Oklahoma City, OK - -Â Top-ranked Florida holds onto No. 1 in Week 4 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
Top-ranked Florida holds onto No. 1 in Week 4 of the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
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OKLAHOMA CITY — For the second-straight week, Florida (20-1) has held on to their top-ranked standing in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll following a series sweep, USA Softball announced today. First-place votes were distributed across five teams, including the Gators who garnered 11 first-place votes, No. 2 Florida State (17-1-1) earning four, and No. 3 Oregon (19-0) receiving three. The two remaining first-place votes were divided and awarded to No. 5 Texas A&M (19-1) and No. 7 Minnesota (18-0).
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Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
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Finishing the Judi Garman Classic with a perfect 5-0 record, top-ranked Florida improves to 20-1 on the season. After claiming three straight shutout victories over Iowa, Long Beach State, and then-No. 18 California (15-3), the Gators moved on to pick up two additional wins over then-No. 8 UCLA (16-5) and Northwestern. Florida will return to action this weekend when they face Missouri for a three-game home series.
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Holding onto No. 2 is Florida State who added three to their win column after a conference series sweep of Georgia Tech on their home field in Tallahassee, Fla. Opening the weekend with a 4-0 shutout Friday, the Seminoles continued their momentum by posting another two victories against the Yellow Jackets to close out the weekend. Florida State will continue their homestand Wednesday by playing a doubleheader against North Florida, before traveling to Blacksburg, Va. to face Virginia Tech this weekend.
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Oregon moved up one to claim the No. 3 spot in this week’s rankings after continuing their undefeated season at the Missouri Invitational in Columbia, Mo. Outscoring their opponents 47-7,  the Ducks secured their longest winning streak in program history to open up the 2017 season with five straight victories over Maryland, then-No. 25 Missouri, Butler and Stephen F. Austin. Oregon will play their first home games of the season at Jane Sanders Stadium when they welcome Hofstra, Idaho State, and Pacific for their Oregon Invitational this weekend.
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No. 4 Auburn (19-2) slips one spot in the rankings despite also having a perfect 5-0 week. Following a single game against Liberty in which they claimed a six-inning, 9-1 victory, the Tigers  continued play at home as hosts of the Wilson/DeMarini Classic only to pick up additional wins over Liberty and Texas State, and two over the College of Charleston. Auburn looks ahead to play in a mid-week game versus Alabama State before hosting No. 12 LSU (18-4) for a three-game series.
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Holding onto their No. 5 ranking is Texas A&M Â who despite suffering their first loss of the season to Houston in a 0-1 heartbreaker, bounced back to go 4-0 as hosts of their Texas A&M Invite in College Station, Texas. Not letting the mid-week loss get to their heads, the Aggies picked up two wins apiece in their games against UTSA and Georgetown, where they only allowed a single run in their victory over Georgetown and outscored their opponents 35-1 to finish out the weekend. The Aggies return to action with a lone game against Sam Houston State before hosting Mississippi State at the Aggie Softball Complex this weekend.
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Rounding out the Top 10: Arizona (18-1) holds onto their No. 6 ranking following a three-straight victories over Texas at home; No. 7 Minnesota (18-0) moves up four spots after continuing their undefeated season and finishing 4-0 at the LSU Invitational; No. 8 Washington (15-3) drops a spot following a 4-1 showing at the Judi Garman Classic; No. 9 Alabama (19-2) went 6-0 for the week after playing hosts to the Easton Crimson Classic; No. 10 Oklahoma (15-4) finished their week undefeated following a mid-week win over Wichita State before playing perfect at their Courtyard Marriot Tournament at home.
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Joining the Top 25 Poll this week at No. 24 Arkansas (17-1) who went 6-0 for the week and improved to 17-1 on the season, while No. 25 Wisconsin (15-2) went 3-0 against Louisiana-Monroe, Sam Houston, and Princeton, after their last two games of the Houston Hilton Plaza Classic were cancelled.
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The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 10 USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.
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About USA Softball
USA Softball is a 501(c)(3) not-for profit organization headquartered in Oklahoma City, Okla., and is designated as the National Governing Body (NGB) of Softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. One of the nation’s largest sports organizations, USA Softball sanctions competition in every state through a network of 70 local associations and has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 150,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2 million.  USA Softball is dedicated to providing people of all ages the opportunity to play the game they love at a variety of levels by offering recreational, league, tournament and competitive play for fast pitch, slow pitch and modified pitch. USA Softball annually conducts thousands of tournaments throughout the country including over 100 National Championships.  The USA Softball umpire program is among the nation’s largest and are widely known as the best trained umpires in the game.
As the NGB for the sport of softball, USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting the six USA Softball National Teams that compete in events such as the Olympics, Pan American Games, World Championships and other international and domestic events. For more information on USA Softball, including its founding and history as the Amateur Softball Association of America (ASA), please visit, www.USASoftball.com.
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About the NCAA Women’s College World SeriesÂ
ASA Hall of Fame Stadium – OGE Energy Field serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 27th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and compete for a national championship. Last year, over 78,000 fans attended the WCWS. Be there to Share The Experience with softball fans from across the country June 1-7  in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2017 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and secure your championship experience!
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