4-3-2012 Cal Sweeps #1 Votes in ESPN USA Softball poll

Cal sweeps No. 1 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll

OKLAHOMA CITY – For the seventh time in eight weeks, California (33-1, 6-0 Pac-12) remains the top team in collegiate softball the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today. After a successful campaign at home that resulted in a win over Sacramento State and three over then-No. 3 Washington, the Golden Bears became the first team this season to sweep the No. 1 votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Alabama (35-1, 12-1 SEC) stayed at No. 2 while Texas (31-2, 6-0 Big 12) moved to their highest ranking of the year, No. 3, after a flawless week-long performance which saw the Longhorns defeat Houston, Tulsa and New Mexico. Washington (32-4, 3-3 Pac-12) dropped a spot to No. 4 following an 0-3 weekend campaign against the Cal Golden Bears.

Florida (31-4, 12-2 SEC) dropped one spot to No. 5 this week, following a loss to then-No. 21 South Florida (33-5, 6-0 Big East) and a conference loss to No. 10 Georgia (29-7, 8-4 SEC). Coming in at No. 6 is Arizona State (32-4, 4-1 Pac-12), which went 1-1 at then-No. 16 Oregon (23-7, 2-3 Pac-12). The Sun Devils were bested 3-0 by Oregon, suffering their first loss in Pac-12 play, before rallying to earn a 7-4 win.
Rounding out the Top 10 are No. 7 Oklahoma (30-4, 6-1 Big 12), No. 8 Louisiana-Lafayette (30-1, 5-1 Sun Belt), No. 9 Tennessee (27-8, 9-5 SEC) and No. 10 Georgia. It was a weekend of firsts for the Sooners and Lady Vols pitchers, both of which are on the Top 50 Watch List for the 2012 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year award. Oklahoma’s Keilani Ricketts threw her first ever perfect game in an 8-0 (6) run-rule victory over Kansas while Tennessee’s Ellen Renfroe nabbed her first collegiate no-hitter in an 8-0 (6) run-rule outing against Furman.

Just shy of the Top 10 is No. 11 Missouri (28-5, 7-2 Big 12) which swept then-No. 20 Baylor (22-12, 1-6 Big 12) in a three game home series. Despite a loss to Oregon State, UCLA (25-7, 2-1 Pac-12) moved up two spots to No. 12. No. 13 Louisville (29-2, 4-2 Big East) suffered their first losses of the season to DePaul, thus bringing an end to their reign as the only undefeated team in the Top 25, while Texas A&M (25-10, 5-2 Big 12) rose in the polls to No. 14, their highest rank of the season since Feb. 21. Jumping three spots to No. 18 is South Florida, which defeated Florida 4-1 before sweeping Pittsburgh in a conference series 5-0, 4-0 and 3-2. No. 25 Baylor dropped to their lowest ranking of the season following a loss to Texas A&M and an 0-3 weekend against Missouri.

New to the poll this week are No. T23 North Carolina (24-9, 3-2 ACC) and No. T23 Oregon State (26-10, 3-3 Pac-12) who enters the Top 25 for the first time this season. Dropping out of the poll is Auburn (26-12, 5-8 SEC) and Syracuse (21-9, 2-1 Big East).

ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25

April 3, 2012 — Week 8 (March 26 – April 1, 2012)

Parenthesis denotes first place votes.

Dropped Out: Auburn (24); Syracuse (25)
New to Poll: North Carolina (RV); Oregon State (RV)

Others receiving votes: Auburn (18); DePaul (17); Tulsa (17); Syracuse (7); Minnesota (2)