Catcher Kayla Green and pitcher/hitter Autumn Storms led Great Oak of Temecula to Top 20 final state ranking. Photo: Great Oak Softball/OCSidelines.com.
Just like baseball, we have expanded our final state team rankings in softball from Top 20 overall to Top 40 overall. Writeups and comments from each team have been completed as well. Teams moving up at the end include section champions Freedom of Oakley and Archbishop Mitty. Some of the hardest to rank in expanded section include No. 26 Foothill of Palo Cedro, No. 30 Cathedral Catholic of San Diego and No. 34 Paraclete of Lancaster.
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Cal-Hi Sports Final Top 40
Softball State Rankings
(After all games played in 2016 season)
(Previous ranking in parentheses)
(Additional writeups by Paul Muyskens)
1. (5) MISSION VIEJO 27-4
For the Diablos to move up to No. 1 in the last week of the season not only required them to win the CIF Southern Section Division II title (they did with a 9-6 triumph over Valley View of Moreno Valley) but also required Mater Dei or Norco (and not Orange Lutheran or Los Alamitos) to win the CIFSS D1 crown. Mater Dei complied by beating Norco first in the semis and then previous No. 1 Orange Lutheran in the final. The choice also requires one to look at the CIFSS D2 bracket as being at least as strong as D1. The depth of the D2 bracket isn’t quite like D1, but the four semifinalists definitely are comparable. Mission Viejo has now been No. 1, No. 2 and No. 1 in the state for the past three seasons.
