STARKVILLE, Miss. - The stakes are now higher as the 2011 high school softball season hits the stretch run. Already some teams are faltering as numerous regular season and postseason upsets bookmarked this past week. Still, The Woodlands (Texas) paces the USA Today/NFCA High School Top 25 for a sixth straight week. The latest rankings were released Thursday by the Association.A total of nine ranked teams from a week ago dropped games. Meanwhile, The Woodlands opened bi-district play with a pair of shutout wins over Klein. The Highlanders are presently 34-0. Following them in this week’s Top Five is No. 2 American Heritage (Florida, 23-0); No. 3 Alexander Central (North Carolina, 19-0); No. 4 East Lake (Florida, 27-0) and No. 5 Plano (Texas, 32-3).
Due to the upsets, this week’s poll also includes several newcomers. At No. 16 is Louisiana Class 5A state champion Hahnville. Hahnville beat former No. 11 Barbe 3-1 in the state championship game.
The USA Today/NFCA Top 25 is compiled by state representatives from across the country. Records for this week’s poll include all games played through May 1, 2011.
For the complete poll, click here
.
