Despite loss, Sooners maintain top spot in ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate

March 26, 2013

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 26, 2013

 

Despite loss, Sooners maintain top spot in ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

 

OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite a weekend of upsets, not much has changed in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America and USA Softball announced today.  Oklahoma (28-2), with 17 first place votes, and Arizona State (31-3, 2-1 Pac-12), with one No. 1 vote, are still ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively while No. 4 California (26-3, 3-0 Pac-12), who received two No. 1 votes, is the only other squad this week to garner first place votes.

 

The Sooners, who were the first unanimous No. 1 of the 2013 season last week, managed to keep the top spot despite a 5-1 loss to No. 11 Louisville (26-5).   The non-conference loss snapped the Sooners 10-game winning streak, and reigning USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Keilani Ricketts (San Jose, Calif.) was handed her first loss of the season.  Oklahoma rebounded in game two of the series, defeating the Cardinals 9-1 (five innings) before cold temperatures forced a cancellation of the final game of the series.    

 

Arizona State, who kicked off Pac-12 conference play last week, also managed to keep their hold on the No. 2 spot this week despite falling to then-No. 13 UCLA 3-2.  The Sun Devils then defeated the Bruins 10-3 and 5-4 to clinch the series win. With the two losses, UCLA (24-6, 1-2 Pac-12) fell one spot to No. 14.

 

Ranked No. 3 for the third consecutive week, Florida (31-3, 7-2 SEC) swept Southeastern Conference (SEC) rivals Arkansas at home (8-0, 5-2 and 1-0).  The Gators also defeated SC Upstate 11-0 (five innings) in a standalone game prior to their conference match-up.   

 

California (26-3, 3-0 Pac-12) rose one spot to No. 4 this week following a series sweep of Utah.  The Golden Bears collected three wins against the Utes: 6-0, 9-4 and 4-1.  Making the biggest leap this week is No. 5 Tennessee (27-6, 6-3 SEC), who continued their dominating SEC play following a series sweep of last week’s No. 4 Texas A&M (26-5, 4-4 SEC).  In a three-game series which saw offensive power from both the Lady Vols and Aggies, Tennessee came out on top, twice-beating the Aggies by a score of 8-6 and finishing the series with a 5-4 win.  Tennessee also collected a 7-0 win over Murray State in a standalone game during the week.  With the series sweep, Texas A&M dropped five spots to No. 9.

 

Rounding out the Top 10: No. 6 Missouri (17-2, 4-1 SEC), which had two wins over Georgia Tech (8-0 and 16-0); No. 7 Alabama (29-4, 6-3 SEC), which had a 9-1 (five inning) win over Georgia State and went 2-1 with Auburn; No. 8 Texas (29-4, 2-0 Big 12), who opened Big 12 action with two wins (4-0, 5-1) over then-No. 15 Baylor; No. 9 Texas A&M; and No. 10 Oregon (25-4, 2-0 Pac-12), who collected two wins (4-3, 3-2) over then-No. 16 Stanford.

 

Despite handing the No. 1 team in the country their second loss of the season, No. 11 Louisville (26-5) was unable to crack the Top 10 this week. The Cardinals finished last week with a 3-2 record, going tit-for-tat with both Iowa and Oklahoma and taking a 4-1 mid-week matchup from Indiana.  Along with Texas A&M, Virginia Tech (18-6, 0-2 ACC) made the biggest drop this week, falling five spots to No. 24 following an 0-2 weekend against Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) rival NC State.

 

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives from 11 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions as well as members of National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.

 

About ASA The Amateur Softball Association, founded in 1933, is the National Governing Body of softball in the United States and a member of the United States Olympic Committee. The ASA has become one of the nation’s largest sports organizations and now sanctions competition in every state through a network of 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three million. For more information on the ASA, visit http://www.asasoftball.com/.   About USA Softball USA Softball is the brand created, operated and owned by the ASA that links the USA Men’s, Women’s, Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ National Team programs together. USA Softball is responsible for training, equipping and promoting these four National Teams to compete in international and domestic competitions. The USA Softball Women’s National Team is one of only two women’s sports involved in the Olympic movement to capture three consecutive gold medals at the Olympic Games since 1996. The U.S. women have also won nine World Championship titles including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed five World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.

 

About the NCAA Women’s College World Series The ASA Hall of Fame Stadium serves as the home to the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS). For the 23rd year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, over 75,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 30 to June 5 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2013 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!

 

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

2013 Season – Week 7 – March 26, 2013

 

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Previous Ranking
1.	Oklahoma (17)	28-2	494	1
2.	Arizona State (1)	31-3	469	2
3.	Florida	31-3	457	3
4.	California (2)	26-3	440	5
5.	Tennessee	27-6	416	8
6.	Missouri	17-2	389	7
7.	Alabama	29-4	382	6
8.	Texas	29-4	355	9
9.	Texas A&M	26-5	345	4
10.	Oregon	25-4	331	10
11.	Louisville	26-5	317	11
12.	LSU	27-6	275	12
13.	Michigan	24-7	254	14
14.	UCLA	24-6	248	13
15.	Washington	23-8	188	17
16.	Baylor	26-7	181	15
17.	Stanford	22-7	164	16
18.	Tulsa	26-6-1	159	18
19.	Nebraska	22-6	126	20
20.	Kentucky	23-8	120	21
21.	Arizona	21-9	80	22
22.	Hawaii	25-7	76	23
23.	Georgia	25-7	71	24
24.	Virginia Tech	18-6	47	19
25.	South Alabama	27-5	43	25

 

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: - New to Poll: -

 

Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (38), Oregon State (9), Iowa (8), Florida State (7), North Carolina (3), SC Upstate (3), Minnesota (2), Louisiana-Lafayette (1), North Carolina State (1), San Diego State (1)

 

 

Codi Warren

Marketing and Communications Coordinator

Amateur Softball Association of America/USA Softball

Office 405.425.3431 | Cell 405. 420. 2817