Where Alabama Softball is Ranked After Week 11
Even though it happened in a different order, Alabama softball saw a familiar situation play out over the weekend For the fifth time in six attempts, the Crimson Tide lost an SEC series, 1-2, this time, at Arkansas.
What was different against the Razorbacks was the strong performance in Game 2 delivered by freshman Jocelyn Briski in the circle as Alabama won the second game, 5-1. Ace Kayla Beaver threw eight shutout innings in Game 1, but got no run support, as Arkansas walked it off with an RBI single in extra innings. And then in the series finale, Beaver couldn't make it out of the first inning, and Arkansas run-ruled the Tide, 8-0 in five.
While Alabama has struggled in SEC play, the Crimson Tide has avoided getting swept so far this season and picked up some key wins over top-25 teams. However, the team faces a huge test this weekend with the first-place team coming to Rhoads Stadium, the Tennessee Lady Vols, who are No. 3 in the newest polls. Alabama dropped to No. 17 in both polls.
Here's where things stand in the national college softball polls after 11 full weeks of play:
USA Softball/ESPN.com Poll Week 11
(Team, first-place votes, record points)
1 Texas (25), 38-6, 625
2 Oklahoma, 42-4, 600
3 Tennessee, 34-8, 574
4 Oklahoma State, 39-8, 528
5 Duke, 39-6, 514
6 UCLA, 27-9, 473
7 LSU, 35-10, 451
8 Stanford, 36-10, 444
9 Georgia, 36-11, 404
10 Washington, 30-8, 403
11 Texas A&M, 32-9, 382
12 Florida, 37-10, 362
13 Arkansas, 32-12, 346
14 Missouri, 35-13, 310
15 Virginia Tech, 35-9-1, 292
16 Florida State, 36-10, 236
17 Alabama, 31-12, 217
18 Mississippi State, 30-13, 208
19 Louisiana, 33-15, 151
20 Arizona, 31-13-1, 130
21 Clemson, 31-15, 103
22 Kentucky, 29-15, 99
23 Oregon, 26-16, 95
24 Texas State, 37-12, 59
25 California, 31-14, 44
Others receiving votes: Northwestern (27), Boston U (20), Miami-OH (13), South Carolina (11), Baylor (10), Virginia (6), Auburn (1), Eastern Kentucky (1)
NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll Week 11
1. Texas (28) 38-6 791
2. Oklahoma 42-4 772
3. Tennessee 34-8 720
4. Oklahoma State 39-8 666
5. Duke 39-6 652
6. LSU 35-10 592
7. Stanford 36-10 590
8. Washington 30-8 566
9. UCLA 27-9 554
10. Texas A&M 37-9 536
11. Georgia 36-11 516
12. Florida 37-10 466
13. Virginia Tech 35-9-1 403
14. Missouri 35-13 377
15. Arkansas 32-12 360
16. Florida State 36-10 294
17. Alabama 31-12 291
18. Mississippi State 30-13 240
19. Arizona 31-13-1 235
20. California 31-14 163
21. Kentucky 29-15 120
22. Clemson 31-15 117
23. Boston University 40-4 110
24. Oregon 26-16 100
25. Louisiana 33-15 74
Others receiving votes: Northwestern (25), South Carolina (21), Texas State (19), Virginia (9), Miami (6), Auburn (4), Grand Canyon (3), Baylor (2), Eastern Kentucky (1).