Tigers makes history, climb to No. 1 (3/17)
Tigers makes history, climb to No. 1 (3/17)
LSU Makes Program History, Climbs to No. 1 in 2015 USA Today/NFCA NFCA Division I Top 25 Po
LSU’s historical climb to the No. 1 ranking in the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll was capped off when the Tigers (27-1) took two of three from previously undefeated and top ranked Florida in Gainesville last weekend, announced Tuesday.
It marks LSU’s first No. 1 ranking in program history after matching its previous high of third last week. The Tigers received 23 first-place votes and a total of 787 points.
In the clash of the last two undefeated teams in Division I, the Tigers bounced back from a walk-off 4-3 defeat on Friday to defeat the Gators, 14-10, in dramatic fashion on Saturday thanks to Kellsi Kloss’ two-out seventh-inning grand slam.
Her slam came after UF rallied from a 9-0 first-inning hole and tied the game in the bottom half of the sixth on Taylore Fuller’s third home run of the game, a two-out grand slam of her own.
In the rubber match, the Tigers scored 10 unanswered runs over the final three innings to claim their first series win over the Gators since 2006 and first time in Gainesville since 2005.
The series defeat to LSU dropped Florida (28-2), which received three first-place votes (754 points), from the top spot for the first time this season to third following its first two losses of the season. Prior to the losses, the Gators started the season with a program-record 28 consecutive wins.
Following a sweep of in-state Pac-12 foe Oregon State, Oregon received six first-place votes and 756 points to stay at No. 2. The Ducks (23-3) put up 42 runs in the series posting three run-rule victories and two shutouts over the Beavers – 10-0, 23-12 and 9-0.
Michigan drops to No. 4 after a 2-1 series win over Kent State. The Wolverine (24-4) were shut out by the Flashes, 3-0 in the opener, but rebounded with 10-1 and 4-1 victories in their lone games of the week.
Alabama did not move from its No. 5 position after taking a tightly contested SEC road series from No. 8 Georgia. Weather played havoc and forced the teams to play a twinbill on Saturday which was split. The home-standing Bulldogs (22-5) won 7-4 in nine innings and the Crimson Tide (20-6) took the nightcap, 7-6. On Sunday, Alabama claimed the series with a 4-2 triumph.
Oklahoma, Louisiana-Lafayette and Georgia did not move from their sixth, seventh and eight spots. The Sooners (22-3), hosting Iowa and East Carolina, put on a four-game offensive show (21 home runs), scoring 23 runs twice and finishing the weekend with 65 runs to extend their winning streak to 12 games as of Sunday. In addition, head coach Patti Gasso earned her 1,000th win after a 23-1 victory over East Carolina.
The Ragin’ Cajuns (20-3) swept their Sun Belt series from UT Arlington, allowing just one run and outscoring the Mavericks 30-1.
Rounding out the top 10 is newcomer Auburn and Florida State. The Tigers (28-2) won three road contests last week as they have won four straight and 15 of their last 16. They blanked Troy, 2-0 before taking the first two at Ole Miss (14-3, 7-3). The Seminoles (22-6) went 4-1 after handing FAU (RV) a 12-0 home loss, edging out USC Upstate, 2-0 and topping Notre Dame (RV) in the first two of a three-game ACC series. Their lone loss was 12-0 defeat to the Irish in the series finale.
Dropping out of this week’s poll are South Alabama (23) and North Carolina State (t-25), making way for Mississippi State to slip in at No. 24. The Bulldogs rallied in game three to defeat then-No. 19 Texas A&M, 7-5 and take the SEC series, 2-1.
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 – March 17, 2015
| Rank | Team | 2015 Record | Totals | Prev. Rank |
| 1 | LSU (23) | 27-1 | 787 | t3 |
| 2 | Oregon (6) | 23-3 | 756 | 2 |
| 3 | Florida (3) | 28-2 | 754 | 1 |
| 4 | Michigan | 24-4 | 679 | t3 |
| 5 | Alabama | 20-6 | 665 | 5 |
| 6 | Oklahoma | 22-3 | 650 | 6 |
| 7 | Louisiana Lafayette | 20-3 | 602 | 7 |
| 8 | Georgia | 22-5 | 537 | 8 |
| 9 | Auburn | 28-2 | 516 | 12 |
| 10 | Florida State | 22-6 | 495 | 10 |
| 11 | UCLA | 27-5 | 487 | 13 |
| 12 | California | 22-3 | 425 | 11 |
| 13 | Kentucky | 18-5 | 392 | 14 |
| 14 | Tennessee | 17-5 | 364 | 9 |
| 15 | Minnesota | 23-4 | 352 | 16 |
| 16 | Baylor | 19-6 | 343 | 15 |
| 17 | Arizona | 23-7 | 298 | 18 |
| 18 | Washington | 26-5 | 267 | 17 |
| 19 | Missouri | 19-3 | 250 | 21 |
| 20 | UCF | 26-5 | 210 | 20 |
| 21 | Arizona State | 20-9 | 142 | 22 |
| 22 | Kansas | 24-2 | 110 | 23 |
| 23 | Texas A&M | 21-7 | 106 | 19 |
| 24 | Mississippi State | 20-6 | 48 | RV |
| 25 | UAB | 21-5 | 44 | t25 |
New to Poll: No. 24 Mississippi State
Dropped out: No. 24 South Alabama (17-6), No. t-25 North Carolina State (14-9).
Others Receiving Votes: South Alabama (32), South Carolina (26), Virginia Tech (25), James Madison (14), Notre Dame (9), North Carolina State (5), Texas (5), USC Upstate (3), McNeese State (1), Cal State Northridge (1).