OKLAHOMA CITY — The Amateur Softball Association (ASA) of America announced today that California remains the No. 1 team in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll. Following an outstanding offensive performance last week in which the Golden Bears (42-3, 13-2 Pac-12) outscored their opponents 28-4, California received 18 first-place votes in the poll, securing their spot as the top collegiate softball team in the nation.
Click here for the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
The Bears, who have held the coveted number one spot in all but two polls this season, went 3-1 last week, defeating unranked Santa Clara 10-2 (five innings) before heading up to Eugene, Ore. To face Pac-12 foes then-No. 14 Oregon (32-11, 9-7 Pac-12). California captured the series opener 8-1 before falling in the second game to the Ducks 1-0, marking the Bears third loss of the season and second loss in conference play. In the third and final game of the series, California bounced back with a 10-0 (six inning) victory, capturing a fifth-consecutive Pac-12 series win.
Following a series sweep of then-No. 19 Stanford, Arizona State (39-5, 11-2 Pac-12) received two number one votes in the poll, jumping past Alabama to claim the No. 2 spot. The Sun Devils captured a third-straight home series sweep, defeating the Cardinal (32-16, 6-12 Pac-12) 11-9, 5-0 and 7-1. Slipping one spot to No. 3, Alabama (42-4, 19-3 SEC) went 2-2 on the week, falling to unranked Georgia State 5-1 and then-No. 13 Georgia (35-12, 13-9 SEC) 7-4 before besting the Bulldogs 8-3 and 6-4. No. 4 Florida (41-5, 18-2 SEC) and No. 5 Oklahoma (38-7, 13-4 Big 12) maintained their rank in the poll, while No. 6 Tennessee (40-9, 19-6 SEC) and No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette (41-2, 16-2 Sun Belt) moved up one spot in the Top 10.
Rounding out the Top 10: Texas (37-7, 11-5 Big 12), which dropped two spots to No. 8 following two losses against unranked opponents Baylor and Oklahoma State; No. 9 Louisville (43-2, 13-2 Big East), which captured the Big East lead after defeating then-No. 17 South Florida (40-8, 13-3 Big East) twice; and No. 10 Missouri (34-10, 11-7 Big 12), which captured a win against No. 5 Oklahoma.
Moving up one spot in the Top 25 is No. 11 Arizona (31-12, 8-7 Pac-12) which went 2-0 against New Mexico last week. This marks the highest ranking for the Wildcats since the pre-season poll released in January. North Carolina (36-10, 11-3 ACC) also rose in the poll to a season-high No. 19 ranking after a flawless 4-0 weekend in which the Tar Heels captured two five-inning victories over Hampton University and two wins against Georgia Tech.
Although there was some movement in the rankings, the Top 25 teams remained the same this week.
There are only three 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.
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 76 local associations. The ASA has grown from a few hundred teams in the early days to over 210,000 teams today, representing a membership of more than three 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 the 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 including the last seven consecutive as well as claimed five World Cup of Softball titles. For more information about USA Softball, please visit http://www.usasoftball.com/.
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