SBLive's California Softball Top 25: Los Alamitos and Clovis North are on top as postseason starts

Playoff time already? It depends where you live. The CIF Southern Section kicked off the California high school softball playoffs last week, but there's still a full week of regular season left in much of the state as well. Either way, the softball postseason goes by quickly, so enjoy it while it's here.

Here are SBLive's California softball rankings for the week of May 8-15. The rankings are released every week throughout the season.

MORE: LAST WEEK'S RANKINGS

1. Los Alamitos (24-3 – 1st)

To start the playoffs, the Griffins rolled 6-1 against dangerous Mission Viejo, which was coming off a 7-1 play-in win against Camarillo. There are currently nine teams left in the Southern Section D1 bracket, and every one of them has at least something of a chance to win the championship. It's hard not to call Los Al one of the heaviest favorites, but there are no guaranteed wins at this level of competition. 

2. Clovis North (23-0-1 – 2nd)

Talk about a statement win. The Broncos blew out league rival Clovis, an arguable top 25 team in the state, 13-0 to clinch a TRAC title with a week left on the schedule.

3. Saint Francis-Mountain View (22-2 – 6th)

Back in the driver's seat after beating rival Archbishop Mitty 2-0 with a WCAL title most likely on the line. We don't usually shout out individual performances in these power rankings, but Kate Munnerlyn's ten-strikeout no-hitter might soon be looked back as the preeminent performance of the season given the circumstances.

4. Huntington Beach (24-5 – 3rd)

There might not be another gauntlet like Southern Section Division 1 in the country. The Oilers needed to win a play-in game just to make the first regular round, and have already had to go through powerhouses Westlake and Torrance to now meet Murrieta Mesa in the quarterfinals.

5. Oaks Christian (27-1-1 – 4th)

On that note, Oaks Christian now takes on Orange Lutheran, as only one of two arguable top-five teams in the state will make it to the semifinals. The Lions have home field advantage, and are 12-0-1 at home. 

6. Norco (25-3 – 7th)

What's the difference between power rankings and simply comparing teams' season resumes? The former takes recency and chronology into account, and the latter doesn't. Why does it matter? Norco isn't ranked by anyone as the top team in the state or Southern Section because of when certain wins and losses have occurred, but it still earned the top overall seed in the playoffs, and it's hard to argue against its overall season resume – which includes a 2-0 record against top-ranked Los Alamitos.

7. Orange Lutheran (22-5 – 8th)

Orange Lutheran came out with a bang this postseason, winning its playoff opener 10-0 over reigning champion Roosevelt (Eastvale). That made its 13th win in a row, and while it now has a long trek to Oaks Christian for a road test, OLu's road record (9-0) is even better than Oaks' 12-0-1 home record. 

8. Murrieta Mesa (23-3-1 – 9th)

At long last, a new opportunity for the Rams to make their move. They've been both consistent and dangerous all season long, hovering around the eight spot. But a quarterfinals matchup with Huntington Beach means a chance at the top five.

9. Archbishop Mitty (18-3 – 5th)

After a disappointing second round against St. Francis, the Monarchs have two games' time to regroup with the playoffs a week away. There's nothing to be ashamed about, as beating St. Francis once out of two times is already quite a feat and should be good for a WCAL co-title. Plus, before that they picked up another signature win, 3-2 over Hollister in non-league play, and blew out Sacred Heart Cathedral Prep. But a couple of games to find their rhythm might come in handy after getting no-hit by the Lancers.

10. East Nicolaus (25-0-1 – 11th)

With yet another sweep of the Sacramento Valley League now official, the Spartans have a pair of big non-league games for sharpening before the postseason. First Marysville (14-6), then Sutter, which is 22-1 with its only loss coming against Huntington Beach.

11. Hollister (22-3 – 10th)

Hollister came up one run short in a non-league crack at Archbishop Mitty, but it proved it belonged on that stage. It rebounded with lopsided league wins against North Salinas and Monterey.

