March2015

Gators defeat two Top 5 teams to secure the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

March 10, 2015

Oklahoma City, OK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 10, 2015

 

Gators defeat two Top 5 teams to secure the top spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

 

OKLAHOMA CITY — For the fifth-consecutive week the Florida Gators (27-0) remain the No. 1 team in the country following another perfect week of action the Amateur Softball Association (ASA)/USA Softball announced today.  With 19-of-20 first-place votes being awarded to the Gators, LSU (25-0, 3-0 SEC) also earned one first place vote for the third-consecutive week as they continued to climb the poll to No. 2

 

Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

 

The Gators began their west coast trip in Long Beach, Calif. for a standalone game at Long Beach State, where the Gators nabbed a dominant 10-1 victory.  The Gators were put to the test by three Top 25 teams, including the No. 2 and No 3 ranked teams, at the Judi Garman Classic in Fullteron, Calif. The Gators came from behind after falling behind by four runs to capture a 7-4 win over then-No. 2 Michigan (22-3). Led by Kelsey Stewart (Wichita, Kan.), the Gators stormed back in the bottom of the third inning and Stewart drove in the game-winning runs in the sixth inning with her two-RBI double. It was the Gators second win against Michigan this season, winning the first matchup 2-1 in walk-off fashion. Florida was up for another showdown with No. 3 Oregon (20-3), securing a 5-1 victory. This was the second straight week that the Gators went up against the Ducks after defeating them 3-0 late in Week 4 of play. The Gators also picked up three additional victories last week, defeating San Jose State, 9-1, then-No. 12 Arizona 10-0 (six inning) and Fresno State 4-1. The Gators are currently riding a 27 game win streak, the longest in program history.

 

Continuing their rise in the poll to No. 2 is LSU, who climbed two spots this week after opening Southeastern Conference (SEC) play on their home field. The Tigers cruised in an 11-0 (five inning) victory over Northwestern State in a standalone game where sophomore pitcher Baylee Corbello (Lake Charles, Fla.) earned her first collegiate no-hitter.  LSU posted convincing wins against the Razorbacks, 10-0 (five inning), 6-0, and 7-1 and outscoring Arkansas opponents 23-1 in the series sweep. It will be a battle of the undefeated teams this weekend as the Tigers head to Florida for a three game series.

 

Oregon stands pat at No. 3 this week after participating in the Judi Garman Classic in Fullerton, Calif. The Ducks suffered a 5-1 loss against Florida to open the tournament before winning four straight to finish the weekend 4-1. The Ducks edged Pacific, 9-7 and notched additional victories against Fresno State 3-0, Iowa 2-1 and Long Beach State 12-3.  Oregon now heads home for its home opener and Pac-12 Conference opener against in-state rival Oregon State.

 

Michigan (22-3) fell two spots to No. 4 after a challenging west coast swing. The Wolverines kicked off the weekend with a 9-0 victory at Cal State Fullerton beginning action in the Judi Garman Classic. In a rematch of last week, the Wolverines fell to then-No. 23 Arizona State (19-8) in a 2-0 extra-inning battle and also dropped a 7-4 decision to No. 1 Florida. Michigan rebounded with three straight five-inning run-rule wins against San Jose State 9-1, then-No. 10 Baylor (14-5) 11-1, and San Diego State 10-2.

 

Alabama (18-4, 3-0 SEC) is the standalone No. 5 this week after sweeping Ole Miss at home in a three-game SEC series. The Crimson Tide outscored the Rebels 23-0 over the course of three victories with sophomore pitcher Sydney Littlejohn (Rusk, Texas) making history by becoming the first Alabama pitcher to throw two perfect games in her career. Alabama continues SEC play next week in Athens, Ga. against No. 8 Georgia (21-3, 2-1 SEC).

 

Rounding out the Top 10:  No. 6 Oklahoma (18-3) fell to No. 6 despite outscoring opponents 44-0 in four wins at home; No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette (17-3, 2-1 Sun Belt) held their spot in the poll after winning two out of three against then-No. 24 South Alabama (16-5, 1-2 Sun Belt); No. 8 Georgia held their spot after winning twice against Wright State and two out of three games to start SEC play at Mississippi State; Florida State (18-5, 3-0 ACC) bounced back into the Top 10 after winning five games at the FAU Parents Weekend Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.; No. 10 UCLA (23-5) also rejoined the Top 10 this week after a flawless 6-0 performance at home during the Stacy Winsberg Memorial Tournament. 

 

Making the biggest fall in the poll is last week's No. 12 Arizona (21-6), who went 3-3 at the Judi Garman Classic while UCF (18-4) also dropped five spots this week to No. 20 after dropping a 1-0 decision to unranked Kent State.  Auburn (25-2) made the biggest jump this week, rising four spot to No. 14 after winning four of five games at the Judi Garman Classic. The Tigers wins included a dominating 20-2 (five inning) win over then-No. 12 Arizona 20-2 and a 7-4 win over then-No. 23 Arizona State.

 

New to the Top 25 is NC State (10-7, 3-0 ACC) who swept last week's No. 22 team Notre Dame (12-9, 0-3 ACC), who dropped out of the Top 25 for the first time this season.

 

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions as well as members of the 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 74 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 165,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than 2.5 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 and have claimed eight 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 25th year, the top eight college teams in the nation will head to Oklahoma City and complete for a National Championship title. Last year, nearly 70,000 fans attended the WCWS. Experience It Live May 28 to June 3 in Oklahoma City. Tickets for the 2015 NCAA WCWS are on sale now, click here to purchase your tickets and make a date with champions!

 

 

Nick Dorety

ASA/USA Softball

Marketing & Communications Coordinator

2801 NE 50th Street

Oklahoma  City, OK 73111

 

405-425-3422 - work

405-757-5306 - cell

ndorety@softball.org

 

 

 

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