Perfect Opening Weekend Keeps Gators Atop USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll
April 4, 2019 | News | No Comments
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sporting a perfect 5-0 record over the weekend at the USF Softball Classic, Florida (5-0) remained No. 1 in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll.
The Gators received 24 of 29 possible first place votes and pushed their lead from five to 16 points over the No. 2 Oregon Ducks as the top four spots in the poll remained the same. Their in-state opening weekend in Tampa included a 2-1 win over No. 8 Michigan and a 10-5 triumph over the host Bulls. Florida also picked up three run-rule shutouts against Hampton (17-0), Illinois State (8-0) and Jacksonville (9-0).
Oregon (6-0), Alabama (6-0) and Oklahoma (5-0) all sported undefeated marks. The Ducks (699 points), who picked up four first place votes, lit up the scoreboard at the Kajikawa Classic, totaling 54 runs in six games. They recorded three shutouts against Cal Poly (8-0), Texas (9-0) and Northwestern (8-0) and also topped North Carolina (8-5), Wisconsin (10-2) and Nevada (12-8).
The Crimson Tide (662 points) had their hands full in its season opener at in-state foe South Alabama, edging the Jaguars, 2-1, with a seventh-inning comeback. They went on to go 5-0 at the Sand Dollar Classic (Gulf Shores, Ala.) defeating Eastern Kentucky (8-0), Houston (6-2), Florida Gulf Coast (13-1), Florida International (11-2) and McNeese State (4-0).
Following a dominating performance at the Oceanic Time Warner Cable Paradise Classic in Honolulu, the Sooners stayed strong at No. 4 with one first place vote and 641 points. Oklahoma outscored its opponents 52-5, topping then-No. 25 DePaul (9-2 / 11-3), host Hawaii (7-0 / 8-0) and St. Mary’s (17-0).
Kentucky and Florida State flipped positions after splitting a pair of games against each other at the Seminoles’ Renegade Classic. The Wildcats (566) capped off their 5-1 week with a 3-1 victory over the Seminoles. They also defeated Georgia Southern twice (9-0 / 10-0) in Tallahassee, Fla. and opened the season with a road win at Florida A&M (4-2). The Seminoles edged the Wildcats, 3-2 and also picked up a pair of triumphs over Georgia Southern (8-0 / 4-0).
Louisiana Lafayette moved up two spots to No. 7 after a 4-0 week at home, while Michigan (3-1) remained at No. 8. Rounding out the top 10 are Baylor (5-0) and Georgia (6-0), each jumping up one spot in the poll after undefeated opening weeks at home.
With the exit of No. 25 DePaul, Cal State Fullerton slid into the 25th spot after a 4-1 week. Co-hosting the So Cal Collegiate Challenge, the Titans defeated then No. 22 Notre Dame, 8-7 as well as Purdue (5-3), Idaho State (3-1) and Northwestern State (6-4).
The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Current 2015 records are shown and first-place votes are in parentheses.
USA Today/NFCA Division I Softball Poll – Feb. 10, 2015
Rank
Team
2015 Record
Totals
Prev. Rank
1
Florida (24)
5-0
715
1
2
Oregon (4)
6-0
699
2
3
Alabama
6-0
662
3
4
Oklahoma (1)
5-0
641
4
5
Kentucky
4-1
566
6
6
Florida State
3-1
553
5
7
Louisiana Lafayette
4-0
520
9
8
Michigan
3-1
509
8
9
Baylor
5-0
466
10
10
Georgia
6-0
454
12
11
Tennessee
4-0
413
13
12
UCLA
4-2
410
7
13
Minnesota
5-0
390
15
14
Arizona
3-0
369
14
15
Washington
4-1
337
11
16
LSU
5-0
281
19
17
Auburn
6-0
268
20
18
Missouri
0-0
247
17
19
Nebraska
4-1
199
18
20
Notre Dame
4-1
193
22
21
Arizona State
4-3
128
16
22
Tulsa
4-1
91
21
23
Texas A&M
3-2
73
24
24
South Alabama
3-2
43
23
25
Cal State Fullerton
4-1
41
RV
Dropped out: No. 25 DePaul
Others Receiving Votes: Texas (37), UCF (34), James Madison (17), California (16), South Carolina (15), Hofstra (8), Stanford (7), USF (7), Virginia Tech (5), Cal State Northridge (4), North Carolina State (4), Mississippi State (3).
