California still ahead in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

OKLAHOMA CITY — Despite suffering its first loss in conference play, California remains the No. 1 team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, announced today by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America. The Golden Bears (39-2, 11-1 Pac-12) captured 15 first-place votes in the poll, securing their ninth time in 10 weeks as the top-ranked squad.

Heading in to the week with a 13-game winning streak, California overpowered Saint Mary’s 9-0 before putting their perfect Pac-12 record to the test against then-No. 13 Arizona (29-12, 8-7 Pac-12). The Golden Bears edged the Wildcats 2-0 before suffering an 8-3 loss, their first loss in Pac-12 play and their second loss overall. The Golden Bears bounced back in the third and final game of the series, besting Arizona 6-0. Valerie Arioto, a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist, notched two home runs in the final game, bringing her season total to 19.

No. 2 Alabama (40-2, 17-2 SEC), the only other team this season to hold the top ranking, captured five votes, preventing the Golden Bears from garnering a third-consecutive sweep of the first-place votes. The Crimson Tide rolled past South Carolina 9-1 (5 innings) and 7-5 before capturing the series sweep with a 19-4 (5 innings) win. The 19 runs tied a season high for Alabama and marked the 13th time the Tide has run-ruled its opponent and the 10th time they have eclipsed ten runs. With the series win, sophomore pitching ace Jackie Traina, also a USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Top 25 Finalist, improved to 26-0 on the year. Arizona State (36-5, 8-2 Pac-12) and Florida (38-5, 18-2 SEC) hold the No. 3 and No. 4 spot respectively while Oklahoma (35-6, 11-3 Big 12) moved up to No. 5. Texas (35-5, 9-3 Big 12) dropped one spot to No. 6 following a 5-2 loss to then-unranked Texas Tech.

Tennessee (35-9, 16-6 SEC) jumped to the No. 7 spot following a series sweep of then-No. 21 LSU (29-13, 11-6 SEC) while Louisiana-Lafayette (38-2, 13-2 Sun Belt) fell one spot to No. 8 after suffering their second loss of the season to Florida International University. Rounding out the Top 10 are No. 9 Louisville (38-2, 8-2 Big East), who enters the Top 10 for the first time this season, and No. 10 Missouri (32-8, 10-5 Big 12). No. 11 Washington (35-9, 6-9 Pac-12), a team that has held a position in the Top 10 all season, has fallen out of the Top 10 for the first time after recording three losses in five games. The Huskies lost 5-3 to then-No. 15 Oregon (29-9, 8-5 Pac-12) and then were handed two losses, 7-5 and 5-0, by then-No. 17 UCLA (29-12, 6-6 Pac-12). With the wins, the Ducks moved to No. 14 while UCLA improved to No. 15.

 New to the poll this week is No. 25 Texas Tech (34-9, 7-4 Big 12), a team which defeated two Top 25 teams. The Red Raiders handed then-No. 5 Texas a 5-2 loss and recorded two wins over then-No. 9 Missouri. Dropping out of the polls is last week’s No. 25 Baylor (26-14, 3-8 Big 12)

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

April 17, 2012 — Week 10 (April 9 – 15, 2012)

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: Baylor (25)
New to Poll: Texas Tech (-)

Others receiving votes: Syracuse (25); Baylor (16); Tulsa (13); Georgia Tech (9); DePaul (8); Fresno State (1); Kentucky (1); UAB (1); Virginia Tech (1)