The Gophers claim 18 of 32 first place votes in the Coaches Poll with Florida dropping a spot to second and taking 12 first place votes. Oregon is third with the final two first place votes while Florida State and Arizona round out the top with neither team moving in the poll. The Seminoles won both the ACC and Regular Season titles while Arizona were crowned Pac-12 Champions.
Oklahoma, the Big 12 Regular Season and Tournament champions, remains sixth while Washington (seventh) and Auburn (eighth) swap positions. Also switching spots in the polls are UCLA (ninth) and Tennessee (tenth).
CAA Champions James Madison are up one spot to 11th, Texas A&M is down a spot to 12th, and Ole Miss rockets up six places to 13th after winning the SEC tournament. Sun Belt Champions Louisiana-Lafayette (14th) and Alabama (15th) stay in place from last week’s rankings.
Utah is down three spots to 16th, Baylor is down a spot to 17th, and LSU is up three spots to 18th. Kentucky drops one place to 19th and rounding out the top 20 is Michigan, who fell three places.
BYU, winners of the West Coast Conference Regular Season Title, is down one place to 21st, Arizona State stays at 22nd, and Tulsa makes an appearance at 23rd after winning the American Athletic Conference. They were unranked last week and take the place of Marshall. South Carolina and Georgia remain at 24th and 25th respectively. The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Minnesota (18)
767
54-3
2
2
Florida (12)
758
50-6
1
3
Oregon (2)
739
47-6
3
4
Florida State
700
51-6-1
4
5
Arizona
689
48-7
5
6
Oklahoma
638
50-8
6
7
Washington
593
43-11
8
8
Auburn
566
46-10
7
9
UCLA
560
42-13
10
10
Tennessee
504
44-10
9
11
James Madison
453
50-6
12
12
Texas A&M
424
42-10
11
13
Ole Miss
407
40-18
19
14
Louisiana
382
45-6
14
15
Alabama
344
42-16
15
16
Utah
329
33-14
13
17
Baylor
295
43-12
16
18
LSU
270
41-18
21
19
Kentucky
238
36-17
18
20
Michigan
206
41-11-1
17
21
BYU
183
43-11
20
22
Arizona State
97
30-20
22
23
Tulsa
69
39-15
Not
Ranked
24
South Carolina
44
32-23
24
25
Georgia
29
33-21
25
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Oregon jumps ahead of Florida to claim the top spot. Oregon received just five of the 20 first place votes while Florida took nine. Third through fifth stay the same with Minnesota (five first place votes), Florida State, and Arizona (one first place vote).
Oklahoma stays in sixth and Washington is up two spots seventh. A tie for eighth place occurred between Auburn (no change) and UCLA (up two spots). Tennessee is down three places to tenth.
There was not much change between 11th and 15th as Texas A&M stays at 11th, James Madison (12th) and Baylor (13th) switch spots and another tie occurred at 14th. Alabama (up two spots) and Louisiana-Lafayette (up one spot) tied on 228 points to round out the top 15.
Ole Miss went up just two spots in this poll to 16th, Utah fell three to 17th, and Michigan was down one spot to 18th. 19th belongs to LSU (up two) and Kentucky is down one to finish out the top 20.
The bottom of the poll starts with BYU in 21st (down one), Arizona State (no change), and Tulsa (up one). South Carolina is 24th and the 25th place resulted in a third tie of this poll. Ohio State (down one) is joined by South Carolina Upstate for the final spot. The Spartans are ranked for the first time after winning the Atlantic Sun Regular Season and Conference Titles. The entire USA Softball poll can be seen below.
Oregon impressively swept Florida State at home in a massive late season non-conference matchup. (Collin Andrew/The Register-Guard)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Ninth Edition
The 2017 college softball regular season is over for most teams across the country following week thirteen. There were some big games and upsets among the top teams in our final regular season power rankings. We take a look at the top 16 teams in our power rankings as well as the next four teams.
We will start by providing last week’s rankings below. Please note the records in the table below are as of May 2.
Rank
Team
Conf.
Overall
Record
Conf.
Record
Last
Week's Ranking
1
Florida
SEC
46-4
20-3
1
2
Arizona
Pac-12
47-5
17-4
2
3
Oklahoma
Big 12
44-8
14-1
4
4
Minnesota
Big 10
48-3
19-1
5
5
Florida State
ACC
47-3-1
24-0
6
6
Texas A&M
SEC
41-7
15-5
3
7
Washington
Pac-12
37-10
11-7
8
8
Oregon
Pac-12
41-6
14-6
9
9
Tennessee
SEC
42-8
14-6
7
10
Utah
Pac-12
32-9
12-4
10
11
Auburn
SEC
43-8
15-6
11
12
UCLA
Pac-12
37-12
11-7
12
13
Louisiana
Sun Belt
39-6
20-1
13
14
Baylor
Big 12
39-10
11-4
14
15
James Madison
Colonial
44-6
15-2
15
16
Michigan
Big 10
38-10-1
17-3
17
17
Ole Miss
SEC
34-17
8-13
18
18
Alabama
SEC
39-13
11-9
16
19
LSU
SEC
37-15
11-10
19
20
BYU
West Coast
36-10
9-0
Not
Ranked
Below are the previous editions of our Power Rankings.
Below is the ninth edition of our 2017 power rankings. Please note the records listed are through games as of May 9.
#1 – Florida Gators (50-5 Overall, 20-3 SEC)
Florida (#1 last week) went 4-1 with the week beginning with a loss to Florida State. The Gators had their best ace in the circle with Kelly Barnhill, but despite the 21 strikeouts, they lost 3-1 in 11 innings. Florida finished the week going 4-0 over North Texas and Florida A&M by a combined score of 32-1 with only 13 hits allowed. The Gators will play in the SEC Tournament this week as the top seed.
#2 – Oklahoma Sooners (47-8 Overall, 17-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma (#3 last week) went 3-0 with a sweep of Oklahoma State in which they allowed only one run during the series. The series ended with a combined no-hitter from Nicole Mendes and Paige Lowary. The Sooners are playing their best ball of the season right now and they will be the top team in the Big 12 softball tournament.
#3 – Oregon Ducks (44-6 Overall, 14-6 Pac-12)
Oregon (#8 last week) makes a big move up after sweeping Florida State at home. Game one was an 11-0 final as seven different Ducks recorded an RBI and Megan Kleist allowed only two hits. Game two was a Maggie Balint three hitter with the Ducks scoring three sixth inning runs to win 3-1. The finale was tight throughout as FSU took a 1-0 lead in the second and Oregon tied it in the fifth. The bottom of the ninth saw Danica Mercado’s lead off double turn into the game winning run as Gwen Svekis hit a sacrifice fly to walk off for the win.
Oregon looked fantastic in sweeping the Seminoles and have the look of a national title contender. They have one final series at Stanford to close out the regular season.
#4 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (51-3 Overall, 22-1 Big 10)
Minnesota (#4 last week) had a great week going 3-0 over Penn State en route to capturing the Big 10 regular season title. The Gophers won each game by at least 9 runs and by a combined score of 35-3. Sara Groenewegen threw one hitters in the first and third games as the Gopher pitching staff allowed six hits over the three games. The Big 10 conference tournament is on deck for Minnesota.
#5 – Florida State Seminoles (48-6-1 Overall, 24-0 ACC)
Florida State (#5 last week) went 1-3 this week, but they took on a couple of the top teams in the nation. They won the midweek game at home to Florida 3-1 in nine innings. They overcame 21 strikeouts from Kelly Barnhill as the walk off home run was hit by Alex Powers.
The road trip to Eugene was not very successful as they were swept by Oregon. They were completely dominated in the opener losing 11-0, but were much more competitive in the final two losing 3-1 and 2-1 with the latter coming via walk off. It is hard to fault the Seminoles for taking on a tough schedule and their win over Florida keeps them here. They will be playing in the ACC Tournament this week as the top team.
#6 – Arizona Wildcats (48-7 Overall, 18-6 Pac-12)
Arizona (#2 last week) finished the season going 1-2 against UCLA in a three game set. Despite the series loss, the Wildcats won the Pac-12 Regular Season title and the Pac-12 automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Arizona was shut out twice to open the series before roaring back to win the finale 7-2 with four first inning runs.
The Wildcats do not have a series this weekend as they await finding out their national seed for the tournament. Arizona will undoubtedly be a top 8 team, which guarantees them hosting both a Regional and Super Regional should they get past the first round.