12. Vacaville (23-1 – 13th)

Make it 23 in a row for the Bulldogs following a loss to Pleasant Grove in their season opener. They officially clinched a league title last week even though three regular season games remain.

13. Marina (21-7 – 18th)

With the Vikings' five-game skid over a month in the past now, it's once again time to appreciate that they still have one of the best resumes around. With many ranked teams outside of the top ten struggling in the last couple weeks, they've quickly risen upwards again without it being instigated by a particular marquee win.

14. Pacifica-Garden Grove (22-8 – 14th)

Pacifica survived an extra inning test against red-hot La Mirada – which had won four straight including at Norco – to advance to the CIFSS D1 quarterfinals. Up next? None other than top-ranked Los Alamitos.

15. Riverside Poly (21-1-1 – 15th)

A dark horse contender and X-factor in the CIFSS Division 1 bracket. The Bears opened up with a 5-1 win against South (Torrance), and face Esperanza on Monday for the right to play in the quarterfinals a day later.

16. Cypress (20-3-1 – 16th)

Talk about a brutal draw – Cypress faces Aquinas, which we have as the second-ranked team in Division 3, in the second round of the CIFSS playoffs. That means the Centurions might need to pass their biggest test just to make it to the quarterfinals.

17. Moorpark (19-1 – 17th)

On one hand, Camarillo losing to Mission Viejo in the play-in game was one of the worst things that could happen for Moorpark's stock, as Moorpark's only loss of the season came last month against Camarillo. On the other, Moorpark took care of business in its playoff opener against El Segundo, winning 6-0 in its first game since getting revenge against Camarillo. Moorpark has the opportunity to rise substantially or fall out of the rankings playing in the challenging CIFSS Division 2 field.

18. Granada-Livermore (19-4 – 12th)

With a loss to Amador Valley, Granada falls six spots for now. But it might say more about Amador Valley's potency than about Granada. Granada already had a win against AVHS on the season series, and still finished with an undisputed EBAL title. Now it has to take on league runner-up San Ramon Valley, which it defeated 3-0 a couple weeks ago, to start the playoffs.

19. Central-Fresno (21-5 – 22nd)

What a three-game stretch of league play for the Grizzlies. After an 11-1 revenge win over Clovis, they continued pouring it on by beating Clovis West 8-0 and Buchanan 10-1.

20. Pleasant Grove (21-5 – 21st)

With a 9-3 win over Franklin (Elk Grove) on Friday, Pleasant Grove clinched at least a share of the Delta League title. It now just needs to beat Davis or Elk Grove to make it undisputed. And it will be the heavy favorite against both.

21. Esperanza (19-6 – 20th)

Esperanza opens the playoffs on Monday at home against Riverside Poly.

22. Valley View (21-5-1 – 23rd)

One of the biggest title threats in Southern Section Division 2. Valley View dethroned reigning Division 3 champion Temple City 4-0 to start the playoffs.

23. Rancho Bernardo (20-4 – 24th)

The Broncos went 3-0 last week to move to 8-0 in Coastal North County League play and create a bit more separation between them and the rest of the San Diego Section. Finishing strong this week won't be easy though, as they look to make it 2-0 this season against both Torrey Pines and Del Norte, which enter with a combined record of 34-7-1 against all other teams.

24. Sutter (22-1 – Bubble)

Even if you don't play that tough of a schedule, 22-1 speaks for itself – especially when the one loss came by one run against No. 3 Huntington Beach. Sutter scores an average of 10.6 runs per game and has outscored opponents 243-24 this season.

25. La Mirada (18-8 – 19th)

The Matadores would've made even more noise if they'd completed an extra inning upset bid against Pacifica to open the postseason. They couldn't quite break through in their 6-5 loss, but they stay in the top 25 at least for now.

ON THE BUBBLE:

Amador Valley, Clovis, Kennedy (La Palma), Bullard, Poway, Aquinas, South Hills, Vista del Lago (Folsom), Vista Murrieta, Rio Mesa, Ponderosa