BATON ROUGE — Despite not playing a game, the LSU softball team remained in the top 10 in both national polls released on Tuesday as the Tigers prepare to open the 2008 season on Friday at Tiger Park in the Easton Tiger Classic.
After coming in at No. 9 in the NFCA/USA Today preseason poll, LSU moved into a tie for seventh in the first weekly poll of the season. The Tigers dropped one spot from a No. 7 preseason ranking to No. 8 in the first ESPN/USA Softball poll of the year.
Despite also not playing last week, defending national champion Arizona remained atop both polls, edging out Alabama, which moved up to No. 2 in both polls. Texas A&M dropped to No. 3 in both polls before the polls diverge in the next pick. Tennessee comes in at No. 4 in the NFCA/USA Today poll, while Arizona State is No. 4 in the ESPN/USA Softball polls.
Rounding out the top 10 in the NFCA/USA Today poll are Arizona State at No. 5, Northwestern, Baylor, LSU, Oklahoma and UCLA. The remainder of the top 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll includes Tennessee at No. 5, UCLA, Northwestern, LSU and Oklahoma with Baylor and Florida tied at No. 10.
The Southeastern Conference and Pac-10 lead the way with six teams ranked each in the top 25, followed by the Big 12 with four ranked teams. Among the six SEC teams in the top 25, four are in the top 10, including Alabama, Tennessee, LSU and Florida, which is ranked in the top 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll. Georgia and Mississippi State also moved into the top 25 this week.
The Tigers will open the season at home on Friday in the Easton Tiger Classic. LSU will begin play at 3:30 p.m. against St. John’s before taking on Ball State at 5:45 p.m. The Tigers will also face Nicholls State and Chattanooga as part of the three-day tournament.
NFCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll
Rank Team Record Points
1. Arizona (29) 0-0 749
2. Alabama 4-0 693
3. Texas A&M 4-1 653
4. Tennessee 5-0 640
5. Arizona State 3-1 621
6. Northwestern 0-0 576
T7. Baylor 0-0 523
T7. LSU 0-0 523
9. Oklahoma 3-2 514
10. UCLA (1) 4-1 486
11. Florida 5-0 481
12. Michigan 4-1 443
13. Stanford 4-0 336
14. DePaul 4-2 334
15. Washington 2-1-1 324
16. Hawai’i 0-0 322
17. Cal State Fullerton 3-1 207
18. Ohio State 5-0 197
19. Virginia Tech 3-2 154
20. UL-Lafayette 3-0 136
21. Georgia 5-1 126
22. Mississippi State 5-0 109
23. Houston 4-0 75
24. Texas 2-1 69
25. Oregon State 2-3 68
Others Receiving Votes: UNLV 67, Missouri 53, Oregon 52, BYU 46, Fresno State 34, Georgia Tech 32, Southern Illinois 26, North Carolina 19, South Carolina 11, Louisville 9, San Diego State 8, Pittsburgh 8, Hofstra 6, Cal Poly 5, Kansas 3, SE Louisiana 3, Maryland 3, Florida Atlantic 1, Iowa 1, UMass 1.
ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
Rank Team Record Points
1. Arizona (19) 0-0 499
2. Alabama 4-0 462
3. Texas A&M 4-1 445
4. Arizona State 3-1 443
5. Tennessee 5-0 382
6. UCLA (1) 4-1 379
7. Northwestern 0-0 374
8. LSU 0-0 360
9. Oklahoma 3-2 350
T10. Baylor 0-0 314
T10. Florida 5-0 314
12. Michigan 4-1 278
13. DePaul 4-2 237
14. Stanford 4-0 233
15. Hawaii 0-0 209
16. Washington 2-1 168
17. UL-Lafayette 3-0 165
18. Virginia Tech 3-2 134
19. Ohio State 5-0 120
20. Cal State Fullerton 3-1 96
21. Mississippi State 5-0 91
22. Missouri 3-2 56
T23. Georgia 5-1 54
T23. UNLV 3-1 54
25. Oregon State 2-3 39
Others receiving votes: Georgia Tech (38), North Carolina (34), BYU (31), Fresno State (28), Houston (27), Southern Illinois (17), Texas (17), Oregon (11), San Diego State (10), Cal Poly (7), Nebraska (6), Cal (4), Florida State (3), Long Beach State (3), Maryland (3), UMass (3) and Utah (2).
Softball to Start Season in Nation's Top 10