It was a big weekend for the LSU Tigers (27-1, 5-1 SEC) who earned their spot atop the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll for the first time in school history following a series win over last week’s No. 1 Florida (28-2, 1-2 SEC).  In a battle of the unbeatens, the Tigers took two upset victories over the Gators on the road, earning them 19-of-20 first place votes, while Florida garnered the remaining vote.

Click here to see the complete ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.

Coming in to the Southeastern Conference (SEC) series matchup, both LSU and Florida were undefeated as the top two teams in the country.  In game one of the series, Florida took a 4-3 in walk off fashion, scoring on a passed ball to propel their team to victory while handing LSU its first loss of the season.

Game two proved to be just as dramatic as the game went into the final inning tied at 10 runs apiece before a grand slam by Kellsi Kloss (Cypress, Calif.) gave LSU a 14-10 win to even the series.  With both teams looking to capture the series win in their final meeting, LSU batters combined for 12 hits and 10 RBI to seal the series win in a 10-3 decision.  For their efforts, LSU now holds on to the top spot in the Top 25 poll for the first time in program history while Florida drops to the No. 2 spot.

No. 3 Oregon (23-3, 3-0 Pac 12) held on to their spot in the poll this week following a series sweep on in-state rival Oregon State.  In their first Pac-12 Conference series of the season, the Ducks captured the series sweep in dominating fashion, outscoring the Beavers 42-12 with all wins coming via the run-rule.  Oregon will next head to Salt Lake City, Utah for their first conference road games of the season against Utah.

Tied at No. 4 this week are Alabama (20-5, 5-1 SEC) and Michigan (24-4).  The Crimson Tide took two games against SEC rival Georgia (24-5, 3-3 SEC) in Athens while Michigan squared off against Kent State at home.  For Alabama, in their first meeting of the SEC series, the two teams battled it out through nine innings with the Crimson Tide coming up with a 7-4 (nine inning) win.  The Bulldogs would bounce back in game two, evening out the series with a 7-6, come-from-behind win.  Alabama held off a late rally by Georgia in the final rubber match of the series, clinching the series win after Kallie Case (Suwanee, Ga.) belted a two-run home run to give the Crimson Tide the 4-2 win.  Michigan went 2-1 in their home series, dropping a 3-0 decision to Kent State in their first meeting but rebounding with a 10-1 (five inning) run-rule win and a 4-1 decision.

Rounding out the Top 10:  No. 6 Oklahoma (22-3) held their spot in the poll this week after a 4-0 week at home in which the Sooners outscored opponents 65-6; No. 7 Louisiana-Lafayette (20-3, 5-1 Sun Belt) also held their ranking this week after sweeping Sun Belt Conference rival UT-Arlington; Georgia remains the No. 8 team in the country after a 3-2 week; UCLA (27-5, 3-0 Pac 12) rose one spot to No. 9 after a win over No. 13 Baylor (19-6) and a series sweep of Pac-12 foe Utah; Florida State (22-6, 5-1 ACC) dropped one spot to No. 10 after a 2-1 series win against Notre Dame.

Making the biggest jump in the polls this week is Auburn (28-2, 2-0 SEC), who rose four spots to No. 11 in the polls this week after a perfect 3-0 week, including two wins over SEC opponent Ole Miss.  Falling four spots to No. 19 this week is Tennessee (19-5, 1-2 SEC), who dropped two decisions to South Carolina on the road.

Two teams joined the Top 25 for the first time this season this week.  Mississippi State (20-6, 3-3 SEC) lands at No. 24 in the poll following a series win over then-No. 21 Texas A&M (21-7, 3-3 SEC) while Virginia Tech (21-3, 3-2 ACC) holds the No. 25 spot this week following a flawless 5-0 performance at the Rainbow Wahine Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.  Dropping out of the polls is last week’s No. 23 South Alabama, (17-6, 2-3 Sun Belt) who went 1-1 with unranked Louisiana Monroe, and No. 25 NC State (14-9, 3-0 ACC) who put together a 4-2 week.

The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll is voted on by coaching representatives of 10 Division I Conferences in the 15 ASA/USA Softball Regions as well as members of the National and Local media who consistently cover Division I Softball across the country.