Colts stay on top as S-CL softball play begins
The opening of the South-Central League softball season last week brought all the fireworks you’d expect after the amazing start Pueblo teams had to the 2019 season.
A dominant 4-0 win by South over Pueblo West coupled with 7-3 Central win over then-undefeated Centennial certainly sorted the rankings out a bit, but it’s still South, currently having shut out its past three opponents, that remain on top of the Pueblo Preps Power Five softball rankings.
South escaped with a 1-0 nonleague win over Elizabeth Saturday to keep its perfect 9-0 record intact. But Tuesday’s showdown with Pueblo County, which moved up from No. 5 to No. 3 in the latest rankings, will be another big early-season game.
Central has moved up from the No. 3 spot to No. 2 after its win over Centennial, as well as a valiant showing at the Dave Sanders Memorial Tournament against some of the top teams across all classifications in the state.
The Wildcats were an extra-inning hit away from knocking off 5A No. 4 Columbine, suffering a 3-2 loss in nine innings in the tournament semifinal. The Wildcats did go 2-3 at the tournament but proved probably more so than anybody in the S-CL thus far that it could play with anybody.
County, at No. 3 after its S-CL opening win over East, has a strong case to be anywhere in these rankings.
The Hornets have won six straight, scoring more than 10 runs in each game, and allowing a grand total of just three runs over those six wins.
After S-CL losses, Centennial falls to No. 4 while the Cyclones drop to No. 5
Note on rankings: Power rankings rank local teams across all classifications. As such, 4A teams are generally considered stronger than 3A teams, 3A stronger than 2A, etc.
| RANK | TEAM | CLASS | W-L (Lg) | LW | CHSAA RANK |
| 1 | South | 4A | 9-0 (1-0) | 1 | 4 (4A) |
| 2 | Central | 4A | 7-3 (1-0) | 3 | 7 (4A) |
| 3 | Pueblo County | 4A | 9-1 (1-0) | 5 | 8 (4A) |
| 4 | Centennial | 4A | 9-1 (0-1) | 2 | |
| 5 | Pueblo West | 4A | 5-4 (0-1) | 4 | 9 (4A) |