Tennessee (#9 last week) played a three game series at Texas A&M and came away with two wins. The Vols did not get much going in a 5-1 loss to open the series, but came alive on offense scoring 8 runs in each of the final two games. Six different Vols recorded an RBI in game two while Meghan Gregg had 5 RBIs in the third game. Tennessee is a dangerous team going into post season play, which begins this week for the Vols with the SEC Tournament.
#8 – UCLA Bruins (39-13 Overall, 13-8 Pac-12)
UCLA (#12 last week) took two of three from Arizona at home. It was an impressive first two games as they shut out the Wildcats and allowed seven hits over the two games. They did not fare so well in the third game losing 7-2, but they had already taken the series.
UCLA continues to be one of the most enigmatic teams this season. They have won the first two games of three game series versus Washington, Oregon, and Arizona, but also have a series loss to Oregon State. There is no doubt UCLA is talented enough to beat any team when their hitting and pitching is on at the same time, it is just a matter of if those two happen at the same time. The Bruins are at Arizona State this weekend for one final series.
#9 – Texas A&M Aggies (42-9 Overall, 16-7 SEC)
Texas A&M (#6 last week) dropped two of three against Tennessee at home. They started well with a 5-1 win before the pitching gave up 16 runs on 22 hits over the final two games. The Aggies have hit a bit of rough patch losing four of their last six going into the SEC Tournament.
#10 – Washington Huskies (40-11 Overall, 13-8 Pac-12)
Washington (#7 last week) had a 3-1 week winning over Seattle on Wednesday and taking two of three from Stanford at home. The Huskies were in a battle in game one against Stanford, taking it 1-0 on a walk off home run from Kirstyn Thomas. Game two was the same for Washington in the fact they had a tough time scoring. They were one hit in a 6-0 loss before bouncing back to win 10-2 in game three.
It is a bit odd that the Huskies struggled with Stanford, a team that had only one Pac-12 win coming into this series. They have another tough opponent in Utah this weekend to end the regular season.
#11 – Auburn Tigers (45-9 Overall, 17-7 SEC)
Auburn (#11 last week) went into rival Alabama’s place and took two of three. It was their first series win in Tuscaloosa in program history. Each game was tightly contested as they needed 9 innings to win the opening game 3-0 and then won 4-1 in the second game behind Alyssa Rivera’s three run double. The Tigers had their chances to sweep Alabama in the final game as they loaded the bases in both of the first two innings, but came away empty. Haley Fagan hit two solo home runs, but it was enough as they lost 3-2.
Auburn is hungry to avenge last year’s loss in the WCWS Championship Series and their next step is the SEC Tournament this week.
#12 – Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (42-6 Overall, 23-1 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#13 last week) went 3-0 thanks to a sweep of in state foe Louisiana-Monroe. They posted two four hit shutouts and also won a close 6-5, which they led 6-0 after three innings. The Ragin’ Cajuns have the Sun Belt Tournament this week as they loom a very serious threat going into the NCAA Tournament.
#13 – Baylor Bears (41-11 Overall, 13-5 Big 12)
Baylor (#13 last week) took two of three from Texas to close out the regular season. Game one was a 2-1 victory as Kelsee Selman allowed two walks and four hits in a complete game. Game two was a 3-1 loss as the Bears gave up three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Baylor won the third game 4-0 with Ari Hawkins driving in three runs. Baylor will be in the Big 12 Tournament this week.
#14 – Utah Utes (33-11 Overall, 13-6 Pac-12)
Utah (#10 last week) lost two of three to Oregon State on the road. The opener was a 5-0 loss as Taylor Cotton one hit the Utes. Utah was only able to muster two hits in a 3-1 game two loss before rebounding for a 6-0 win in the finale. Kay Kay Fronda and Anissa Urtez both recorded 2 RBIs. The regular season ends with a three game series against Washington.
#15 – James Madison Dukes (47-6 Overall, 18-2 Colonial)
James Madison (#15 last week) ended their regular season with a sweep of Elon. They won the three games by a combined score of 22-3 as Megan Good won all three games to improve to 34-1. Jessica Mrozek recorded 5 RBIs while Taylor Newton had 4 RBIs. The Dukes will be the top seed and host of the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament.
#16 – Michigan Wolverines (41-10-1 Overall, 20-3 Big 10)
The Wolverines (#16 last week) ended their regular season with a fantastic sweep of Rutgers by a combined score of 45-2 over the three games. The finale was a combined no-hitter between Megan Betsa and Tera Blanco with Betsa striking out 17 over the her two starts. Michigan is rolling into the Big 10 tournament, which will be held at their home field.
Next Four
#17 – Ole Miss Rebels (36-18 Overall, 10-14 SEC)
Ole Miss (#17 last week) wrangled two of three from Missouri on the road, which can be a difficult place to win at. They opened with 6-0 and 12-4 wins as Kaitlin Lee threw the opening game shutout allowing one walk and four hits. Game two was dominated by Ole Miss’ offense between Courtney Syrett (4 RBIs), Dylinn Stancil (3 RBIs), and Kylan Becker (2 RBIs).
The Rebels nearly had the sweep, but gave up the tying run in the seventh and walk off run in the ninth inning of the finale. They will be in the SEC Tournament and kickoff against Mississippi State.
#18 – BYU Cougars (42-10 Overall, 12-0 West Coast)
BYU (#20 last week) continued their tear through the West Coast Conference going 6-0 on the week and 3-0 in conference. The sweep gave them their fourth straight West Coast Conference title and the automatic bid. They opened the week with a 6-0 win over Grand Canyon thanks to a two hitter by McKenna Bull where she struck out 9.
They swept Santa Clara on the road. The first two games were 5-0 and 3-1 wins while the final game was a 19-5 destruction with 11 first inning runs scored. Ashley Thompson and Libby Sugg both had 4 RBIs in the game.
BYU finished the week with a 10-2 win over Utah Valley and a 4-1 victory over Utah State. The Cougars will have one final series at St Mary’s before the NCAA Tournament begins.
Alabama (#18 last week) lost two of three to rival Auburn at home. They lost the opener 3-0 in nine innings and 4-1 in game two. They came back to win the finale 3-2 to salvage something against their rival. Alabama is 9-11 in their last 20 games going into the SEC Tournament where they open with Arkansas.
#20 – LSU Tigers (38-17 Overall, 12-12 SEC)
LSU (#19 last week) went on the road and lost two of three to South Carolina. All three games were decided by two runs or less. LSU’s offensive production was quite even as only two players (Emily Griggs and Amber Serrett) finished with multiple RBIs in the series. LSU opens with Missouri in the SEC Tournament.
Oregon and Minnesota Rise In Softball Polls Following Week 13
The duo of Oregon and Minnesota enjoyed a boost in the NCAA Softball polls after week 13’s action. The pair still trail Florida, who is number one in both polls.
In the Coaches Poll, Florida took 22 of 32 first place votes as Minnesota (five first place votes) and Oregon (five first place votes) are close in tow. Florida State falls two spots to fourth after being swept by the Ducks and beating Florida. Arizona also drops two spots and round out the top five.
Oklahoma stays in place at sixth, Auburn is up two spots to seventh, and Washington falls one spot to eighth. Tennessee is up two places to ninth after taking two of three from Texas A&M and UCLA is also up two spots after defeating Arizona twice.
Texas A&M is down three spots to 11th, James Madison is up one place to 12th, and Utah is down three spots to 13th after losing two games against Oregon State. Louisiana-Lafayette is 14th and Alabama is 15th with those two teams switching places from last week.
Baylor (up one) is 16th, Michigan (up two) is 17th, and Kentucky (down two) is 18th. Ole Miss moves up two spots to 19th and BYU stays in place at 20th.
LSU falls three places to 21st, Arizona State stays at 22nd, and Marshall stays 23rd. The duo of South Carolina (24th) and Georgia (25th) round out the top 25 with both teams new to the poll this week. Arkansas and Tulsa both fell out of the Coaches Poll, which can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Florida (22)
782
50-5
1
2
Minnesota (5)
754
51-3
4
3
Oregon (5)
744
44-6
5
4
Florida State
694
48-6-1
2
5
Arizona
671
48-7
3
6
Oklahoma
645
47-8
6
7
Auburn
570
45-9
9
8
Washington
564
40-11
7
9
Tennessee
547
44-9
11
10
UCLA
529
39-13
12
11
Texas A&M
505
42-9
8
12
James Madison
440
47-6
13
13
Utah
414
33-11
10
14
Louisiana
373
42-6
15
15
Alabama
337
40-15
14
16
Baylor
306
41-11
17
17
Michigan
275
41-10-1
19
18
Kentucky
253
35-16
16
19
Ole Miss
232
36-18
21
20
BYU
213
40-10
20
21
LSU
198
38-17
18
22
Arizona State
113
30-17
22
23
Marshall
74
40-8
23
24
South Carolina
50
32-22
Not
Ranked
25
Georgia
30
33-21
Not
Ranked
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Florida is also #1 with 12 of the 20 first place votes. Oregon (up from fifth) is second in this poll with four first place votes while Minnesota (up one) is third with the final four first place votes. Florida State (fourth) and Arizona (fifth) both fall two spots.
