Debates about which teams should be ranked where – especially in the No. 1 position this season for California and the nation – will never stop, but the actual rankings do and this is it for the FAB 50 for 2014 in softball.

There was no change contemplated at the top and there actually never is once teams are finished for the season so it is now official for Mission Viejo being the final No. 1 team. As we’ve discovered in 15 years of the FAB 50 and 35 years of compiling high school rankings in California, the worst move ever is to switch a No. 1 ranking at the end. All that proves is that the rankings compilers didn’t know what they were doing throughout every previous week.

In this week’s final rankings, however, moves were made, none bigger than by Michigan Division I champion Bay City Western. After losing in the title game last year to Mattawan, the Warriors defeated Portage Central 4-2 in this year’s final, which was played last weekend. Among the team’s standouts were pitcher Hannah Leppek, outfielder KayLynn Carpenter and shortstop Meredith Rousse.

Combine a 41-3 final record and two straight trips to the final and that was enough to jump Bay City Western to No. 35 in this week’s final rankings. Also helping to make that move possible is that both of the champions in Illinois’ top two divisions – Warren of Gurnee and Glenwood of Chatham – finished with too many losses. Previous No. 30 Manteno, which was No. 1-ranked for most of the season in the Chicago metro area, lost to Glenwood in the Class 3A final.

Another team wrapping up a perfect season last weekend was Southington of Connecticut. Coach Davina Hernandez’ team, which ended at No. 41 in the FAB 50, certainly got a push in last Sunday’s Class LL state final by Amity before winning 1-0 in 15 innings on a home run by senior Rachel Dube. Junior pitcher Kendra Friedt gave up eight hits, but struck out 16 and was helped by a solid defense behind her.

In addition to Bay City Western, this week’s final newcomer is South County of Lorton, Va. The Stallions won their first state title last weekend with a 4-1 triumph over Cosby of Midlothian, Va. Haylea Greer homered, Riley Wilkinson drove in three other runs and Rebecca Martin struck out 10.

Here are this week’s FINAL rankings for the 2014 season:

(Previous ranking listed in parentheses)

 ***

1.   (1) Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, Calif.) 26-1

2.   (2) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.) 27-0

3.   (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.) 35-0

4.   (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 30-2

5.   (5) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.) 29-4-1

6.   (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 30-1

7.   (8) Deer Park (Deer Park, Texas) 39-6

8.   (7) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 63-4-2

9.   (9) The Woodlands (Conroe, Texas) 39-4

10. (10) Harmony (Harmony, Fla.) 27-3

11. (11) Bloomingdale (Valrico, Fla.) 27-2

12. (12) Vacaville (Vacaville, Calif.) 29-1-1

13. (13) Indian Hills (Oakland, N.J.) 34-0

14. (21) Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.) 30-6

15. (14) M.L. King (Riverside, Calif.) 27-6

16. (15) Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.) 25-0

17. (16) West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.) 28-1

18. (17) Alhambra (Martinez, Calif.) 25-2

19. (18) South Salem (Salem, Ore.) 36-1

20. (19) Hoover (North Canton, Ohio) 29-3

21. (20) Lebanon (Lebanon, Ohio) 32-1

22. (23) Chino (Chino, Calif.) 28-5-1

23. (22) Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 31-3

24. (25) Westminster Christian (Miami, Fla.) 24-3

25. (24) John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) 29-2

26. (26) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 25-6

27. (27) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.) 21-0

28. (28) Bellaire (Houston, Texas) 30-6

29. (29) Ponte Vedra (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) 29-1

30. (34) Puyallup (Puyallup, Wash.) 25-2

31. (31) Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas) 29-3

32. (35) Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 29-6

33. (36) Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 25-4

34. (32) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.) 30-2

35. (NR) Bay City Western (Auburn, Mich.) 41-3

36. (33) Coronado (Lubbock, Texas) 36-5

37. (37) LaGrange (LaGrange, Texas) 40-2

38. (38) Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.) 28-7-1

39. (39) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.) 25-4

40. (40) Cypress (Cypress, Calif.) 23-9

41. (42) Southington (Southington, Conn.) 24-0

42. (41) Portage Central (Portage, Mich.) 43-4

43. (45) Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.) 23-2

44. (46) Olathe East (Olathe, Kan.) 22-1

45. (44) Ironwood Ridge (Tucson, Ariz.) 28-7

46. (47) Dickson County (Dickson, Tenn.) 44-7

47. (48) Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.) 48-6

48. (49) North Medford (Medford, Ore.) 29-3

49. (NR) South County (Lorton, Va.) 26-3

50. (50) Aledo (Aledo, Texas) 33-4

Dropped Out: Previous No. 30 Manteno (Manteno, Ill.); No. 43 Canton (Canton, Mich.).

 

Final 2014 Honorable Mention Teams

• Baker (Mobile, Ala.) 64-6
• Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas) 33-1
• Bloom-Carroll (Carroll, Ohio) 28-4
• Bloomington South (Bloomington, Ind.) 21-8
• Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 19-6
• Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) 20-7
• Cape Fear (Fayetteville, N.C.) 26-3
• Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 26-9
• Columbia (Lake City, Fla.) 28-2
• Crown Point (Crown Point, Ind.) 29-1
• Eastern Tech (Baltimore, Md.) 24-0
• Ennis (Ennis, Texas) 38-6-1
• Glenwood (Chatham, Ill.) 32-7
• Grove City (Grove City, Ohio) 26-5
• Halls (Knoxville, Tenn.) 38-4
• Hays (Buda, Texas) 31-6
• Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 51-10-1
• Immaculate Heart (Washington Township, N.J.) 31-2
• Mauldin (Mauldin, S.C.) 28-2
• Manteno (Manteno, Ill.) 39-2
• Middle Creek (Apex, N.C.) 21-4
• Moorpark (Moorpark, Calif.) 26-4
• Mt. St. Dominic (Caldwell, N.J.) 29-4
• Murrieta Valley (Murrieta, Calif.) 22-8
• Palo Verde (Las Vegas, Nev.) 33-7
• Pembroke Pines Charter (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) 20-6
• Poly (Riverside, Calif.) 24-7
• Scott County (Georgetown, Ky.) 33-9
• Tahoma (Kent, Wash.) 21-2
• Warren (Gurnee, Ill.) 28-9