Alabama Softball Remains No. 1
3/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 6, 2012
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - The Alabama softball team remained the number one ranked team in the country in the USA Today/NFCA top 25 poll, the organization announced Tuesday. The Crimson Tide also remains in the number two spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
An undefeated week allowed Alabama to remain the top team in the nation for the second straight week.
The undefeated Crimson Tide (17-0) received 24 of 30 first place votes in the latest poll, while No. 2 Cal (16-0) received the remaining six top choices. The rest of the top five also remained unchanged as Florida (19-1), Washington (19-1) and Arizona State (20-2) finished in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
After dipping below .500 this week, both Oklahoma State (8-9) and Nebraska (10-11) fell out of the weekly rankings for the first time this season. Moving into the poll in their stead were two teams making their 2012 debuts. North Carolina (14-5) entered the rankings this week at No. 24, while DePaul (11-4) also joined the fray at No. 25.
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 30 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. With a month of play under their belts, the California Golden Bears (16-0) completed a perfect weekend to earn a fourth-straight No. 1 ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. Undefeated Alabama (17-0) remained close behind at No. 2, while Washington (19-1) maintained their rank at No. 3.
Following a perfect 4-0 weekend at the DeMarini Invitational in Fullerton, Calif., the Golden Bears received 16 of the 20 first place votes to secure their spot at the top of the poll. Cal defeated Florida International 8-1, Southern Mississippi 8-0 and East Carolina 11-3, both in five innings, and closed out the weekend with a 5-1 win over Northwestern. Despite a stellar performance at the Easton Alabama invite in Tuscaloosa, Ala., the Crimson Tide was unable to best Cal, earning four No. 1 votes which put them at No. 2 for a fourth week. The Alabama pitching staff only allowed their opponents three runs, earning coach Patrick Murphy his 700th victory with the program and tying the third best start in school history.
Following a flawless performance at the Louisville Slugger Classic in Stockton, Calif., Washington (19-1) is No. 3 for the second consecutive week. The Huskies blanked Sacramento State 9-0 and Delaware 12-0 and 5-0 before topping Pacific University 5-4 and 6-4. The Florida Gators (19-1) secured the No. 4 slot again this week after a dominating performance at home in the Lipton Invitational, which saw the Gator's nab four run-rule victories against Eastern Michigan 16-0, Gardner-Webb 9-0 and 14-0 and Tennessee State 8-0 before handing Campbell a 4-0 loss. Florida also defeated Eastern Michigan 2-1 in a standalone game earlier in the week.
Arizona State (20-2) holds the No. 5 spot after hosting the Wilson/DeMarini Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. The Sun Devils collected six wins this past week, including a 9-0 five-inning outing against Wichita State in which ASU pitcher Hilary Bach threw her first career perfect game, the fourth in ASU history. Rounding out the Top 10 are Texas (17-1), Georgia (18-2), Oklahoma (14-3), Tennessee (14-3) and Stanford (18-3). Despite an undefeated weekend, the Tennessee Lady Vols fell one spot to No. 9, switching places with now-No. 8 Oklahoma.
Rising in the polls this week are No. 11 Louisiana-Lafayette (17-0), No. 12 Missouri (10-3), No. 13 Arizona (16-4) and No. 14 Michigan (15-5). All four schools moved up one spot in the Top 25 while Baylor (14-5) dropped to No. 16 after suffering three losses to then-No. 16 UCLA and unranked Illinois State and Syracuse. The Bears played for the first time this year without All-American pitcher Whitney Canion, who tore her ACL during the Feb. 26 game against North Texas. Other school's created some shakeups in the Top 25 poll as both Auburn (16-3) and Hawaii (17-0) are now tied at No. 19. Florida State (17-3) fell two spots this week to No. 22 after suffering a 3-2 loss to Radford and two losses from Hawaii at the Hawaii Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
New to the poll this week is No.T23 Syracuse (9-6), a team which defeated three Top 25 teams last weekend at the Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. Despite a 5-0 loss to then-No. 17 Auburn, the Orange handed out losses to their tied counterparts North Carolina (14-5), No. 14 Michigan and No. 16 Baylor. Dropping out of the polls this week is Georgia Tech (12-9).
This week, the Southeastern Conference (SEC) will witness competitive matches as Florida, who was selected during the pre-season to win the SEC conference title this year, squares off against conference rivals Mississippi State and Tennessee. Baylor and Arizona will also face off this week in a three-game set in Waco, Texas.
