Alabama in the Rankings: Week 6
3/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 19, 2013
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. The Alabama softball team (26-3, 4-2 SEC) remained the same in the polls this week. The Crimson Tide checked in at No. 4 in the USA Today/NFCA Poll and sits at No. 6 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25, both organizations announced on Tuesday.
Make it back-to-back weeks for Oklahoma (27-1) as the nation's unanimous No. 1-ranked team as the Sooners received all 31 possible first-place votes in the March 19 release of the USA Today/NFCA Division I softball poll.
The Crimson & Cream continued their winning ways this past week at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif., registering a 5-0 mark with five-consecutive shutout victories over Pacific (9-0, 5 inn.), N.C. State (3-0), then-No. 14 Arizona (4-0), Penn State (8-0, 5 inn.) and Cal State Fullerton (9-0, 5 inn.). Oklahoma has now equaled a school record with seven straight blankings, dating back to March 8, and hasn't allowed a run over its last 40 innings of work from the circle.
No. 2 Arizona State (29-2), No. 3 Florida (27-3) and No. 4 Alabama (26-3) all held steady in the same positions from last week's listing, while No. 5 Texas A&M (26-2) jumped two spots following a series sweep of Arkansas (2-1, 7-3, 9-1 in 5 inn.).
The second-rated Sun Devils were 4-1 at the Judi Garman Classic, topping Cal State Fullerton (9-0), then-No. 9 Texas (3-0), Virginia Tech (11-0) and Pacific (5-4, 8 inn.), while suffering a 5-4 defeat to then-No. 15 Michigan.
The third-ranked Gators utilized late dramatics to take a high-profile Southeastern Conference home set from then-No. 6 Tennessee, two games to one. UF secured the opener (6-5, 8 inn.) on a bases-loaded walk and lost on Saturday to the Lady Vols (1-3, 8 inn.) before rebounding during the series finale to register a 5-3 (8 inn.) triumph via a walk-off, two-run HR. Meanwhile, the fourth-ranked Crimson Tide swept a three-contest set at South Carolina, winning a trio of tight match-ups over the Gamecocks (6-4, 5-3, 7-6).
No. 6 California (23-3) dropped a single position after going 3-1 at the Chevron Spring Fling in Honolulu, Hawai'i. The Golden Bears recorded shutout victories over then-No. 19 Baylor (3-0) and then-No. 20 Hawai'i (1-0) but also split a pair of match-ups against Syracuse (2-1, 1-8). Missouri (15-2) rose a single spot to seventh following a perfect 5-0 effort in sweeping a doubleheader from Evansville (3-1, 4-3) and a three-contest series at Ole Miss (11-0 in 5 inn., 6-1, 12-0 in 5 inn.). Tennessee (23-6), Texas (27-4) and Oregon (23-4) rounded out the new national top 10.
New to this week's poll were 22nd-ranked Virginia Tech (18-4) and 25th-ranked Nebraska (18-5), taking positions vacated by former No. 22 Louisiana-Lafayette (19-11) and No. 24 North Carolina (19-10). The Hokies managed high-profile triumphs over then-No. 14 Arizona (9-2) and then-No. 15 Michigan (3-2) as part of its 3-2 week at the Judi Garman Classic, while the Huskers swept a pair of meetings from New Mexico State (4-1 in 10 inn., 8-0 in 5 inn.)
Six weeks of NCAA Division I softball have yet to produce a shake up at the top of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll. The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today that Oklahoma (27-1), with 20 first place votes, is the first unanimous No. 1 of the 2013 season.
The Sooners, who have held the top spot in the poll since week one, traveled to Fullerton, Calif. this week to compete in the Judi Garman Classic where they went 5-0 with five shutouts, including three run-rule victories. Oklahoma defeated Pacific 9-0 (5) and North Carolina St. 3-0 on Friday and then-No. 19 Arizona 4-0 on Saturday. Oklahoma wrapped up their perfect weekend by topping Penn St. 8-0 (5) and Cal State Fullerton 9-0 (5) on Sunday. This weekend the Sooners return to Norman for a three-game series with No. 11 Louisville (23-3).
Holding on at No. 2 for the second consecutive week is Arizona State (29-2). The Sun Devils also competed in the Judi Garman Classic this weekend and went 4-1 with wins over Cal State Fullerton 9-0, then-No. 10 Texas 3-0, then-No. T21 Virginia Tech 11-0 and Pacific 5-4. The Pac-12 squad suffered just their second loss of the season to then-No. 14 Michigan 4-5 on Saturday.
At No. 3, the Florida Gators (27-3, 4-2 SEC) hosted their first SEC series of the year over the weekend when they welcomed then-No. 7 Tennessee to Gainesville. The top-ten matchup lived up to the hype as all three games between the conference foes went extra innings. The Gators took game one on Friday 6-5 (8) but Tennessee came back with a 3-1 (8) victory on Saturday. In the final game of the series, Florida, down three runs in the sixth, rallied to tie the game and send it to extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth, Florida pitcher Lauren Haeger hit a two-run, walk-off homer for the 5-3 win.
No. 4 Texas A&M (26-2, 4-1 SEC) and No. 5 California (23-3) flip-flop in this week's rankings. The Aggies went 3-0 over the weekend defeating Arkansas 2-1, 7-3 and 9-1 (5). The Golden Bears started their week strong by shutting out then-No. 15 Baylor 3-0 on Wednesday, then-No. 23 Hawaii 1-0 on Thursday and defeating Syracuse 2-1 on Friday but an 8-1 loss in Saturday's rematch with the Orange kept the reigning Pac-12 Champs from a perfect week.
Rounding out the Top 10: No. 6 Alabama (26-3, 4-2 SEC) swept South Carolina this week; No. 7 Missouri (15-2, 4-1 SEC) was 5-0 on the week with a three-game sweep of Ole Miss; No. 8 Tennessee (23-6, 3-3 SEC) dropped one spot after suffering two losses to No. 3 Florida; No. 9 Texas (27-4) went 4-1 to move up one spot in this week's poll; and No. 10 Oregon (23-4) went 2-0 against New Mexico.
New to the poll, No. 24 Georgia (21-7, 3-0 SEC) returns to the Top 25 after a two-week hiatus and No. 25 South Alabama (23-5, 2-1 Sun Belt) enters the Top 25 for the first time this season. Following four losses on the week, North Carolina (19-10, 3-0 ACC) dropped out of this week's poll along with Louisiana-Lafayette (19-11, 2-4 Sun Belt) who fell twice to now-No. 25 South Alabama this week.
