’s state final, won in the second game of the series, 8-2. The Eagles also pushed the Lions to the brink by scoring with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the score at 2-2 and send the third and deciding game into extra innings.
Kalee Rochinski then hit a one-out RBI double in the top of the eighth for a 3-2 lead for Lake Creek, which was protected by ace Ava Brown in the bottom of the inning to get the win. The winning run was scored by freshman Madalyn Davis, who also had the game-winning hit to walk off a 2-1 win in eight innings in the first game of the series.
Another reason for the one loss not dropping Lake Creek is that another team still alive in the Texas 5A playoffs and in fact playing in the other state semifinal opposite the Lions is unbeaten Canyon of New Braunfels. Canyon swept two games in its regional final over Smithson Valley and will play Colleyville Heritage in one semifinal. Lake Creek is facing national No. 16 Heritage of Frisco in the other. If either one of those two teams wins the state title, it would be No. 1 for the final Extra Elite 80.
There is one other Texas team also still very much in the mix to perhaps move to No. 1 for the final rankings and that would be Guyer of Denton from Class 6A. The Wildcats topped Keller twice and both by shutouts (3-0 & 8-0) and will be 37-1 entering their Class 6A semifinal on Friday vs Bridgeland of Cypress. If Lake Creek or Canyon doesn’t win in 5A and Guyer wins it all in 6A with a 39-1 final record, that’s clearly a strong enough resume for a mythical national title as well.
The California season also will be ending this weekend with title games in the California Interscholastic Federation regional finals.
In Northern California, Hollister knocked off two nationally ranked teams last week in the CIF Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs – Archbishop Mitty of San Jose and St. Francis of Mountain View – to take over the state’s top ranking. The Haybalers were set to play Whitney of Rocklin on Thursday in the NorCal D1 semifinals and if they win may have to beat St. Francis again to win the NorCal D1 title.
In Southern California, most of the top teams from the CIF Southern Section opted out of the regional playoffs with the exception of defending champion Oaks Christian (Westlake Village). If a team other than Hollister or St. Francis wins the NorCal D1 title, then CIFSS D1 champ Pacifica of Garden Grove would be set to finish No. 1 in the final state rankings.
The season in Florida came to a close, meanwhile, with FHSAA state finals last weekend at Legends Way Ballfields in Clermont. The big story was a young Bartow team coming through with seventh inning rallies in the semifinals and finals to win the Class 6A state title. The Yellow Jackets have historically been a power program in the state, but hadn’t been to the state tourney since 2016. With the win, they won their ninth state title and it also is the eighth state title for head coach Glenn Rutenbar.
Red Oxley, a junior committed to the University of Florida, had a dominant postseason for Bartow. She had 16 strikeouts in the title game. With Spanish River of Boca Raton ending up as the surprise winner in the Class 7A state final, Bartow also emerged as the top-ranked overall team for the state and was jumped from No. 49 to No. 16 in this week’s rankings. Higher jumps for Bartow could be coming as other states finish their playoffs.
Here’s the game-winning play for Bartow:
BARTOW WINS BARTOW WINS
THE LADY JACKETS HAVE WAKES IT OFF@DriskellDestiny HAS DONE IT!
FINAL: @HsBartow 3, Doral Academy 2 pic.twitter.com/a7v2CspHjL
— Bay Made Fastpitch (@BMFastpitch) May 26, 2023
—Â Mark Tennis
*****
(After games of Wednesday, May 31)
(Previous rank in parentheses)
*Indicates season complete.
**Indicates forfeit wins, losses not included.
***Indicates season complete & forfeits not included.
TOP 10
1. (1) Lake Creek (Montgomery, Texas) 42-1
2. (3) Canyon (New Braunfels, Texas) 32-0
3. (5) Ballard (Louisville, Ky.) 32-1
4. (6) Guyer (Denton, Texas) 37-1
5. (8) Marist (Chicago, Ill.) 35-2
6. (7) Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.) 35-1*
7. (11) Roncalli (Indianapolis, Ind.) 29-3-1
8. (9) Watkins Memorial (Pataskala, Ohio) 28-1-1
9. (38) Hollister (Hollister, Calif.) 28-3
10. (10) Basha (Chandler, Ariz.) 27-4-1*
*** Scroll down to see the rest of the 2023 Extra Elite 80 teams!
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