Oklahoma is up one spot to sixth after sweeping Oklahoma State. Tennessee (seventh) and Auburn (eighth) move up two spots each as Washington falls one place to ninth. UCLA is up two spots to round out the top 10.
Texas A&M plummets five spots to 11th after losing two of three at home to Tennessee. The pair of Baylor and James Madison are up one spot to 12th and 13th respectively. Utah is down three places to 14th while Louisiana is up on place to 15th.
Alabama is down a spot to 16th, Michigan stays at 17th, Kentucky remains in 18th, Ole Miss is up two spots to 19th, and BYU stays at 20th. LSU is 21st (down two spots), Arizona State moves up a place to 22nd, and South Carolina enters the poll at 23rd.
The bottom of the poll sees a three way tie for 24th. Marshall, Ohio State, and Tulsa all received 27 points. Ohio State is the newcomer, replacing Illinois. The entire USA Softball Poll can be seen below.
Kendyl Lindaman has been fantastic for Minnesota, which is also having a stellar season. (Photo courtesy of GopherSports.com)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Eighth Edition
With April officially over, we are closing in fast on conference tournaments as well as the NCAA tournament. Week twelve had few surprises and we take a look at the top 16 teams in our power rankings as well as the next four teams.
We will start by providing last week’s rankings below. Please note the records in the table below are as of April 25.
Few Changes In NCAA Softball Polls Following Week 12
The twelfth week of games in the 2017 NCAA Softball season produced few upsets. As such, there were not a lot of changes in the polls with Florida continuing to be the top team in both polls.
In the Coaches Poll, the top four teams remained the same with Florida taking 18 of the 32 first place votes. Florida State is second with 11 first place votes, Arizona is third with one first place vote, and Minnesota is fourth with two first place votes. Oregon moves back into the top five after sweeping Oregon State.
Oklahoma and Washington both moved up a spot to sixth and seventh respectively. TexasA&M lost twice to Kentucky and subsequently fall three spots to eighth. Auburn and Utah remain in place at ninth and tenth respectively.
Tennessee (11th) and UCLA (12th) also did not move in the polls as James Madison (13th) and Alabama (14th) swap spots from last week. In 15th is Louisiana-Lafayette, which moved up a spot after clinching the Sun Belt regular season title.
Kentucky is up two spots to 16th, Baylor is down two places to 17th, LSU is up one spot to 18th, Michigan stays at 19th, and BYU moves up a place to 20th.
Ole Miss fell one spot to 21st despite taking two of three from Alabama. Arizona State is up one spot to 22nd, Marshall is up two places to 23rd, and Arkansas stays at 24th. A new entrant, Tulsa, moves into the final spot as Georgia falls out of the top 25. The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Florida (18)
783
46-4
1
2
Florida State (11)
775
47-3-1
2
3
Arizona (1)
723
47-5
3
4
Minnesota (2)
711
48-3
4
5
Oregon
661
41-6
6
6
Oklahoma
624
44-8
7
7
Washington
589
37-10
8
8
Texas A&M
587
41-7
5
9
Auburn
547
43-8
9
10
Utah
503
30-9
10
11
Tennessee
490
42-8
11
12
UCLA
447
37-12
12
13
James Madison
398
44-6
14
14
Alabama
378
39-12
13
15
Louisiana
330
36-6
16
16
Kentucky
319
34-14
18
17
Baylor
313
39-10
15
18
LSU
269
37-15
17
19
Michigan
227
37-10-1
19
20
BYU
177
36-10
21
21
Ole Miss
173
33-17
20
22
Arizona State
99
28-16
23
23
Marshall
68
38-7
25
24
Arkansas
45
30-18
24
25
Tulsa
37
36-13
Not
Ranked
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Florida retains the top spot with 13 of the 20 first place votes. Florida State moves up one place with four first place votes, Arizona falls one spot to third, and Minnesota is up a spot to fourth taking the final three first place votes. Rounding out the top five is Oregon, which moved up one spot.
Texas A&M falls two spots to sixth and Oklahoma remains seventh. Washington (8th) and Tennessee (9th) switch spots with Auburn staying in tenth. 11 through 13 remain the same from last week with Utah, UCLA, and Baylor. James Madison (14th) and Alabama (15th) swap places.
Louisiana and Michigan stay at 16th and 17th respectively as Kentucky moved up a notch to 18th. LSU falls one spot to 19th and BYU did not change at 20th. Ole Miss, Illinois, and Arizona State all stay the same from last week in 21st, 22nd, and 23rd respectively.
Two new teams emerge in the USA Softball Poll with Tulsa 24th and Marshall 25th. They replace California and Georgia from last week’s rankings. The entire USA Softball Poll can be seen below.
Kelly Barnhill and the Florida Gators had a dominant weekend showing against Ole Miss. Barnhill had 25 strikeouts in two wins over the Rebels. (Photo courtesy of SECSports.com)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Seventh Edition
The eleventh week of the NCAA softball season is in the books and there was not nearly as much turmoil as last week when it felt as if every top 25 team suffered a loss. Below we list the top 16 teams along with the next four teams.
We will start by providing last week’s rankings below. Please note the records in the table below are as of April 18.
Rank
Team
Conf.
Overall
Record
Conf.
Record
Last
Week's Ranking
1
Florida
SEC
40-3
15-2
1
2
Texas A&M
SEC
37-4
11-3
4
3
Arizona
Pac-12
43-3
13-2
2
4
Oklahoma
Big 12
39-7
9-0
8
5
Minnesota
Big 10
38-3
11-1
9
6
Florida State
ACC
41-3-1
18-0
3
7
Oregon
Pac-12
37-4
10-4
6
8
Utah
Pac-12
28-8
10-3
10
9
Auburn
SEC
36-7
10-5
7
10
Tennessee
SEC
39-5
11-3
14
11
Washington
Pac-12
31-10
8-7
15
12
UCLA
Pac-12
30-12
5-7
5
13
Baylor
Big 12
35-7
8-1
11
14
Louisiana
Sun Belt
32-6
14-1
13
15
Alabama
SEC
36-9
10-7
12
16
James Madison
Colonial
37-6
10-2
18
17
Ole Miss
SEC
31-13
6-9
19
18
LSU
SEC
33-12
8-7
16
19
Michigan
Big 10
32-9-1
12-2
17
20
Jacksonville
State
Ohio Valley
32-9
11-1
20
Below are the previous editions of our Power Rankings.
Below is the seventh edition of our 2017 power rankings. Please note the records listed are through games as of April 25.
#1 – Florida Gators (44-3 Overall, 18-2 SEC)
Florida (#1 last week) had a dominating week going 4-0 and allowing just one run and 11 hits in those four games. They defeated Central Florida on Wednesday and Ole Miss over the weekend. The pitchers were on top of their game led by Kelly Barnhill. She won on Friday and Sunday allowing four hits and striking out 25! Barnhill is now 20-0 and is a strikeout machine with 230 as of this posting. She has 11 games with double digit strikeouts totals.
The Gators are a scary team especially if this past week is replicated over the next six weeks. They face a tough test over the weekend on the road in Tennessee.
#2 – Arizona Wildcats (45-4 Overall, 15-3 Pac-12)
Arizona (#3 last week) reclaims second place here after taking two of three against Oregon. They opened the series with a close 2-0 win led by Danielle O’Toole’s complete game five hitter. The second game was far different as Arizona won 10-7 and Katiyana Mauga went 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs. The Wildcats dropped the third game, a 4-3 decision, after giving up two solo shots in the sixth inning. It was an impressive showing in a battle of two of the top Pac-12 squads. Arizona will stay at home and welcome Arizona State this weekend.
#3 – Texas A&M Aggies (40-5 Overall, 14-3 SEC)
The Aggies (#2 last week) started the week with an 11-9 loss at home to Louisiana-Lafayette. They fell behind 11-2 after three innings, but made a furious rally that came up just short. They finished the weekend with a sweep of Georgia. The final two games showcased their strong pitching as they won 1-0 and 2-0. Texas A&M faces Kentucky on the road over the weekend.
