Tuesday, April 30, 2024

Orange Beach softball moves up to No. 1 in SBLive’s Power 25 national high school rankings

Undefeated Makos overtake California’s Pacifica Mariners as top-ranked team entering April

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com

Posted 4/2/24

The top high school softball team in the country right now, according to ScoreBook Live, is the Orange Beach Makos.

The three-time defending champions overtook California’s Pacifica …

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Orange Beach softball moves up to No. 1 in SBLive’s Power 25 national high school rankings

Undefeated Makos overtake California’s Pacifica Mariners as top-ranked team entering April

The Orange Beach Makos pose for a photo with the championship surfboard following the Orange Beach Classic 2 Tournament at home on March 23. Entering this week of play with a 19-0 record, the Makos were the top-ranked team in the new edition of the SBLive Power 25 national high school rankings.

The Orange Beach Makos pose for a photo with the championship surfboard following the Orange Beach Classic 2 Tournament at home on March 23. Entering this week of play with a 19-0 record, the Makos were the top-ranked team in the new edition of the SBLive Power 25 national high school rankings.

Cole McNanna / Gulf Coast Media

Mako freshman LC Robbins drives a pitch during Orange Beach’s tournament game against the Ocean Springs Greyhounds from Mississippi on March 23 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Robbins and the Makos picked up their 19th win of the season on Monday with three more games scheduled for this week.

Mako freshman LC Robbins drives a pitch during Orange Beach’s tournament game against the Ocean Springs Greyhounds from Mississippi on March 23 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Robbins and the Makos picked up their 19th win of the season on Monday with three more games scheduled for this week.

Cole McNanna / Gulf Coast Media

Junior South Carolina commit KG Favors exits the pitchers’ circle after one of her 12 strikeouts on the afternoon March 23 as the Orange Beach Makos beat the Ocean Springs Greyhounds 8-0 in tournament action. Favors and the Orange Beach pitching staff have limited opponents to 13 runs over 19 games to help earn the No. 1 ranking in this week’s edition of the SBLive Power 25 national high school rankings.

Junior South Carolina commit KG Favors exits the pitchers’ circle after one of her 12 strikeouts on the afternoon March 23 as the Orange Beach Makos beat the Ocean Springs Greyhounds 8-0 in tournament action. Favors and the Orange Beach pitching staff have limited opponents to 13 runs over 19 games to help earn the No. 1 ranking in this week’s edition of the SBLive Power 25 national high school rankings.

Cole McNanna / Gulf Coast Media

The three-time defending state champion Orange Beach Makos prepare for their tournament tilt against Mississippi’s Ocean Springs Greyhounds at home on Saturday, March 23. Orange Beach rides a season-opening, 19-game win streak into area play against Mobile Christian on Tuesday.

The three-time defending state champion Orange Beach Makos prepare for their tournament tilt against Mississippi’s Ocean Springs Greyhounds at home on Saturday, March 23. Orange Beach rides a season-opening, 19-game win streak into area play against Mobile Christian on Tuesday.

Cole McNanna / Gulf Coast Media

Orange Beach sophomore Ava Hodo lines up a pitch during the first inning of the Makos’ contest against the Ocean Springs Greyhounds from Mississippi during the Pot O’ Gold finals on March 23 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Hodo and the Mako lineup have been bringing the juice and has helped outscore opponents 205-13 on the 19-game winning streak that has opened the season.

Orange Beach sophomore Ava Hodo lines up a pitch during the first inning of the Makos’ contest against the Ocean Springs Greyhounds from Mississippi during the Pot O’ Gold finals on March 23 at the Orange Beach Sportsplex. Hodo and the Mako lineup have been bringing the juice and has helped outscore opponents 205-13 on the 19-game winning streak that has opened the season.

Cole McNanna / Gulf Coast Media

Posted Tuesday, April 2, 2024 3:07 pm

BY COLE McNANNA
Sports Editor
cole@gulfcoastmedia.com

The top high school softball team in the country right now, according to ScoreBook Live, is the Orange Beach Makos.

The three-time defending champions overtook California’s Pacifica Mariners as the No. 1 team on Monday in the newest edition of SBLive’s Power 25 national high school rankings. So far, Orange Beach has outscored opponents 205-13 and enters play on Tuesday with a 19-0 record.

While the Makos were off last week for spring break, Orange Beach took advantage of two losses from Pacifica in the Michelle Carew Classic Tournament.

The Makos have yet to lose a game this season and have not lost since the Class 4A South Regional Finals last May. Orange Beach started this week with an 11-1 win over the McCracken County Mustangs from Kentucky on Monday. The Makos were set for an Area 1 contest against the Mobile Christian Leopards on Tuesday before hosting regular-season action against the Spanish Fort Toros on Thursday and the Todd County Central Rebels from Kentucky on Friday.

Spanish Fort is the team that has scored the most runs in a single game against Orange Beach in a 10-3 decision during the teams’ first meeting on Feb. 27. The Makos added a 6-1 win in tournament action on March 16, but the Toros have gone 4-1-1 against common opponents. The only loss came to another nationally-ranked team, the Pace Patriots from Florida who remained the No. 6 team in SBLive’s fresh rankings.

After Pacifica fell from No. 1 to No. 4, both the Bartow Yellowjackets from Florida and the Katy Tigers from Texas moved up a spot to Nos. 2 and 3, respectively. The Northwest Rankin Cougars from Mississippi remained at the fifth-ranked slot for another week. Orange Beach is the only Alabamian team in the SBLive Power 25 where two other Floridian teams also hold spots.

In MaxPreps’ national rankings, the Makos have remained at No. 5 with the Katy Tigers (25-1-1) atop the poll last updated on Tuesday. Florida’s Bartow Yellowjackets (16-0) were No. 2 with California’s Saint Francis Lancers (11-0) jumping three spots to take No. 3. The Northwest Rankin Cougars (18-0) sit above Orange Beach in No. 4.

The Makos are joined by the No. 17 Hewitt-Trussville Huskies (20-4) in representing Alabama in the top 25 rankings of MaxPreps’ national list. Orange Beach and Hewitt-Trussville are scheduled to play against each other on April 18 in Trussville.