LOUISVILLE, Ky. — State playoffs caused some jostling in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll this week.
Neshoba Central (Philadelphia, Mississippi) and Norco (California) are both finished for the season, but have several active teams nipping at their heels, especially No. 3 Louisville (Kentucky) Male, at 35-0, which won its sixth regional title in seven years on Tuesday.
FULL RANKINGS: Super 25 Softball Rankings, Week 13
The Bulldogs, who have outscored their opponents 321-37 this season, have 24 wins in which they have held the opposition under two runs, and 19 victories by double digits, play Oldham County (Kentucky) in Saturday’s Kentucky semistate round.
Fourth-ranked Foothill (Pleasanton, California) (28-0) beat Heritage (Victorville, California) in their California section final, while fellow unbeaten Winter Springs (Florida), at 31-0, leapfrogged Lakewood Ranch (Bradenton , Florida), at 30-1, into the No. 5 spot after dealing the Mustangs their lone loss of the season in the Florida state 8A final.
Elsewhere, eighth-ranked Shawnee Heights (Kansas), 22-1, wrapped up its third-straight Kansas 5A title by avenging its only loss with a 12-1 victory over Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kansas) and No. 12 New Palestine (Indiana), 26-3, moved up one place this week after capturing its third straight Indiana 3A regional crown.
On Friday, in a matchup of ranked Texas squads, No. 21 Forney (Texas), 29-3, plays No. 14 Angleton (Texas) in the 5A state semis. Angleton knocked Barbers Hill (Texas) out of the Super 25 with a 2-1 win in the regional finals.
New teams in the poll this week are Ridgeview (Redmond, Oregon_), Jackson (Washington) and Eastern Alamance (North Carolina). No. 17 Ridgeview plays Dallas in Saturday’s Oregon 5A state final, while 18th-ranked Jackson won four games last Saturday to repeat as Washington 4A champion, and No. 25 Eastern Alamance (23-2) faces Central Cabarrus (Concord, North Carolina) on Friday in the first game of the North Carolina 3A state finals.
State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule.