#4 – Oklahoma Sooners (41-8 Overall, 11-1 Big 12)
Oklahoma (#4 last week) went 2-1 as they played Baylor in a three game set. The first two games were decided by one run with the teams splitting those. The first game was scoreless until the eighth inning when both teams scored. Fale Aviu doubled home the tying and winning runs in the ninth for the 3-2 win. The second game was Baylor’s 4-3 win as they got to Paige Lowary and knocked her out of the game after 2 1/3 innings. The Sooners rallied from a 4-0 deficit, but came up short.
The final game was a 6-0 win that was a 5-0 contest after two innings. The Sooners cruised to the victory and a tie atop the Big 12 standings. Oklahoma will be traveling to Texas Tech for a three game series this weekend.
#5 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (43-3 Overall, 16-1 Big 10)
Minnesota (#5 last week) went 5-0, all in Big 10 play. The Gophers allowed just two runs in those games while scoring 35. Sara Groenewegen went 3-0 over the week pitching 25 innings allowing no runs, 14 hits, and striking out 35 batters. As she goes, so do the Gophers and right now she is doing very well in the circle. Minnesota plays North Dakota State in a doubleheader on Wednesday and then welcomes Purdue to Jane Sage Cowles Stadium over the weekend.
#6 – Florida State Seminoles (44-3-1 Overall, 21-0 ACC)
Florida State (#6 last week) had a successful weekend sweeping Louisville while also clinching the ACC Regular Season title. The first game was an 11-0 crushing of the Cardinals, which clinched the ACC title. The final two games were much closer and the Seminoles were able to pull out both wins. They won 4-3 in 10 innings on Sunday and 5-4 on Monday.
Florida State has easily been the best team in the ACC from the start of the season. They have been rewarded with the crown and will have a final series at home in ACC play against North Carolina.
Tennessee (#10 last week) may have seen their win streak end at 20, but not before taking two of three from LSU on the road. They won 6-3 and 6-4 as they overturned deficits in both of those games. The final game was a tough 1-0 loss that saw the Vols lose on a walk off home run in game that neither team deserved to lose. Tennessee managed only one hit while LSU had just two.
Tennessee is a dark horse team going into the tournament and we will get a real good look at their potential the next two weeks starting with a three game set at home versus Florida this weekend.
#8 – Washington Huskies (34-10 Overall, 8-7 Pac-12)
Washington (#11 last week) had an impressive week in Alabama winning one game at UAB and two at Alabama. The Huskies used strong pitching to win all three games as they allowed 13 hits over the three games and produced two shutouts. The Huskies appear to be hitting their best stride winning 8 of their last 10 including wins over UCLA, Oregon (twice), and Alabama (twice). They will be at California over the weekend.
#9– Oregon Ducks (38-6 Overall, 11-6 Pac-12)
Oregon (#7 last week) continued their slide losing two of three to Arizona on the road. All three games were competitive, but the Ducks could not come out on top beyond the final game. They lost 2-0 and 10-7, but won 4-3 in the final game after falling behind.
After opening 35-0, Oregon has stumbled going 3-6. Their last three Pac-12 series have resulted in 1-2 finishes each time. The Ducks are still a very good team, but just stuck in a rut. They play Oregon State at home this weekend.
#10 – Utah Utes (30-9 Overall, 12-4 Pac-12)
Utah (#8 last week) had a very competitive weekend series at Arizona State winning two of three. All three games were decided by one run and in the seventh inning. The offense for Utah was excellent in the first two games despite the opening game loss. They tallied 15 runs on 19 hits and then won the final game 2-1 with only three hits. Bridget Castro hit the game deciding home run in the top of the seventh.
Utah has shown the ability to win high scoring, low scoring, and close games. Utah has an odd week scheduled with Weber State on Wednesday day and then they do not play again until Tuesday, May 2 against Grand Canyon in a doubleheader.
#11 – Auburn Tigers (39-8 Overall, 12-6 SEC)
Auburn (#9 last week) had a tough time off the field, but still managed to go 3-1. They started with a 7-3 win over Kennesaw State on Wednesday, but the off the field drama was about to start. Three players, Haley Fagan, Makayla Martin, and Brittany Maresette,were arrested on possession of marijuana and suspended indefinitely.
The Tigers responded with back-to-back 2-0 shutout wins over South Carolina on the road before dropping the final game 3-0. Kaylee Carlson threw the first complete game shutout allowing four hits while Ashlee Swindle and Carlson combined to allow two hits in the second shutout win. The losses of Fagan and Martin will hurt Auburn, but there is still plenty of talent.
Auburn faces Alabama State on Wednesday and then plays three at home against Mississippi State over the weekend.
#12 – UCLA Bruins (33-12 Overall, 8-7 Pac-12)
UCLA (#12 last week) came back from a surprising series loss to Oregon State to sweep California. The Bruins rallied to win the first game after trailing 2-0 going into the bottom of the seventh. A two run hit by Bubba Nickles tied the game and Gabrielle Maurice completed the comeback with a double to left field. Game two was a 3-1 win and the final game ended 8-1 for UCLA as Delaney Spaulding (3 for 4 and 4 RBIs) and Nickles (2 for 3 and 3 RBIs) led the offense. UCLA faces Cal State-Northridge on Wednesday and Stanford over the weekend.
#13– Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (36-6 Overall, 17-1 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#14 last week) had an excellent week going 4-0 with a road win at Texas A&M and a sweep of Georgia State over the weekend. Louisiana held on for an 11-9 win over the Aggies after leading 11-2 following the third inning. Haley Hayden hit a grand slam and a three run double while DJ Sanders had a home run.
Against Georgia State, Louisiana blitzed them with 40 runs while giving up 11. DJ Sanders had a great weekend going 4 for 4 with 10 runs scored, 7 RBIs, and drawing 7 walks. She hit three home runs as did Aleah Craighton and Haley Haden hit two home runs.
The nation’s best offense showed their ability against one of the best teams in Texas A&M. They face Coastal Carolina at home for a three game set over the weekend.
#14 – Baylor Bears (37-9 Overall, 9-3 Big 12)
Baylor (#13 last week) went 2-2 last week after losing two of three at Oklahoma and defeating Lamar on Tuesday. The first two games versus the Sooners were one run games. The final game was a 6-0 loss and they were overwhelmed early giving up 5 runs in the first two innings. The Bears were able to win 4-1 over Lamar with Maddison Kettler going 3 for 3 with an RBI. The Bears will be at home over the weekend against Oklahoma State in another matchup of top Big 12 squads.
#15 – James Madison Dukes (39-6 Overall, 12-2 Colonial)
James Madison (#16 last week) played just two games due to weather cancellations. They defeated UNC-Wilmington in their two games on Sunday 4-1 and 4-0. Game on was a Megan Good four hit performance as she also drove in a run and Taylor Newton drove home the other three.
Game two saw the Dukes throw a combined two hitter between Odicci Alexander and Megan Good. Both gave up on hit as Good doubled home one run and hit a two run home run. JMU will travel to face North Carolina on Wednesday and then face Drexel at home over the weekend.
Alabama (#15 last week) went 2-2 with both losses coming at home to Washington. The Tide could not rally back from two runs in the seventh inning in game one. Game two saw Washington hit three home runs and shutout the Tide 3-0. The wins came against Southern Miss and Samford. Alabama will be at Ole Miss this weekend.
Next Four
#17 – Michigan Wolverines (34-10-1 Overall, 14-3 Big 10)
Michigan (#19 last week) had a three game set at Wisconsin and took two of three. Game one was their only loss and it was a tough loss. Megan Betsa allowed two hits over 10 innings and struck out 18, but it was not quite good enough. The final two games saw the offense come alive as they outscored the Badgers 18-2 with both games ending after five innings. Michigan faces Indiana at home over the weekend and Western Michigan on Tuesday.
#18 – Ole Miss Rebels (31-16 Overall, 6-12 SEC)
Ole Miss (#17 last week) went on the road to top ranked Florida and it did not turn out well for the Rebels. To be fair, only two teams, Maryland and Auburn, have won in Gainesville. Ole Miss had a tough time getting anything going and it showed as they were held to 7 hits while being shut out in all three games. The competition gets only slightly easier for Ole Miss as they face Jacksonville State on Wednesday and Alabama over the weekend.
