BATON ROUGE — Riding a 12-game winning streak and after going undefeated to share the USF Under Armour Showcase championship last weekend, the LSU softball team moved up one spot in the ESPN/USA Softball poll to No. 10, while remaining at No. 10 in the NFCA/USA Today poll.
After coming in at No. 11 in the ESPN poll last week, LSU moved up one spot to No. 10 this week. This is the second consecutive week the Tigers have come in at No. 10 in the NFCA poll.
LSU has now been ranked for 35 straight weeks in the NFCA poll and has been among the nationally ranked teams in 139 of the 160 polls (.869) that have been released since the LSU program was reinstated in 1997. The Tigers have also been ranked in the top 10 for 92 total weeks. Since ESPN began its softball poll on Feb. 25, 2003, LSU has been ranked in 75 of the 84 polls (.893). The Tigers have now been ranked in the top 10 for 42 total weeks.
Southeastern Conference rival Alabama sits at No. 2 in the NFCA poll and No. 3 in the ESPN poll, followed closely by Florida in at No. 3 and No. 4 respectively. In addition, Tennessee is ranked No. 8 in the NFCA poll and No. 9 in the ESPN poll to give the league four teams among the top 10. That mark is tied with the Pac 10 for the most teams ranked among the nation’s top 10 of any conference.
Arizona State remains at No. 1 in both polls, while in the NFCA poll, Alabama is No. 2, Florida is No. 3, followed by UCLA and Stanford in the top five. Following the Sun Devils in the ESPN poll are UCLA at No. 2, Alabama at No. 3, followed by Florida and Stanford.
Rounding out the top 10 in the NFCA/USA Today poll are Michigan at No. 6, Arizona, Tennessee, Texas A&M and LSU. The remainder of the top 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball poll includes Michigan, Texas A&M, Arizona, Tennessee and LSU.
The SEC and Pac 10 are tied among all conference with five teams ranked each in the NFCA poll and six team ranked in the ESPN poll. In addition to the four teams ranked in the top 10 for the SEC, Georgia comes in at No. 20 in the NFCA poll, with Mississippi State ranked No. 21 in the ESPN poll and the Bulldogs tied for No. 22.
The Tigers will return to conference play next week. LSU will host Auburn in a three-game series at Tiger Park. Due to Easter Sunday, the series will be played on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers will square off on Friday with a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. before concluding the series with a single game on Saturday at 1 p.m.
All three games of the series will be broadcast on the LSU Sports Radio Network in Baton Rouge on The X ? 104.5/104.9 FM and in the Geaux Zone on LSUsports.net. In addition, the final game of the series will be televised on Cox Sports Television in Baton Rouge on cable channel 37.
NFCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll
Rank
Team
Record
Points
1.
Arizona State (28)
30-1
700
2.
Alabama
24-3
657
3.
Florida
31-2
644
4.
UCLA
26-3
617
5.
Stanford
27-2
546
6.
Michigan
21-2
528
7.
Arizona
17-5
526
8.
Tennessee
25-4
508
9.
Texas A&M
28-6
497
10.
LSU
24-4
474
11.
Houston
25-3
420
12.
Northwestern
12-6
380
13.
Oklahoma
25-7
372
14.
DePaul
17-6
305
15.
Baylor
17-6
272
16.
UL-Lafayette
19-5
267
17.
Hawai’i
21-8
219
18.
Washington
19-6-1
208
19.
Fresno State
23-5
187
20.
Georgia
26-8
166
21.
Ohio State
19-6
118
22.
North Carolina
24-6-1
94
23.
Long Beach State
20-8
81
24.
Virginia Tech
19-9
78
25.
San Diego State
22-9
76
Others Receiving Votes:Mississippi State 66, California 41, Auburn 24, Maryland 12, Kansas 7, Missouri 7, Iowa 1, Texas State 1, Nevada 1.
ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 Poll
Rank
Team
Record
Points
1.
Arizona State (17)
30-1
496
2.
UCLA (3)
26-3
472
3.
Alabama
24-3
454
4.
Florida
31-2
448
5
Stanford
27-2
413
6
Michigan
21-2
377
7.
Texas A&M
28-6
368
8.
Arizona
17-5
361
9.
Tennessee
25-4
333
10.
LSU
24-4
326
11.
Oklahoma
25-7
305
12.
Houston
25-3
288
13.
Northwestern
12-6
270
14.
Fresno State
23-5
209
15.
UL-Lafayette
19-5
196
16.
Baylor
17-6
171
17.
Hawaii
21-8
155
18.
DePaul
17-6
154
19.
Washington
19-6-1
136
20.
Long Beach State
20-8
109
21.
Mississippi State
22-9
76
T22.
San Diego State
22-9
64
T22.
Georgia
26-8
64
24.
North Carolina
24-6-1
52
25.
California
25-9
50
Others receiving votes:Ohio State 40, Virginia Tech 37, Missouri 30, Auburn 17, Maryland 15, Florida State 8, Kansas 6, Nevada 1.