Which area high school softball teams won Week 1? Here are five

The high school softball season is barely a week old, and the list of area unbeatens has been pared to six.

Cedar Rapids Xavier leads the area parade of perfection at 6-0. Clear Creek Amana is 5-0, reigning 1A champion Sigourney 4-0, Linn-Mar and Decorah 3-0, Cedar Rapids Prairie 2-0.

The first week produced dominance, surprises and disappointments. Here are five area teams that crushed it:

Cedar Rapids Xavier

Six home runs in six games. That’s what Katie Pilcher has been up to. The senior catcher is hitting .688 with a slugging percentage of 1.875, and has been the big bat for a team that outscored its opponents to the tune of 58-12.

Carley Jonker leads the Saints in RBIs (12), and Maddyn Gates — a sophomore transfer from Solon — has four home runs and has been a solid No. 2 in the pitching circle.

Ace Braylen Conlon is 4-0 with a 0.36 ERA and 40 strikeouts against six walks. Combine that with a lineup that is hitting .425, and the Saints have more than lived up to their preseason No. 2 ranking in Class 4A.

Clear Creek Amana

Three teams are off to a 4-0 start in the Wamac Conference West Division — Williamsburg, CCA and Grinnell. All three of them appear equipped to remain in the race all season.

CCA established itself as a legitimate title threat Monday, when it swept Benton Community by verdicts of 10-4 and 11-1 at Van Horne.

The Clippers have outscored their first five foes by a 50-9 margin. Three hitters are hitting .500-plus, and pitchers Elizabeth Timmerman and McKenna Kelley have combined to allow one earned run in 29 innings.

Sigourney

The post-Carly Goodwin era has arrived in Keokuk County, and the Savages continue to win.

Last year’s Class 1A state champion, Sigourney has extended its winning streak to 11, thanks in large part to Josephine Moore’s transition from catcher to pitcher.

Moore has pitched every inning so far, posting a 0.84 ERA and 42 strikeouts. She also has a team-high 10 RBIs. Eighth-grader Kinsley Clubb is hitting a team-best .615.

West Delaware

Compute this: West Delaware (4-1 overall, 3-1 Wamac) is hitting a light .229 as a team, and yet finds itself alone in first place in the East Division, a game ahead of four teams.

The Hawks opened league play with a split with Benton Community, took two Monday from Center Point-Urbana and appear to be worthy of 3A top-15 consideration.

Senior catcher Susie Funke is hitting .375, and owns both of the Hawks’ home runs.

Washington (Iowa)

Winners of six consecutive games after a 5-4 loss to Clear Creek Amana, the Demons (6-1) have established themselves as clear favorites in the Southeast Conference, thanks to a home sweep of Burlington on Monday.

Junior Leighton Salazar has been dynamite out of the leadoff slot, hitting .500 with 10 stolen bases and 11 runs.

Sophomore pitcher Colbie Greiner (2-0) has 39 strikeouts to her credit in 22 2/3 innings.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com