#19 – LSU Tigers (35-14 Overall, 9-9 SEC)
LSU (#18 last week) ran into one of the hottest teams in the nation in Tennessee and took one of three games. The Tigers had their chances against the Vols as they led in all three games, but squandered leads in the first two games. Still, the Tigers were competitive in all three games and remain a serious threat against any opponent they face. LSU will be at home for three games against Missouri this weekend.
#20 – Jacksonville State Gamecocks (34-9 Overall, 13-1 OVC)
Jacksonville State (#20 last week) played in two games against SIU-Edwardsville and won both of them. Their other two games were scheduled to be against Eastern Illinois, but were rained out. Against SIU-Edwardsville, Jacksonville State won 5-3 and 2-1 as the Gamecocks won both games late. JSU still leads the Ohio Valley Conference and they have one last chance to get a major non-conference victory at Ole Miss on Wednesday. They will also play at Morehead State and Eastern Kentucky in doubleheaders over the weekend.
Knocking on the Door
There were no additions or subtractions from the top 20 this week. The teams below have some work to do to be one of the top twenty, but could make a jump over the new week or two (in alphabetical order):
Arkansas, Arizona State, BYU, California, Florida International, Georgia,Illinois, Kentucky, Marshall, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, SIU-Edwardsville, and Texas State.
Florida Consolidates Lead Atop Softball Polls After Week 11
The Florida Gatorshad a strong week on the diamond, which helped them gain a bigger stranglehold on the top spot in both polls. Florida took 30 of 32 first place votes in the Coaches Poll (up from 26 last week) and received 17 of 20 first place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll (up from 15 last week).
In the Coaches Poll, Florida is followed by Florida State and Arizona (one first place vote) with neither team moving from their spot last week. Minnesota (one first place vote) swaps places with TexasA&M with the Gophers in fourth and the Aggies sliding a spot to fifth.
Oregon stays at sixth despite losing two of three at Arizona. Oklahoma is up a spot after taking two of three from Baylor and Washington also moves up a spot to eighth. Auburn falls two spots to ninth place while Utah (no change) rounds out the top 10.
Tennessee stays at 11th after taking two of three at LSU, UCLA is up a spot to 12th, and Alabama falls one place to 13th after losing to back-to-back games at home to Washington. James Madison and Baylor remain at fourteenth and fifteenth respectively.
Louisiana-Lafayette sits at 16th, LSU is 17th, Kentucky is 18th, Michigan is 19th, and Ole Miss is 20th. The next four teams remain in the same spot as last week: BYU in 21st, Georgia in 22nd, Arizona State in 23rd, and Arkansas in 24th. In 25th is Marshall, a newcomer to the poll, as they replace Illinois. The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Florida (30)
798
44-3
1
2
Florida State
754
43-3-1
2
3
Arizona (1)
741
45-4
3
4
Minnesota (1)
694
43-3
5
5
Texas A&M
685
40-5
4
6
Oregon
623
38-6
6
7
Oklahoma
584
41-8
8
8
Washington
572
34-10
9
9
Auburn
542
39-8
7
10
Utah
510
30-9
10
11
Tennessee
498
41-6
11
12
UCLA
437
33-12
13
13
Alabama
409
37-11
12
14
James Madison
382
39-6
14
15
Baylor
356
36-9
15
16
Louisiana
327
36-6
17
17
LSU
286
34-14
16
18
Kentucky
238
30-13
20
19
Michigan
223
34-10-1
19
20
Ole Miss
191
31-16
18
21
BYU
175
32-10
21
22
Georgia
99
30-18
22
23
Arizona State
83
27-14
23
24
Arkansas
46
28-17
24
25
Marshall
38
35-7
Not
Ranked
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll, Florida is trailed by Arizona (one first place vote), Florida State, Texas A&M (one first place vote), and Minnesota (one first place vote). None of the teams in the top five changed positions from last week.
Oregon remains sixth while Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Washington all moved up a spot to seventh, eighth, and ninth respectively. Auburn, which was hurt by off the field issues on Thursday, fell to tenth from seventh.
Utah is still 11th, UCLA is up two spots to 12th, Baylor remains in 13th, Alabama is down two places to 14th, and James Madison stays at 15th. Louisiana-Lafayette moves up two spots to 16th, Michigan stays in 17th, and LSU falls two spots to 18th. Kentucky rises two spots to 19th and BYU is down a spot to 20th.
Ole Miss falls one spot to 21st, Illinois went from unranked to 22nd, and Arizona State is up a place to 23rd. California falls two spots to 24th and Georgia does the same to 25th. There were changes in the USA Softball Poll in terms of teams coming and going. The entire poll can be seen below.
Tennessee has won 18 in a row including two close wins over Alabama this past weekend. How high have the Vols risen in the power rankings? (Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee Athletics)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Sixth Edition
The tenth week of the 2017 NCAA Softball season had a lot of upsets throughout the entire top 20. Teams that were on fire, such as Arizona, dropped series while others, like Texas A&M, had a small blip over the past week.
Of all the power rankings to this point, this was by far the most difficult due to the chaos that happened in the past week. Below we list the top 16 teams along with the next four teams.
Below is the sixth edition of our 2017 power rankings. Please note the records listed are through games as of April 18.
#1 – Florida Gators (40-3 Overall, 15-2 SEC)
In a normal week, the Gators (#1 last week) may have been relegated to second or third due to a loss to Kentucky, a team they are superior to. However, this was no ordinary week as the six teams directly below them from week five’s power ranking lost at least one game (or two in many cases). The Gators also own one of the best victories of the week: a 1-0 win over Florida State, a team that was #1 the in coaches polls last week.
The Gators loss, 5-1 at the Wildcats, was a strange one in which nothing really worked for them. The bats were not effective with only two hits, Delanie Gourley gave up all five runs on 8 hits, and the Gators committed two errors. Florida did not allow a run in the three wins and only gave up six hits combined including Kelly Barnhill’s no-hitter on Sunday.
Florida faces Central Florida on Wednesday and Ole Miss, a potentially tough opponent, at home over the weekend.
#2 – Texas A&M Aggies (37-4 Overall, 11-3 SEC)
Texas A&M actually moves up the rankings from 4th last week. The Aggies won two of three against Arkansas on the road. All three were close as the Aggies won 3-0 on Friday and 3-2 on Saturday. Sunday’s contest was a 4-3 loss in which the Aggies trailed 2-0 after six, took a 3-2 lead in the seventh, and then lost the game 4-3 in the bottom of the seventh.
Texas A&M welcomes Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday in a big midweek non-conference game. Georgia will be visiting over the weekend as well.
#3 – Arizona Wildcats (43-3 Overall, 13-2 Pac-12)
Arizona is down one spot after losing two of three to Utah on the road. The Wildcats won 5-1 on Thursday and then were defeated 6-3 on Friday after falling behind 6-0. They were unlucky in the series finale losing 3-2 on a walk off single in the seventh inning. They also took care of New Mexico State in a doubleheader on Tuesday by a combined score of 19-1.
It is difficult to discredit Arizona’s overall resume, but another tough weekend at home to Oregon might be a slight cause for concern.
#4 – Oklahoma Sooners (39-7 Overall, 9-0 Big 12)
Oklahoma (#8 last week) makes a move into the top five after sweeping Kansas, defeating North Texas 8-0 on Tuesday, and seeing other teams falter dramatically over the past week. The Sooners won the three games over the Jayhawks by a combined score of 26-10. The Sooners had struggles early in the season, but since two straight losses to Cal Poly on 3/17 and 3/18, they have won 15 in a row. The Big 12 lead is on the line this weekend against Baylor at home.
#5 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (38-3 Overall, 11-1 Big 10)
The Gophers, like Oklahoma, are up four spots (#9 last week) after sweeping their opponent. They took care of Northwestern over the weekend including Sara Groenewegen’s two hitter, 10 strikeout performance to close out the sweep. Since their 9-0 defeat at Washington on March 12, Minnesota has won 17 of 18.
Minnesota faces Wisconsin for a midweek doubleheader on Wednesday followed by a three game set at home against Iowa.
#6 – Florida State Seminoles (41-3-1 Overall, 18-0 ACC)
Florida State (#3 last week) takes a dive three spots after spending three games against SEC competition and Troy. It began with a tough 1-0 loss at rival Florida on a walk off, but the week continued with a 7-2 loss at South Carolina. There is no shame in the loss against Florida (especially it being so close), but the South Carolina contest was unexpected. FSU gave up 7 runs on 12 hits and neither Jessica Burroughs nor Meghan King had an answer as those two gave up all 7 runs. FSU won the first game on Tuesday against Troy 9-3 and then saw the pitching hold Troy to 2 hits in the second game in a 2-0 victory.
