Gators atop USA Today/NFCA Top 25 (2/10)

Gators atop USA Today/NFCA Top 25 (2/10)

Feb 10, 2015 by Brentt Eads
Gators atop USA Today/NFCA Top 25 (2/10)

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, announced on Tuesday by the Association.

Lauren Haeger helped Florida shut out Jacksonville last week. Photo by Andy Meng.
Lauren Haeger helped Florida shut out Jacksonville last week. Photo by Andy Meng.

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) also 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, they 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).