While the actual final rankings for this year’s FAB 50 won’t be completed until later in June, the battle for the top positions reaches a crescendo later this week.
First, beginning Tuesday, the North Carolina High School Athletic Association Class 4A Western Regional Finals begins with FAB 50 unbeatens Alexander Central (No. 3) and North Davidson (No. 12) hooking up in a best-of-three series. It’s not the final, but it’s a matchup contemplated for several weeks and North Davidson has been getting rankings bumps each week leading up to it.
California’s various CIF section playoffs also will conclude by next weekend. Top-ranked Mission Viejo and FAB 50 No. 9 Pacifica of Garden Grove both won on Saturday in CIF Southern Section quarterfinal games – the Diablos in Division II and the Mariners in Division I — while No. 2 Amador Valley has moved on into the semifinal round of the CIF North Coast Section Division I bracket.
If Mission Viejo loses and Amador Valley wins in section playoffs (remember, California has no state playoffs in softball), Amador Valley would then move up to No. 1 for the FAB 50 and in the prestigious Cal-Hi Sports state rankings. If both California teams lose this week and Alexander Central sweeps North Davidson, then Alexander Central’s chances to be No. 1 in the FAB 50 would obviously be greatly enhanced.
The highest-ranked team to close out its season with a championship last week was Vacaville of California. The Bulldogs (No. 17 in this week’s FAB 50) lost a game in the double-elimination CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I tournament and were not able to finish unbeaten, but in the decider came out on top with a 3-0 win against Pleasant Grove of Elk Grove. Sophomore Katie Kibby tossed her 17th shutout of the season in that game. Senior shortstop Julia DePonte (headed to Washington) also ended the season with six homers, 36 RBI and a .530 batting average.
Here are this week’s rankings:
(Previous ranking listed in parentheses)
(Through reported results of Monday, May 26)
*Indicates season complete.
***
1. (1) Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo, Calif.) 24-1
2. (2) Amador Valley (Pleasanton, Calif.) 25-0
3. (3) Alexander Central (Taylorsville, N.C.) 31-0
4. (4) St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.) 30-2*
5. (5) The Woodlands (Conroe, Texas) 38-3
6. (6) Archbishop Mitty (San Jose, Calif.) 28-1
7. (7) Lebanon (Lebanon, Ohio) 30-0
8. (8) Barbers Hill (Mt. Belvieu, Texas) 33-0
9. (9) Pacifica (Garden Grove, Calif.) 27-4-1
10. (10) Sparkman (Harvest, Ala.) 63-4-2*
11. (11) Bloomingdale (Valrico, Fla.) 27-2*
12. (19) North Davidson (Lexington, N.C.) 30-0
13. (13) Harmony (Harmony, Fla.) 27-3*
14. (15) Immaculate Heart (Washington Township, N.J.) 28-0
15. (14) Olathe East (Olathe, Kan.) 22-0
16. (16) West Florida (Pensacola, Fla.) 28-1*
17. (12) Vacaville (Vacaville, Calif.) 29-1-1*
18. (18) Deer Park (Deer Park, Texas) 37-5
19. (34) Coronado (Lubbock, Texas) 36-4
20. (21) Alhambra (Martinez, Calif.) 23-2
21. (NR) M.L. King (Riverside, Calif.) 26-5
22. (24) Bishop Carroll (Wichita, Kan.) 22-0
23. (25) John Curtis Christian (River Ridge, La.) 29-2*
24. (30) American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) 25-6*
25. (37) South Salem (Salem, Ore.) 29-1
26. (26) Atascocita (Humble, Texas) 31-3*
27. (38) Red Mountain (Mesa, Ariz.) 30-6*
28. (28) Cinco Ranch (Katy, Texas) 29-3*
29. (29) Sherwood (Sandy Spring, Md.) 20-0
30. (31) Ponte Vedra (Ponte Vedra, Fla.) 29-1*
31. (32) Hoover (North Canton, Ohio) 23-3
32. (41) Chino (Chino, Calif.) 27-4-1
33. (36) Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) 29-5
34. (45) Manteno (Manteno, Ill.) 33-1
35. (23) Bellaire (Houston, Texas) 30-6*
36. (NR) James Logan (Union City, Calif.) 23-2
37. (48) Benet Academy (Lisle, Ill.) 29-2
38. (NR) Indian Hills (Oakland, N.J.) 27-0
39. (42) LaGrange (LaGrange, Texas) 38-2
40. (43) Mountain Ridge (Glendale, Ariz.) 28-7-1*
41. (NR) Cypress (Cypress, Calif.) 23-8
42. (21) Esperanza (Anaheim, Calif.) 23-5*
43. (47) P.K. Yonge (Gainesville, Fla.) 25-4*
44. (44) Southington (Southington, Conn.) 17-0
45. (46) Ironwood Ridge (Tucson, Ariz.) 28-7*
46. (NR) McCracken County (Paducah, Ky.) 33-5
47. (NR) Dickson County (Dickson, Tenn.) 44-7*
48. (17) Gibbs (Corryton, Tenn.) 48-6*
49. (27) Los Osos (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) 25-4*
50. (NR) Puyallup (Puyallup, Wash.) 23-2
Dropped Out: Previous No. 20 Mauldin (Mauldin, S.C.); No. 33 Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, Calif.); No. 35 Tahoma (Kent, Wash.); No. 39 Baylor (Chattanooga, Tenn.); No. 40 Lincoln-Way West (New Lenox, Ill.); No. 49 Mansfield Timberview (Arlington, Texas); No. 50 Reed (Sparks, Nev.).
Teams On The Bubble
- Baker (Mobile, Ala.) 64-6*
- Bay City Western (Auburn, Mich.) 28-2
- Bloom-Carroll (Carroll, Ohio) 25-3
- Byrnes (Duncan, S.C.) 19-6*
- Chaparral (Scottsdale, Ariz.) 26-9*
- Columbia (Lake City, Fla.) 28-2*
- Downer’s Grove North (Downer’s Grove, Ill.) 26-2
- Eastern Tech (Baltimore, Md.) 24-0*
- El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) 23-1
- Ennis (Ennis, Texas) 30-3-1
- Halls (Knoxville, Tenn.) 38-4*
- Hays (Buda, Texas) 32-4
- Hillcrest (Tuscaloosa, Ala.) 51-10-1*
- Lake Braddock (Burke, Va.) 21-1
- Mauldin (Mauldin, S.C.) 28-2*
- Mercy (Louisville, Ky.) 23-7-1
- Moorpark (Moorpark, Calif.) 26-3
- North Medford (Medford, Ore.) 22-2
- Palo Verde (Las Vegas, Nev.) 33-7*
- Pembroke Pines Charter (Pembroke Pines, Fla.) 20-6*
- Portage Central (Portage, Mich.) 35-3
- Southwest (San Antonio, Texas) 31-10
- Tahoma (Kent, Wash.) 21-2*
- Washburn Rural (Topeka, Kan.) 20-2
- Westminster Christian (Miami, Fla.) 24-3*