Florida State is still a really good team and a threat to make and win the WCWS. There were concerns about their series against Syracuse (giving up 18 runs in three games) and South Carolina took advantage of that and made the Noles pay. FSU is at Louisville over the weekend with a chance to put the ACC title away.
#7– Oregon Ducks (37-4 Overall, 10-4 Pac-12)
Oregon (#6 last week) falls a spot after losing two of three to Washington. It was a competitive series that saw both losses decided by two runs including the final game when the lost 5-3. In that game, they held a 3-1 lead going into the final inning.
The Ducks did not have the best pitching weekend allowing 7 hits, 5 hits, and 12 hits in each of the three games. As the case with a lot of teams throughout the season, they have hit a rough patch losing 4 of 6. They face Arizona on the road this weekend.
#8 – Utah Utes (28-8 Overall, 10-3 Pac-12)
Utah (#10 last week) took two of three from high flying Arizona during the week. The Utes have won 7 of 8 after losing three in a row to BYU and Oregon (twice) at the end of March. The first two games were similar as Arizona won relatively easy in game one and the same went for the Utes in game two. Game three was a close affair with the Utes coming away with the victory 3-2.
Utah is a dangerous team if their pitching is on as seen in series against UCLA and Arizona (5-1 over those two series). They will face Arizona State on the road over the weekend.
#9 – Auburn Tigers (36-7 Overall, 10-5 SEC)
Auburn (#7 last week) won midweek against Georgia State and then took two of three from Missouri over the weekend. Auburn won 6-3 over the Panthers and then dropped a 6-1 game to Missouri on Friday. Auburn actually trailed 3-0 in the second game, but four runs in the fourth and another in the sixth allowed them to win 5-4. The final game saw Auburn put up a five spot in the fifth inning and they went on to win 6-1.
Auburn will face Kennesaw State on Wednesday and then travel to face a dangerous South Carolina team over the weekend.
The Volunteers (#14 last week) took advantage of both the carnage in the top 25 and Alabama to move up four spots in a week. The Vols ended up playing just two games versus the Tide with Monday’s game cancelled due to weather. Both games were close and resulted in walk off wins for Tennessee. The first game saw the Vols trail 2-0 going into the sixth inning, but they tied the game and then won in seventh on a Chelsea Seggern’s RBI single. The second game was scoreless until the seventh when Brooke Vines hit a two run home run to end that contest.
Tennessee is one of the hottest teams in the nation. They have won 18 straight games including 8 versus ranked teams and another two against teams that received votes in the Coaches Poll or were ranked in the USA Softball Poll. The Vols are 8th in the NCAA for batting average, 13th in ERA, 14th in fielding percentage, and 5th in scoring. They will travel to face LSU over the weekend.
#11 – Washington Huskies (31-10 Overall, 8-7 Pac-12)
The Huskies are 11th (#15 last week) after they defeated Oregon two games to one just over this past weekend. Washington was able to get to the Oregon pitchers in both wins, which is not an easy task, especially at Eugene.
Washington is a very good team and perhaps the Pac-12 is really good to the point that the teams beating each other is masking how good the conference is a whole. The Huskies have lost 7 of 12 in conference since their opening sweep of Arizona State. Is Washington an up and down team or is the Pac-12 that good? We actually get a preview of that with Washington facing UAB on Thursday and Alabama on Friday and Saturday on the road.
#12 – UCLA Bruins (30-12 Overall, 5-7 Pac-12)
There are not many teams more frustrating to watch than UCLA (#5 last week). They are swept by Utah to start Pac-12 play, but then win 4 of 6 against Washington and Oregon. How do they follow up that nice stretch? Losing 2 of 3 to Oregon State. After a good pitching weekend against the Ducks, they fall apart in Corvallis.
Oregon State two hit the Bruins in the opener, winning 8-0. UCLA came back to win an offensive battle in game two 7-5. The Bruins had 7 runs on 11 hits compared to 5 runs on 10 hits for OSU. The final game was an 8-5 loss for UCLA where the Bruins held a slim 5-4 advantage going to the bottom of the seventh. Natalie Hampton, who tore up the Bruins in the two losses, hit the walk off three run shot.
The Bruins defeated Cal State Fullerton 7-3 on Tuesday and will be facing California at home over the weekend. It will be interesting to see how they fare in this series.
#13 – Baylor Bears (35-7 Overall, 8-1 Big 12)
Baylor (#11 last week) played just one game over the past week, a 1-0 loss to Texas State on the road. The Bears could not get anything going against Randi Rupp as Kelsee Selman’s strong pitching performance did not result in a favorable result. The Bears were scheduled to face Houston on Tuesday in a doubleheader, but those were cancelled due to weather. Baylor has a massive series at Oklahoma this weekend and will play at Lamar on Tuesday.
#14– Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (32-6 Overall, 14-1 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#13 last week) had a three game road trip at conference opponent Texas State. The first two games were excellent as they outscored the Bobcats 20-5. DJ Sanders, the NCAA home run leader at 23, had three in the first two games including two grand slams in the second contest. The final game was the blueprint to beating the Ragin’ Cajuns: hold their hitting in check and do not give up home runs. It sounds pretty easy to do, but Louisiana is the best in the NCAA in home runs and runs scored as well as second in slugging percentage.
Louisiana recorded just four hits in the 2-1 loss and DJ Sanders went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts. The Ragin’ Cajuns are still in first in the Sun Belt by 2.5 games and the team in second, Georgia State, is coming to Lamson Park for three games.
Alabama (#12 last week) drops three spots after going 0-2 against Tennessee. As noted previously, both games were close contests that saw the Tide on the wrong end. Over the two games, Alabama recorded seven hits as both Alexis Osorio (18-5) and Sydney Littlejohn (14-3) took the losses.
The Tide have hit a bit of a swoon against SEC foes the last two weeks. They are 3-5 in their last eight SEC games and the bats have a habit of going silent for a game or two. They step out of SEC competition this week to face Southern Miss on Wednesday. They have a potential NCAA Tournament matchup against Washington at home on Friday and Saturday and then face Samford on Tuesday.
#16 – James Madison Dukes (37-6 Overall, 10-2 Colonial)
James Madison (#18 last week) had a 3-0 week in which they were never close to throwing in a clunker. Over their three game series at Delaware, the Dukes won by a combined score of 38-4. Megan Good won all three games to improve to 27-1 as Niki Prince went 7 for 8 with 10 RBIs and six runs scored. James Madison has a three game set at home against North Carolina-Wilmington this weekend.
Next Four
#17 – Ole Miss Rebels (31-13 Overall, 6-9 SEC)
Ole Miss (listed under “knocking on the door” last week) had an emphatic 4-0 week. They swept LSU at home thanks to strong pitching from Kaitlin Lee and Morgan Bruce. The Rebels were lucky to get the sweep as they hit a walk off in the bottom of the seventh in the final game that gave them their first sweep of LSU in softball. The Rebels defeated UT-Martin 7-2 on Tuesday. Ole Miss has the difficult task of going on the road for three games to face Florida.
#18 – LSU Tigers (33-12 Overall, 8-7 SEC)
LSU (#16 last week) had a rough week going 1-3 including the aforementioned sweep by Ole Miss. To be fair, all three losses to the Rebels were decided by one run so it is not as if they were completely dominated. The first two games saw Ole Miss win 1-0 each time as LSU had 8 hits over those two. The Tigers had a 2-0 lead in the final game going into the seventh, but a walk off home run by Alyssa Gonzalez gave the Rebels the sweep.
LSU rebounded on Tuesday to defeat Northwestern State 5-2. The Tigers have Tennessee coming to Baton Rouge this weekend for a three game series followed by a Tuesday game versus South Alabama.
#19 – Michigan Wolverines (32-9-1 Overall, 12-2 Big 10)
Michigan (#17 last week) played five games in the last week going 4-1. They bookended the week with wins over Michigan State, the first away and the second at home. In between those two games with three games at Maryland. It was those three games that were not easy victories for Michigan against a team that is now 2-10 in the Big 10 and 9-30-1 overall.
Game one was a 5-1 victory, but the Wolverines lost the second game 2-1 as their seventh inning rally fell short. The third game required another rally, which Michigan completed for the 4-3 win. Maryland has a habit of playing really good teams close and beating them. They have defeated Florida 4-2, Missouri 9-8, and now Michigan 2-1. The Wolverines have a three game set at Wisconsin this weekend.
