California Top 25 softball high school rankings (5/13/2024): No. 2 Orange Lutheran, No. 3 Pacifica meet in CIF-SS championship - Athlon Sports Nation Skip to main content
National high school girls spring sports plays of the week 5-8-2024
National high school girls spring sports plays of the week 5-8-2024

California Top 25 softball high school rankings (5/13/2024): No. 2 Orange Lutheran, No. 3 Pacifica meet in CIF-SS championship

The two top-ranked teams in the Southern Section lived up to their promise, making the Division 1 finals

The regular season is over across California high school softball. While some parts of the state are yet to see playoff action, many of the state's top teams have already gone on deep playoff runs – and gotten sent home early as well. Here are SBLive's California softball rankings for the week of May 13-19.

MORE: LAST WEEK'S RANKINGS | CALIFORNIA SOFTBALL PLAYOFF BRACKETS

1. Saint Francis-Mountain View (25-0 – 1st last week)

Undefeated regular season: check. Now Saint Francis looks to retake the Central Coast Section crown from Hollister, or whoever else tries to get in its way. Kate Munnerlyn has worked her way to a 13-0 record and 0.54 ERA with 162 strikeouts in 91 innings.

2. Orange Lutheran (21-3 – 2nd)

After both Capistrano Valley and Canyon had them on upset alert to start the playoffs, the Lancers let loose on both sides of the ball in the CIF-SS D1 semifinals against Murrieta Mesa. Brianne Weiss tossed a two-hitter with 12 strikeouts, seven Lancers recorded hits, and seven Lancers crossed home as well in an 11-1 victory to send them to the finals.

3. Pacifica-Garden Grove (26-2 – 3rd)

It'll be an all-Orange County Southern Section championship as the Mariners look to become the first Division 1 team to go back-to-back since Norco in 2018 and 2019. Pacifica edged out South Hills to avoid upset in round one, then blew out Oaks Christian 13-2, and outlasted JSerra 1-0 for the right to duel Orange Lutheran in the finals.

4. Murrieta Mesa (25-4 – 5th)

The wheels came off in a 13-1 rout at the hands of OLu, but not before Murrieta Mesa blew out Chino Hills 10-0 and Huntington Beach 12-0 to make the semifinals. The team earned an automatic qualifier to the Southern Region Division I playoffs if it wants in.

5. Canyon-Anaheim (25-5 – 6th)

Life is so tough in the Southern Section that Canyon only won one playoff game but still moved up to the top five in the state with Norco going down. The young Comanches smoked Camarillo 11-0 before running into Orange Lutheran in the quarterfinals, and still gave OLu all it could handle in a 7-4 loss. Look for Canyon to contend for the top spot in California – and perhaps beyond – in 2025.

6. Archbishop Mitty (21-3 – 8th)

The Monarchs enter the CIF-CCS D1 playoffs on a 10-game winning streak, and have outscored opponents 102-8 during the stretch. It goes without saying that this senior-heavy group will look to go out with a bang.

7. Norco (23-4 – 4th)

Norco's Southern Section title pursuit came to an end much earlier than expected, as the team mustered just one run against Mississippi-bound ace Miali Guachino and Great Oak in a 3-1 loss in the first round. The Cougars did beat Great Oak 10-2 earlier in season, and still have one of the best overall bodies of work in California, so the loss resulted in a drop of just three spots.

8. Oaks Christian (22-5 – 18th)

After defeating underrated Santa Margarita 7-4 in the CIF-SS D1 play-in round, the Lions registered one of their best wins of the year in the round of 16, upsetting Los Alamitos 5-1. Sienna Reynolds tossed a complete game gem, Terrianna Kelley hit a three-run blast, and Kamryn Guthrie went 3-4 with two RBIs.