RANKINGS
EVENTS
I COMMITTED
COLLEGE
ABOUT
Last Friday’s matchup of 30-0 teams that were No. 1 and No. 2 in the nation in the Florida Class 8A state championship almost didn’t happen.
In the semifinals leading up to the final, No. 1 Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) did its part with a 12-2 romp past Cooper City but No. 2 Winter Springs was on the brink of elimination in its game with defending champion Oakleaf (Orange Park, Fla.).
The Bears were trailing 6-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, but rallied for a 7-6 win with Briana Driscoll delivering a game-winning hit.
The title game showdown wasn’t as dramatic.
Junior pitcher Aynslie Furbush shut down Lakewood Ranch on a one-hitter and the Winter Springs offense came through with three runs in the fourth. That was enough for the Bears to win 3-0.
As set up over the previous few weeks since the Class 8A playoffs began in Florida, if the final ended up Lakewood Ranch vs. Winter Springs and if both were 30-0, the winner would clinch the final No. 1 ranking in the Extra Elite Eighty National Rankings.
This is the first year of the Extra Elite Eighty, but the people behind them previously did FAB 50 national rankings for ESPN and other media groups for the past 20 plus years.
The high school season is still far from over, however, so nothing is official for Winter Springs until the final rankings are compiled.
Texas is the final state of the big three in the sport — California and Florida are the other two — that will be ending its season with this weekend’s state championships at the University of Texas in Austin.
In Texas Class 6A, the final four teams are No. 5 Katy, No. 6 Klein Collins, No. 9 Keller and No. 26 Canyon. In Texas Class 5A, the final four teams are No. 12 Angleton (just topped previous No. 13 Barbers Hill in a three-game series), No. 16 Forney, No. 35 The Colony (a newcomer to the national rankings this week) and bubble team Calallen.
It looks like the highest-ranked Texas team in the final rankings will be in the fifth position since No. 4 also was locked up last weekend by Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.).
The Falcons won the CIF North Coast Section Division I title with a 2-0 victory over previous No. 33 Heritage (Brentwood, Calif.).
Oklahoma commit Nicole May accounted for both runs with a two-run homer and she also pitched a one-hitter with 13 strikeouts. Foothill also completed a 28-0 season, which is the best record of any team in NCS history.
California doesn’t have state playoffs, however, so in the final state rankings the Falcons ended No. 2 behind 32-1 Norco (which won the CIF Southern Section D1 title two weekends ago).
Two other Extra Elite Eighty teams that completed state championship seasons last weekend — and kept alive state title winning streaks — were No. 22 Shawnee Heights of Tecumseh, Kan., and No. 33 Baylor of Chattanooga, Tenn.
Shawnee Heights won its third straight Class 5A title in Kansas with a 12-1 win over Bishop Carroll (Wichita). The victory was especially impressive since Heights (23-1) dropped its only game of the season several weeks ago to the same team. Aniya Holt led the way for the winners with a three-run homer and an RBI double.
Baylor won its fifth straight Division II state title in Tennessee by edging Girls Private School of Chattanooga, 2-1. Its also the eighth state title in the last nine years for the Raiders, who finished 39-4. Freshman Syd Berzon drove in both runs on a single and was the winning pitcher.
In between the team’s next-to-last and final game, teammate Makayla Packer enjoyed the experience of winning a 200-meter state title in track. Multi-sport athletes should always be saluted, but those who do two sports at the same time of the year is something else.
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Through games of Tuesday, May 28)
*Indicates season complete.
1. (2) Winter Springs (Winter Springs, Fla.) 31-0*
2. (3) Norco (Norco, Calif.) 31-1*
3. (1) Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton, Fla.) 30-1*
4. (4) Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.) 28-0*
5. (5) Katy (Katy, Texas) 35-2
6. (6) Klein Collins (Klein, Texas) 37-2
7. (7) Keystone (LaGrange, Ohio) 28-0
8. (8) Coral Springs Charter (Coral Springs, Fla.) 29-1*
9. (9) Keller (Keller, Texas) 35-3-1
10. (10) Male (Louisville, Ky.) 34-0