#20 – Jacksonville State Gamecocks (32-9 Overall, 11-1 OVC)
Jacksonville State (#20 last week) was able to maintain their standing in the power rankings. They played Austin Peay twice and defeated them 7-0 and 4-3. The latter required them to stave off a seventh inning rally from APU as well as three of their own errors. This weekend sees a chance to reshape the Ohio Valley Conference standings as they face the second and third place teams (SIU-Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois) at home in doubleheaders.
Knocking on the Door
BYU fell out of the top 20 after being ranked 19th last week. The teams below have some work to do to be one of the top twenty, but could make a jump over the new week or two (in alphabetical order):
Arkansas, Arizona State, BYU, California, Cal Poly, Florida International, Georgia, Kentucky, Marshall, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, SIU Edwardsville, and Texas State.
UCLA’s series victory over Oregon saw them make a move up the ranking into the top 5. (Photo Courtesy of Pac-12 Network)
2017 College Softball Power Rankings: Fifth Edition
The fifth edition of our power rankings for the 2017 season sees movement all over the board. The headliner was previously undefeated Oregon dropping not just their first game of the season, but also their second. Below we list the top 16 teams along with the next four teams.
We will start by providing last week’s rankings below. Please note the table below is based on records as of April 4.
Rank
Team
Conf.
Overall
Record
Conf.
Record
Last
Week's Ranking
1
Florida
SEC
33-2
10-1
1
2
Florida State
ACC
35-1-1
15-0
2
3
Arizona
Pac-12
37-1
9-0
3
4
Oregon
Pac-12
35-0
8-0
4
5
Auburn
SEC
31-5
6-3
5
6
Texas A&M
SEC
31-3
9-2
6
7
Oklahoma
Big 12
31-7
3-0
9
8
Minnesota
Big 10
32-3
5-1
7
9
Utah
Pac-12
24-7
6-2
11
10
UCLA
Pac-12
26-9
2-4
12
11
Baylor
Big 12
32-6
5-1
13
12
Alabama
SEC
32-6
8-4
8
13
Washington
Pac-12
27-8
4-5
10
14
Louisiana
Sun Belt
26-5
9-0
15
15
LSU
SEC
31-7
7-2
18
16
Tennessee
SEC
32-5
6-3
17
17
Michigan
Big 10
26-7-1
6-0
19
18
James Madison
Colonial
31-6
4-2
14
19
Missouri
SEC
20-14
3-5
Not
Ranked
20
BYU
West Coast
23-10
0-0
Not
Ranked
Below are the previous editions of our Power Rankings.
Below is the fifth edition of our 2017 power rankings. Please note the records listed are through games as of April 11.
#1 – Florida Gators (37-2 Overall, 13-1 SEC)
Florida (#1 last week) went 4-0 with a win over North Florida and sweep of rival Georgia. The Gators allowed just two runs over the four games as all three Gator pitchers, Aleshia Ocasio, Delanie Gourley, and Kelly Barnhill, won during the week. Barnhill threw two complete game shutouts with 21 strikeouts against Georgia. All three pitchers boast ERAs under 0.85 and rank in the top 10 in the NCAA. The Gators face Florida State at home on Wednesday and then travel to play Kentucky over the weekend.
#2 – Arizona Wildcats (40-1 Overall, 12-0 Pac-12)
Arizona (#3 last week) had an easy week of working sweeping Stanford. All three games were over by the fifth inning as the Wildcats outscored the Cardinal 41-2 over the series. Arizona hit 7 home runs the first game, 4 the second game, and 4 in the third game. Both Katiyana Mauga and Mo Mercado homered in each game. Arizona will be playing at Utah over the weekend in a three game series followed by a Tuesday doubleheader at New Mexico State.
#3 – Florida State Seminoles (38-1-1 Overall, 18-0 ACC)
The Seminoles (#2 last week) went on the road and swept Syracuse, but not in their usual dominant pitching fashion. They gave up 18 runs to Syracuse after giving up a total of 17 runs in the previous 19 games coming into the series. The ‘Noles won 18-9, 13-4, and 6-5 with the last requiring a late rally to get the victory.
Florida State has a massive midweek game at Florida before playing two games at South Carolina. The week ends with FSU playing a doubleheader at Troy on Tuesday.
#4 – Texas A&M Aggies (35-3 Overall, 9-2 SEC)
Texas A&M (#6 last week) had a foray outside the SEC and won all four games comfortably. Midweek, they defeated McNeese State 10-3 and then swept former Big 12 foe Oklahoma State by at least seven runs in each game. None of the Aggie pitchers allowed more than five hits and the final game was a one-hitter (5 walks) by still undefeated Lexi Smith (10-0). Texas A&M will face a pesky Arkansas squad on the road over the weekend.
#5 – UCLA Bruins (28-10 Overall, 4-5 Pac-12)
For the second week in a row, UCLA (#10 last week) had an excellent series victory over a very good Pac-12 squad. This series victory was a bit bigger and more impressive given their bats were not effective. UCLA defeated Oregon 2-0 and 1-0 (9 innings) in the first two games. They allowed five hits apiece in those games, but the Ducks could not breakthrough. Rachel Garcia won both decisions with the latter in a relief appearance. Oregon crushed the Bruins 11-4 in the final game, but the impression was already made by UCLA.
Imagine this UCLA team with stellar hitting AND pitching. The issue has been getting those in sync at the same time, but the Bruins loom a threat over the next two months if they those together. They play at Oregon State over the weekend and host Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday.
#6 – Oregon Ducks (36-2 Overall, 9-2 Pac-12)
Oregon (#4 last week) could not find timely hitting in the first two games against UCLA (see above) as they lost the series two games to one. The bats awakened in the third game 11-4 crushing of the Bruins, but the damage was done. This series showed how best to beat Oregon: dominant pitching and making the most of opportunities. That is a lot easier said than done, but there are teams across the country that pose those threats.
Oregon has another tough series on the horizon as they welcome Washington to Eugene over the weekend.
#7 – Auburn Tigers (33-6 Overall, 8-4 SEC)
Auburn (#5 last week) won two of three against Ole Miss over the weekend with both victories coming by the same score of 3-1. Kaylee Carlson recorded both wins to improve to 20-1 as she allowed 10 hits against 13 strikeouts and no walks. The loss was a 10-4 clunker despite 13 hits from the Tigers. Auburn will face Georgia State on Wednesday followed by a weekend home series against Missouri.
#8 – Oklahoma Sooners (35-7 Overall, 6-0 Big 12)
Oklahoma (#7 last week) went 4-0 after defeating Arkansas and Texas. The first three games of the week were all within two runs as Mariah Lopez won two games while Paige Parker and Paige Lowary won the other two contests. Oklahoma is rolling at 12 wins a row and will be at Kansas over the weekend and away to North Texas on Tuesday.
#9 – Minnesota Golden Gophers (35-3 Overall, 8-1 Big 10)
Minnesota (#8 last week) went 3-0 after a sweep of Indiana at home. Sara Groenewegen won the first two games while Amber Fiser won the final game in a two-hit performance. Sydney Dwyer recorded 7 RBIs while Danielle Parlich and Kendyl Lindaman both had 3 RBIs. Minnesota finishes their 8 game home stand to Northwestern over the weekend.
#10 – Utah Utes (26-7 Overall, 8-2 Pac-12)
Utah played only two games, but won both versus California. The third game on Sunday was cancelled after an overnight snow storm. The Utes won 7-6 on Friday after blowing a 6-1 lead and then reclaiming it to win on Heather Bowen’s double in the sixth inning. The second game saw Utah take another big lead, but they never were close to surrendering it. Kelly Martinez hit a walk off grand slam to end the game in five innings and give her 5 RBIs on the day. Utah has a tough home series against Arizona over the weekend.
#11 – Baylor Bears (35-6 Overall, 8-1 Big 12)
Baylor (#11 last week) swept Iowa State at home. Sydney Christensen recorded 4 RBIs in the series as Jessie Scroggins, Kyla Walker, and Ari Hawkins all recorded an RBI in two of the three games. Baylor plays a tricky Texas State team on Wednesday and then come back home to play Houston on Tuesday.
Alabama (#12 last week) enjoyed a nice series victory over rival LSU as well as a 5-0 midweek win over Lipscomb. Alexis Osorio pitched a complete game two hitter on Friday giving up six walks and striking out 11. She was not as dominant on Sunday giving up two runs on four walks and five hits, but she got the win. The loss was a 1-0 duel where the Tide only managed three hits. The Tide ended the week with an 8-0 win over UAB with Madi Moore throwing a three hitter. Alabama will face a surging Tennessee team on the road over the weekend.
