May 1 ESPN USA Softball Poll
California Sweeps First-Place Votes to sit atop the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll
OKLAHOMA CITY — California (45-3, 16-2 Pac-12) remains the top team in collegiate softball for the sixth consecutive week. Following an spectacular home stand that resulted in a series sweep of then-No. 14 UCLA (33-15, 9-9 Pac-12), the Golden Bears received all 20 first-place votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll, released today by the Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America.
California opened the weekend strong with a 3-0 shutout in the first game of their series with the Bruins. The Bears defense continued its dominance in game two again shutting out UCLA 8-0 (six innings). In the third and final game of the series, California gained the sweep with a 10-3 performance giving them 45 wins on the season and 16 in Pac-12 play.
Arizona State (42-5, 14-2 Pac-12) remained at No. 2 with their own series sweep of then-No. 13 Washington (36-14, 7-12 Pac-12). The Sun Devils outscored the Huskies 29-8 in the three-game series. Jumping two spots to No. 3, Oklahoma (40-7, 14-4 Big 12) went 2-0 on the week with wins over Oklahoma State and Central Arkansas. No. 4 Alabama (45-5, 21-4 SEC) dropped one spot this week and No. 5 Tennessee (44-9, 22-6 SEC) picked up four wins to propel them into the Top 5.
No. 6 Louisiana-Lafayette (44-2, 19-2 Sun Belt) was also perfect on the week gaining one spot in the poll. Florida fell three spots to No. 7 after splitting a doubleheader with then-No. 25 LSU and dropping two of three in their weekend series with Kentucky.
Rounding out the Top 10: Louisville (47-2, 16-2 Big East) gained one spot to No. 8 following a 4-0 week; No. 9 Missouri (37-10, 14-7 Big 12) also moved up in this week’s poll going 3-0 against Iowa State; and No. 10 Texas (39-8, 13-6 Big 12), which took two of three from then-No.16 Texas A&M.
Moving up three spots in the Top 25 is No. 12 Oregon (34-12, 11-8 Pac-12) which went 2-1 against conference foe then-No.11 Arizona. No. 14 Hawaii (40-5, 14-3 WAC) continued their climb up the poll also jumping three spots after a series sweep of Fresno State.
Although there was some movement in the rankings, the Top 25 teams remained the same this week.
There are only two weeks left in the regular season polls for the 2012 NCAA Division I softball season. One final poll will be released on June 12 following the conclusion of the NCAA Women’s College World Series (WCWS) at the ASA Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
May 1, 2012 — Week 12 (April 23 – 29, 2012)
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous Ranking |
|
1. |
California (20) |
45-3 |
500 |
1 |
|
2. |
Arizona State |
42-5 |
478 |
2 |
|
3. |
Oklahoma |
40-7 |
450 |
5 |
|
4. |
Alabama |
45-5 |
441 |
3 |
|
5. |
Tennessee |
44-9 |
415 |
6 |
|
6. |
Louisiana-Lafayette |
44-2 |
397 |
7 |
|
7. |
Florida |
43-8 |
386 |
4 |
|
8. |
Louisville |
47-2 |
335 |
9 |
|
9. |
Missouri |
37-10 |
327 |
10 |
|
10. |
Texas |
39-8 |
318 |
8 |
|
11. |
Georgia |
38-13 |
292 |
12 |
|
12. |
Oregon |
34-12 |
284 |
15 |
|
13. |
Arizona |
32-14 |
248 |
11 |
|
14. |
Hawaii |
40-5 |
222 |
17 |
|
15. |
Washington |
36-14 |
217 |
13 |
|
16. |
Texas A&M |
33-16 |
205 |
16 |
|
17. |
UCLA |
33-15 |
198 |
14 |
|
18. |
South Florida |
44-8 |
182 |
18 |
|
19. |
Florida State |
42-11 |
129 |
20 |
|
20. |
North Carolina |
38-11 |
106 |
19 |
|
21. |
Stanford |
32-16 |
88 |
21 |
|
22. |
Oregon State |
33-16 |
87 |
23 |
|
23. |
Texas Tech |
38-14 |
55 |
24 |
|
24. |
LSU |
34-18 |
47 |
25 |
|
25. |
Michigan |
33-15 |
40 |
22 |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: -
New to Poll: -
Others receiving votes: Tulsa (20); Syracuse (15); Baylor (5); Georgia Tech (4); UAB (3); UMASS (3); Kansas (2); Virginia Tech (1)
