SportStars NorCal Softball Rankings | April 24

Mitty Ends St. Francis’s Season-Long Stay Atop The NorCal Softball Rankings + Three Previously Unbeaten Teams Suffer Losses •

NorCal Softball Rankings

All records are through Monday, April 23 (via MaxPreps). Previous rank is in parenthesis.
PICTURED ABOVE: Pitcher Ava Markert (center) And McKenna Woliczko Share A Handshake For No. 1 Mitty. (Ben Enos photo)

1. (2)  Archbishop Mitty-San Jose   14-2

2. (1)  St. Francis-Mountain View   17-2

3. (3)  Granada-Livermore   15-3

4. (4)  Hollister   18-2

5. (5)  San Ramon Valley-Danville   15-3

6. (7)  Sutter   18-1

7. (9)  East Nicolaus  20-0-1

8. (NR)  Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove   18-5

9. (10)  Notre Dame-Salinas   13-4

10. (8)  Vista del Lago-Folsom  16-2

11. (NR)  Vacaville   17-1

12. (11)  Oakdale   14-5

13. (6)  Central Catholic-Modesto   17-3

14. (14)  Pinole Valley   20-0

15. (15) Whitney-Rocklin   15-3

16. (NR)  Ponderosa-Shingle Springs  13-2-1

17. (12)  Franklin-Elk Grove   17-3

18. (13)  College Park-Pleasant Hill   12-4

19. (NR)  Freedom-Oakley   12-6

20. (20)  Amador Valley-Pleasanton   10-10

DROPPED OUT:

No. 16 Granite Bay, No. 17 Heritage-Brentwood, No. 18 Benicia and No. 19 Marin Catholic-Kentfield.

5 TEAMS KNOCKING:

21. Del Oro-Loomis (9-8), 22. Redwood-Larkspur (13-4-1), 23. Casa Grande-Petaluma (16-3), 24. Monterey (13-5) and 25. Marin Catholic-Kentfield (10-5).

AROUND THE HORN

Well, after opening our last rankings 11 days ago by writing that St. Francis-Mountain View was the “unquestioned top dog of NorCal Softball,” the Lancers were finally beaten by a NorCal opponent for the first time in more than a year — and just the second time since 2019.

Mitty-San Jose beat St. Francis 3-2 in a No. 1 vs. 2 showdown within West Catholic Athletic League play on April 19. The teams swap places as St. Francis drops to No. 2 in the rankings for the first time since spending a five-week stretch there behind Granada-Livermore after the Matadors won the 2022 Livermore Stampede (where St. Francis suffered a 6-4 loss to Sheldon-Sacramento in the semifinals). St. Francis reclaimed No. 1 on May 17, 2022, and had been there ever since.

_______________________________
CONNECT WITH US:
Follow SportStars on Twitter & Instagram | Like us on Facebook | Subscribe!
_______________________________

The two teams will meet again at St. Francis on May 5. Before that clash, Mitty will face WCAL threats Valley Christian-San Jose (11-5) and Sacred Heart Cathedral-S.F. (9-5) in addition to No. 4 Hollister in a non-league tilt on May 1.

The rest of the Top 5 held its ground over the last week-plus, as No. 3 Granada, Hollister and No. 5 San Ramon Valley-Danville combined to go 10-0. Small school powers Sutter and East Nicolaus each moved up to take over No. 6 and No. 7, respectively. Neither should be tested until they face each other on May 4 at Sutter. Sutter did take on its first defeat of the season, though it was to a very good Huntington Beach team at the Best Of The West tournament hosted by Righetti-Santa Maria.

Two other undefeated teams from our last rankings also took on their first losses. More than one, actually — for both teams. Previous No. 8 Vista del Lago-Folsom dropped to No. 10 after falling to both Ponderosa-Shingle Springs (now debuting at No. 13) and Cordova. Franklin-Elk Grove slipped from No. 12 to 17 after losses to Vista del Lago, Del Oro-Loomis and St. Francis-Sacramento.

In addition to Ponderosa, three other teams also debut this week. Pleasant Grove-Elk Grove gained the highest entry point at No. 8 following a 6-1 mark over its last two weeks. The Eagles’ body of work includes being the only team to beat new-No. 11 Vacaville. And finally, as previous-No. 17 Heritage-Brentwood exits, another Bay Valley Athletic League team joins the Top 20 in Freedom-Oakley. The Falcons are 12-3 in April with all three losses coming to ranked opponents, including No. 1 St. Francis and No. 3 Granada.