Take a look at Mahoning Matters Super 7 high school softball ranking

Three teams that have qualified for the state tournament in Akron headline this week’s mahoningmatters.com Super 7 high school softball poll.

Here’s a look at the rankings in which the teams listed have a cumulative record of 130 wins and just 35 losses:

No. 1 AUSTINTOWN FITCH

Austintown Fitch, which has won Division I state championships in two of the past three seasons, will get a chance for a third as the Falcons have once again qualified for this weekend’s state tournament. The unbeaten Falcons are once again No. 1 in the poll.

Fitch (26-0) and champions of the All-American Conference, posted two regional triumphs last week, defeating Berea Midpark 10-0 and Massillon Jackson 11-1 in the regional title game.

Fitch is averaging 12 runs per-game while its team ERA is under 2 runs per contest. The Falcons have held 15 of their opponents to a run or less and posted 10 wins via shutout.

The Falcons will play the Lancaster Golden Gales in a Division I state semifinal Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Akron Firestone Stadium.

No. 2 SOUTH RANGE

South Range moves up from No. 4 to No. 2 in the rankings after the Raiders posted a 9-1 Division V regional championship win over the Norwayne Bobcats last week. The Raiders also bested Youngstown Cardinal Mooney 4-3 in an earlier regional semifinal.

The Raiders (23-7) have won 17 of their past 18 games. They are averaging 8.4 runs per game.

The Raiders will play the Baltimore Liberty Union in a Division V state semifinal Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Akron’s historic Firestone Stadium.

No. 3 MAPLEWOOD

Maplewood, which has been a machine all season and punched its ticket to this week’s state tournament in the small-school Division VII ranks, moves up from No. 6 to No. 3 in the poll.

The Rockets are 27-2 and captured a D7 regional crown with a 6-5 triumph over the Newark Catholic Green Wave last week.

The Rockets’ pitching staff is yielding less than a run per game and has posted 15 shutout wins this spring.

Maplewood is slated to play South Charleston Southeastern in a Division VII state semifinal Thursday at 10 a.m. at Firestone Stadium in Akron.

No. 4 CARDINAL MOONEY

Youngstown Cardinal Mooney is No. 4 in the rankings and has completed its season with a 17-7 record.

The Cardinals saw their season come to an end in a close 4-3 setback to South Range in a Division V regional semifinal last week.

No. 5 LAKEVIEW

Lakeview is No. 5 in the poll as the Bulldogs finish with a final record of 23-6.

The Bulldogs lost a tough 2-1 decision to the Field Falcons in a Division IV regional semifinal last week. Field went on to win the regional title and advance to this week’s state tourney.

No. 6 JACKSON-MILTON

Jackson-Milton, which advanced to the regional last week but was eliminated from the tourney, is No. 6 in the poll.

The Bluejays dropped a regional semifinal game to Maplewood last week.

Jackson-Milton finished its season with a record of 19-7.

No. 7 SOUTHINGTON CHALKER

Southington Chalker rounds out this week’s ratings at No. 7.

The Wildcats advanced to the small-school Division VII regional last week before being eliminated from the tournament in a close 3-2 loss to Newark Catholic.

Southington concluded its season with a record of 12-6.

All photos by Mahoning Valley Sports