Ducks Jump Three Spots in National Polls to No. 6 & 7
EUGENE – After an impressive 5-1 week vs. then-No. 4 California and Utah, the Pac-12 leading University of Oregon softball team (33-6, 10-2) staked the biggest improvement among the top 10 in this week’s national polls.
On Tuesday, Oregon was tabbed No. 6 by USA Softball and No. 7 by the NFCA en route to its 11th straight top-10 national ranking.
In the ninth editions of the regular season, No. 6/7 UO was one of three top-10 ranked teams in the Pac-12 this week with a pair of fellow WCWS returnees - No. 2/2 Arizona State and No. 8/9 California.
Overall, Oregon was one of seven league members that ranked top 25 nationally in the USA SB/NFCA polls this week with No. 13/14 Washington, No. 15/16 Stanford, No. 21/19 UCLA and No. 22/17 Arizona.
For comparison's sake, a complete list of Pac-12 rankings from the previous USA SB/NFCA edition follows: No. 2/2 Arizona State, No. 4/5 California, No. 9/10 Oregon, No. 14/14 Stanford, No. 15/15 UCLA, No. 15/17 Washington, No. 22/19 Arizona and No. -/24 Oregon State.
Six other Duck non-conference foes in 2013 were also tabbed top 25 this week by USA SB/NFCA – No. 1/1 Oklahoma, No. 4/3 Florida, No. 12/12 Michigan, No. 14/13 LSU, No. 18/22 Nebraska and No. 20/15 Hawai’i.
The top two teams in the USA SB/NFCA polls stayed steady from last week - No. 1/1 Oklahoma and No. 2/2 Arizona State.
The remaining teams in the NFCA top five remained the same, while the same USA Softball slots changed. No. 3 Tennessee climbed two spots after it swept Georgia in Athens; No. 5 Alabama improved two positions after it went 2-1 vs. Missouri at home; No. 4 Florida dropped a spot after it went 3-1 last week vs. Central Florida and Mississippi State.
Altogether, Oregon has now been ranked for 50 straight polls by USA Softball and 45 by the NFCA, and its week-by-week USA SB/ NFCA rankings in that stretch follow: 2013 – Preseason 6/5, 2/12 7/9, 2/19 9/11, 2/26 12/10, 3/5 8/9, 3/12 9/10, 3/19 10/10, 3/26 10/10, 4/2 9/10, 4/9 6/7. 2012 - Preseason 11th/16th, 2/14 19/19, 2/21 21/19, 2/28 18/18, 3/6 15/18; 3/13 14/17; 3/20 15/17; 3/27 16/17; 4/3 17/18; 4/10 15/19; 4/17 14/18; 4/25 15/16; 5/2 12/13; 5/9 12/13; 5/16 12/12; 6/12 5/5. 2011 - Preseason 14th/14th, 2/15 14th/14th, 2/22 13th/13th, 3/2 13th/13th, 3/9 15th/14th, 3/16 16th/15th, 3/23 15th/16th, 3/30 14th/15th, 4/5 15th/16th, 4/12 17th/17th, 4/19 19th/21th, 4/26 16th/19th, 5/3 12th/17th, 5/10 11th/14th, 5/17 11th/12th, 6/15 14th/15th. 2010 - 3/8 25th/-; 3/15 25th/-; 3/22 21st/-; 3/29 21st/ RV; 4/5 17th/ RV; 4/12 17th/23rd; 4/19 18th/20th; 4/26 19th/20th; 5/3 20th/22nd; 5/5 20th/22nd; 5/10 21st-t/22nd; 6/15 14th/14th.
In this week’s NCAA RPI rankings, UO also moved up one spot to fourth overall. Oregon stood tops in the Pac-12, ahead of #6 California, #7 Washington, #8 Arizona State, #17 Stanford, #22 UCLA, #26 Arizona, #36 Oregon State and #71 Utah.
This week, the Ducks host eight-time national champion and No. 17 Arizona (26-13, 4-5) for three single games, Friday-Sunday, April 12-14, and the finale will be televised live by the Pac-12 Network.
