GAMES
RANKINGS
THE POWER RANKINGS: Johnson, Liberty Hill, Cedar Ridge still perched atop Austin area Softball chart
Buda Johnson, Liberty Hill and Cedar Ridge survived the week unscathed and remained atop this week’s softball Power Rankings – but they’d better be watching their mirrors.
Dripping Springs has climbed to fourth in the poll after defeating #9 Lake Travis, #8 Del Valle and Weiss. (The Lady Wolves were unrated at the time but have since cracked this week’s poll at #15 with wins over Little Rover Academy and an impressive win over now-#7 Georgetown.) Bowie entered the Top 5 and Stony Point also moved up after both teams swept their opponents.
Del Valle remained at #8 despite their loss to Dripping Springs, largely because the teams immediately behind them – Lake Travis, Leander and Bastrop – split their weeks and couldn’t completely take advantage. East View and Rouse each moved up a spot as Westlake fell out of the Rankings.
Here are the Rankings heading into the final week of the regular season.
VYPE's Austin Softball Rankings
1. (1) Buda Johnson Lady Jaguars (6A) 20-4-1 (Def. East Central; Def. Judson)
2. (2) Liberty Hill (5A) 20-4-1 (Def. Lehman; Def. Hays)
3. (3) Cedar Ridge Lady Raiders (6A) 17-3 (Def. Hutto)
4. (5) Dripping Springs (6A) 22-6-1 (Def. #9 Lake Travis; Def. #8 Del Valle; Def. Weiss)
5. (6) Bowie (6A) 15-7 (Def. Westlake; Def. Akins)
6. (7) Stony Point Lady Tigers (6A) 18-5-1 (Def. Vandegrift; Def. McNeil)
7. (4) Georgetown Lady Eagles (5A) 18-9-1 (Def. Hendrickson; L @ Weiss)
8. (8) Del Valle (6A) 14-5-1 (L @ #6 Dripping Springs)
9. (9) Lake Travis Lady Cavaliers (6A) 16-9-1 (L vs. #5 Dripping Springs; Def. Westlake)
10. (10) Leander Lady Lions (5A) 18-9 (L @ #15 Rouse; Def. Lockhart)
11. (11) Bastrop Lady Bears (5A) 16-7-1 (L @Crockett; Def. Anderson)
12. (12) Round Rock Lady Dragons (6A) 12-8 (Def. McNeil; Def. Westwood)
13. (14) East View Lady Patriots (5A) 15-7 (Def. Connally)
14. (15) Rouse Lady Raiders (5A) 15-9-2 (Def. #10 Leander; Def. Lehman)
15. (NR) Weiss Lady Wolves (5A) 16-10 (Def. Little River Academy; Def. #4 Georgetown; L @ #6 Dripping Springs)
THE POWER RANKINGS: Liberty Hill, Cedar Ridge creep closer to Johnson in Austin area Softball chart
If you’re looking for clarity, you’re in the wrong place.
Oh, sure, we’re keeping Buda Johnson at the top. While the Lady Jags lost a game last week, they lost to a good 17-8 6A Clemens team and that’s good enough to (barely) keep them ahead of surging 5A Liberty Hill – for now. But we’re watching them both closely, along with the rest of the Top 5.
Most of the week’s circular firing squad action came in District 26-6A. Bowie took it on the chin twice, albeit it in close games to ranked opponents Del Valle and Dripping Springs. As a result, the Lady Tigers stepped over the Lady Dawgs, as did Cedar Ridge, Georgetown and the aforementioned Liberty Hill. Meanwhile, Stony Point, Del Valle, Lake Travis and Leander treaded water; the first two pairing wins over ranked teams with losses to different ranked teams which prevented them from moving up.
Bastrop keeps climbing and now sits just outside our Top 10. And this week, it’s Rouse’s turn to crack the Rankings. Can they stay there, or will they be Whack-A-Moled out?
It looks like Mother Nature is gonna play nice this week, so we’ll see if things clear up any before next week’s poll. With all of these good teams beating each other up, consider me skeptical.
VYPE's Austin Softball Rankings
1. (1) Buda Johnson Lady Jaguars (6A) 18-4-1 (Def. La Vernia; L @ Clemens)
2. (3) Liberty Hill (5A) 18-4-1 (Def. Lockhart; Def. Glenn)
3. (4) Cedar Ridge Lady Raiders (6A) 14-3 (Def. Manor; Def. #7 Stony Point; Def. Vandegrift)
4. (5) Georgetown Lady Eagles (5A) 17-8-1 (Def. #14 East View; Def. Elgin)
5. (6) Dripping Springs (6A) 19-6-1 (Def. #15 Austin High; Def. #2 Bowie)
6. (2) Bowie (6A) 14-6 (L vs. #8 Del Valle; L @ #6 Dripping Springs)
7. (7) Stony Point Lady Tigers (6A) 16-5-1 (L @ #4 Cedar Ridge; Def. #12 Round Rock)
8. (8) Del Valle (6A) 14-4-1 (Def. #2 Bowie; L vs. #9 Lake Travis)
9. (9) Lake Travis Lady Cavaliers (6A) 15-8-1 (Def. #8 Del Valle)
10. (10) Leander Lady Lions (5A) 16-8 (Def. Cedar Park)
11. (13) Bastrop Lady Bears (5A) 15-6-1 (Def. Cedar Creek; Def. Navarro; Def. Austin LASA)
12. (12) Round Rock Lady Dragons (6A) 11-8 (L @ Hutto; L vs. #7 Stony Point)
13. (11) Westlake Lady Chaparrals (6A) 11-10 (L @ Akins; Def. #15 Austin High)
14. (14) East View Lady Patriots (5A) 14-7 (L vs. #5 Georgetown; Def. Pflugerville)
15. (NR) Rouse Lady Raiders (5A) 13-9-2 (Def. Hays; L @ Cedar Park)