#13– Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (30-5 Overall, 12-0 Sun Belt)
Louisiana-Lafayette (#14 last week) had a 4-0 week and it was done in their typical way of hitting home runs. They swept Troy 25-1 over the three games and then plastered Southeastern Louisiana 13-5 on Tuesday. The NCAA’s best home run and highest scoring team hit 8 home runs over the four games. DJ Sanders hit a home run in the last two games against Troy and against SE Louisiana with two grand slams. The Ragin’ Cajuns play at Texas State over the weekend.
Tennessee (#16 last week) continues to play well as they swept Kentucky on the road over the weekend and Tennessee State in a doubleheader on Tuesday. They defeated Kentucky 23-6 over the three games and 19-1 in the doubleheader. Tennessee has won 16 in a row and welcome Alabama to Knoxville over the weekend in a big SEC matchup.
#15 – Washington Huskies (29-9 Overall, 6-6 Pac-12)
The Huskies (#13 last week) played in three tightly contested games and won two of them over Oregon State. Washington won the first game 4-3 as they held off OSU in the bottom of the seventh. Washington was not as lucky in game two as they lost 2-1 and they could not put up more than a solo shot in the fifth inning. The final game was a thrilling 10-8 victory led by home runs from Casey Stagel and Morganne Flores as well as two doubles by Ali Aguilar.
The Huskies are a talented team, but are in a rut having lost 6 of the last 9. It only gets tougher as they go on the road to face Oregon over the weekend.
#16 – LSU Tigers (32-9 Overall, 8-4 SEC)
LSU (#15 last week) played a three game set at Alabama and lost two of three. The Tigers played close in all three games losing 3-0 and 4-2 while winning the middle game 1-0. LSU had 12 hits total over the series as they could not overcome the pitching of Alexis Osorio. LSU has another road trip to Ole Miss over the weekend and face Northwestern State on Tuesday.
Next Four
#17 – Michigan Wolverines (28-8-1 Overall, 8-1 Big 10)
Michigan (#17 last week) saw their win streak and shutout streak end against Ohio State, but they took 2 of 3 from their rival. Megan Betsa was too much for the Buckeyes over the two wins throwing 10 innings while allowing two runs on four hits and 21 strikeouts. The Wolverines had no answer for Shelby McCombs in the final game as she held them to just 3 hits. Michigan has five conference games over the next week with one on Wednesday day at Michigan State, three games at Maryland over the weekend, and another game against Michigan State on Tuesday at home.
#18 – James Madison Dukes (34-6 Overall, 7-2 Colonial)
James Madison (#18 last week) swept Towson over the weekend and the final scores would indicate it was rather easy. The first two were easy wins by scores of 15-3 and 7-0. The last was 15-5, but the game was tied at 2 after seven innings. The Dukes scored 13 runs in the eighth inning to provide the impressive final score. As long as the Dukes avoid the hiccups they have seen the past two weeks, they will move back up the rankings. JMU plays at Delaware over the weekend and then play a Tuesday doubleheader at home against Longwood.
#19 – BYU Cougars (28-10 Overall, 3-0 West Coast)
BYU (#20 last week) went 5-0 after a win over Mountain West leading Utah State, a sweep of Loyola Marymount, and a win over Southern Utah.The Cougars saw all 8 runs against Utah State come from the bats of Lauren Bell (2 RBIs), Brielle Breland (2 RBIs), and Libby Sugg (4 RBIs). BYU won the three games over Loyola Marymount by a combined score of 15-1. Lexi Tarrow, Caitlyn Larsen Alldredge, and Ashley Thompson combined to record 10 of the 13 RBIs against Southern Utah
McKenna Bull won the first and last game with complete game shutouts in both while Arissa Paulson won the middle contest giving up three hits and four walks with 8 strikeouts. BYU faces Pacific for a three game stretch at home over the weekend.
#20 – Jacksonville State Gamecocks (30-9 Overall, 9-1 Ohio Valley)
Jacksonville State makes a surprise appearance at #20 mainly due to the lackluster weekend of all the teams in the section below. JSU has won 11 in a row and sit atop the Ohio Valley Conference. Their have losses to South Alabama, Southern Miss (3), Ohio, Loyola-Chicago, Kennesaw State, and UT-Martin. They also lost to Tennessee by a score of 3-2.
Jacksonville State has wins over Nicholls State, Ohio, Kennesaw State, and their biggest: Ole Miss on the road. JSU has a strong team ranking the top 30 for batting average (28th), ERA (20th), and fielding percentage (17th). Their ability to test top opponents (Tennessee and Ole Miss) makes them a dangerous team down the road. They play a doubleheader on Friday at home versus Austin Peay in their only two games.
Knocking on the Door
Missouri fell out of the top 20 and into the list below. These teams have some work to do to be one of the top twenty, but could make a jump over the new few weeks (in alphabetical order):
Arkansas, Arizona State, California, Cal Poly, Florida International, Georgia, Kentucky, Marshall, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio State, Ole Miss, SIU Edwardsville, and Texas State.
The Arizona Wildcats moved closer to becoming number one in both college softball polls after week nine’s action. The Wildcats claimed the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll and are ranked second in the Coaches Poll.
In the Coaches Poll, Florida State still remains at number one with 21 of the 32 first place votes. Arizona is second with 7 first place votes after being fourth last week with three first place votes. Florida stays in third with 3 first place votes and Oregon is fourth after their first two losses of the season with one first place vote. Texas A&M rounds out the top five.
Minnesota is sixth, up one spot, while Auburn is down two spots to seventh. UCLA is up one spot to eighth despite their series victory over Oregon. Alabama is nine and Oklahoma is tenth.
LSU fell three spots to 11th after losing two of three against Alabama. Washington sits 12th, down two spots, and Baylor remains at 13th. Utah is 14th and James Madison is 15th with those two swapping spots from last week.
Tennessee, Louisiana-Lafayette, and Michigan are 16th, 17th, and 18th, respectively. Georgia is unchanged in 19th while BYU moves up two spots to 20th. Kentucky is 21st, Ole Miss is 22nd, and Arizona State is 23rd. Arkansas and Ohio State are 24th and 25th after those two teams were tied for the final spot last week. Missouri dropped out of the rankings after losing two of three to Arkansas.
The entire Coaches Poll can be seen below.
Rank
School (1st place votes)
Points
Record
Last Week's
Rank
1
Florida State (21)
785
38-1-1
1
2
Arizona (7)
755
40-1
4
3
Florida (3)
749
36-2
3
4
Oregon (1)
704
36-2
2
5
Texas A&M
662
35-3
6
6
Minnesota
618
35-3
7
7
Auburn
612
33-6
5
8
UCLA
582
28-10
9
9
Alabama
508
35-7
12
10
Oklahoma
496
35-7
11
11
LSU
485
32-9
8
12
Washington
456
29-9
10
13
Baylor
439
35-6
13
14
Utah
371
26-7
15
15
James Madison
348
34-6
14
16
Tennessee
336
35-5
17
17
Louisiana
302
29-5
16
18
Michigan
254
28-8-1
18
19
Georgia
201
27-12
19
20
BYU
165
27-10
22
21
Kentucky
145
24-11
20
22
Ole Miss
134
26-13
21
23
Arizona State
72
23-12
23
24
Arkansas
59
24-14
T-25
25
Ohio State
47
23-9
T-25
Arizona made their biggest move to the top of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll with 10 of the 20 first place votes. The Wildcats moved up two spots as Florida State remained in the same spot at second with 9 first place votes. Florida is third with 1 first place vote, up one spot, and Oregon went from first to fourth. Texas A&M stays in fifth.
Minnesota and Auburn are sixth and seventh with those two teams swapping positions from last week. Oklahoma is eighth, UCLA is ninth (up three spots), and Alabama rounds out the top ten.
LSU is down three spots to 11th, Baylor is up two spots to 12th, Washington is down three spots to 13th, Tennessee is up three spots to 14th, and James Madison is down two spots to 15th. Utah sits at 16th and Michigan is 17th. Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia swap positions at 18th and 19th while BYU moves up three spots to 20th.
Ohio State remains at 21st, Kentucky is 22nd, California is 23rd, Arizona State stays at 24th, and Ole Miss rejoins the poll at 25th. Missouri fell out of the poll. The entire ESPN.com/USA Softball poll can be seen below.