Promotions-wise, fans that wear pink to ‘Strike Out Cancer Day’ to Friday’s game vs. Arizona (4/12) at 5 p.m. will get $3 admission. The Ducks’ special pink jerseys will be auctioned off during the game sponsored by Carl’s Jr.
Saturday’s game vs. the Wildcats (4/13) at 2 p.m. is Spirit / Yellow Out Day, and fans that wear yellow will get reduced ticket prices ($3 adults / $2 kids). Duck softball player trading cards will also be available for the first time as well as 50 mini-posters, and kids can get autographs after the game.
Sunday’s Arizona finale (4/14) at noon is ASA Day, and kids that wear their softball/baseball uniforms to the game will get $2 tickets. The contest is also a BiMart 2-for-1 ticket deal for fans that show their BiMart cards at the gate.
NATIONAL POLLS #9 (4/9)
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
http://www.usasoftball.com/folders.asp?uid=7248
Rk Team Record Totals Prev
* 1. Oklahoma (20) 34-2 500 1
*2. Arizona State 36-4 476 2
3. Tennessee 34-6 451 5
*4. Florida 38-4 438 3
5. Alabama 35-6 405 7
>6. Oregon 33-6 388 9
7. Texas 35-4 374 8
*8. California 30-6 361 4
9. Missouri 23-4 359 6
10. Louisville 32-6 310 11
11. Texas A&M 31-7 303 10
*12. Michigan 31-7 293 12
*13. Washington 31-10 253 T15
*14. LSU 33-8 245 13
*15. Stanford 27-12 214 14
16. Baylor 29-10 165 17
17. Tulsa 31-9-1 158 18
*18. Nebraska 28-8 150 19
19. Kentucky 27-10 143 20
*20. Hawaii 31-7 129 21
*21. UCLA 26-13 93 T15
*22. Arizona 26-13 80 22
23. South Alabama 34-7 63 24
24. North Carolina 31-13 46 25
25. Florida State 31-13 29 RV
Others receiving votes: Wisconsin (19), SC Upstate (16), South Florida (10), Iowa (6), UAB (5), Minnesota (5), Georgia (4), Virginia Tech (3), Louisiana-Lafayette (3), *San Diego State (1), Ball State (1), Arkansas (1)
New to Poll: Florida State; Dropped Out: Wisconsin
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
* Denotes Duck opponents in 2013
USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll
https://nfca.org/index.php/polls
Rk Team Record Totals Prev
*1 Oklahoma (31) 34-2 775 1
*2 Arizona State 36-4 735 2
*3 Florida 38-4 699 3
4 Alabama 35-6 673 4
5 Tennessee 34-6 655 6
6 Texas 35-4 588 8
>7 Oregon 33-6 574 10
8 Missouri 23-4 566 7
*9 California 30-6 542 5
10 Texas A&M 31-7 525 9
11 Louisville 32-6 475 11
*12 Michigan 31-7 440 12
*13 LSU 33-8 393 13
*14 Washington 31-10 352 17
*15 Hawai'i 31-7 336 16
*16 Stanford 27-12 326 14
*17 Arizona 26-13 228 19
18 Kentucky 27-10 211 21
*19 UCLA 26-13 193 15
20 Baylor 29-10 184 18
21 Tulsa 31-9-1 161 20
*22 Nebraska 28-8 145 22
23 South Alabama 34-7 128 23
24 USC Upstate 32-3 40 RV
25 North Carolina 31-13 33 RV
Others Receiving Votes: USF (22), *Oregon State (19), Wisconsin (16), Florida State (13), Louisiana-Lafayette (11), Virginia Tech (8), Notre Dame (4), Georgia (2), Minnesota (2), Iowa (1).
Dropped Out: No. 24 Oregon State (24-14), No. 25 Wisconsin (28-6)
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
-The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference. First-place votes are in parentheses.
* Denotes Duck opponents in 2013
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