Fresno-area prep softball: Big Top 25 matchups this week; back-to-back no-hitters
Big matchups loom for The Fresno Bee’s Top 25 high school softball teams this week.
No. 2 Clovis faced No. 4 Central in a big Tri-River Athletic Conference contest on Tuesday. The Cougars won that matchup 3-0 behind Lauryn Carranco’s 12 strikeouts.
Gracie Carpenter had two RBI.
The Cougars improved to 13-2 overall and 1-0 in the TRAC. The Grizzlies fell to 11-3 and 0-1 in the TRAC.
Clovis has won five straight after losing 8-0 to Oaks Christian on March 11. Following Central, the Cougars host No. 3 Buchanan.
The Grizzlies’ seven-game win streak came to an end.
The Bee’s top-ranked Clovis North defeated No. 22 Clovis West 1-0 behind Ryan Maddox’s 21 strikeouts and one-hitter (a bunt single). The Broncos will next face Clovis East on Thursday.
Around the horn last week
▪ Anahi Castillo hit two home runs and finished with six RBI to lead Orange Cove over Caruthers 15-7.
▪ Eliza Gamez of Redwood finished with a double and five RBI to lead the Rangers past Reedley 12-5.
▪ Megan Staton pitched her second straight (with 12 strikeouts) in Central Valley Christian’s 11-0 victory over Exeter.
▪ Mia Traylor struck out 13 and had a no-hitter and Jayden Ramos had a two-run home and four RBI to lead Central past Kingsburg 11-0.
▪ Esmeralda Zuniga of McLane had an inside-the-park home run that drove in three runs to lead the Highlanders to a 6-4 victory over Edison.
On deck
Easter tournaments will take place beginning Saturday with the Clovis East Tournament, Tulare Easter Classic and Fowler Easter Classic.
The Washington Union Spring Classic is Monday-Tuesday.
Top 25 rankings
(Records through Monday)
1. Clovis North 10-0 (Pvs.1)
2. Clovis 12-2 (Pvs.2)
3. Buchanan 11-3 (Pvs.3)
4. Central 11-2 (Pvs.5)
5. Stockdale 9-4 (Pvs.6)
6. Liberty-Bakersfield 12-2 (Pvs.4)
7. Paso Robles 13-4 (Pvs.9)
8. Bullard 7-4 (Pvs.10)
9. Hanford 8-5 (Pvs.7)
10. Liberty-Madera Ranchos 11-3 (Pvs.11)
11. St. Joseph 12-6 (Pvs.8)
12. Independence 14-7 (Pvs.14)
13. Tulare Union 10-3-1 (Pvs.15)
14. Tulare Western 13-5-1 (Pvs. 16)
15. El Diamante 8-5 (Pvs.17)
16. Centennial 13-5-1 (Pvs.18)
17. Frontier 9-10 (Pvs.12)
18. Garces 10-9 (Pvs.13)
19. Monache 7-4-1 (Pvs. 20)
20. Dinuba 9-6 (Pvs.19)
21. Golden West 8-5 (Pvs.24)
22. Clovis West 8-7 (Pvs. 21)
23. Redwood 8-4-1 (Pvs. 25)
24. San Luis Obispo 9-5-1 (Pvs. 22)
25. Fowler 9-4 (Pvs. 23)
On the bubble: Mission Prep (11-3), Highland (14-5), Kingsburg (9-8), Mission Oak (7-4-1), Garces (10-9), Chowchilla (7-4) Wasco (12-3), North (9-10), Morro Bay (9-1-1), Immanuel (10-6), Mt. Whitney (8-5), San Joaquin Memorial (8-6-1), Arroyo Grande (9-8-1), Reedley (7-6-1), Sanger (8-6), Central Valley Christian (5-3), Caruthers (6-6).
This story was originally published April 6, 2022 at 11:18 AM.
