Feb. 16, 2010
COLUMBIA, Mo. – Coming off a huge weekend series against then-No. 2 Alabama, the Missouri Tigers softball team was rewarded for their efforts by jumping into the top six of both rankings. Released on Tuesday, Missouri came in at No. 6 in the USA Today/NFCA poll and No. 5 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll. Both rankings mark the highest the Tigers have ever been in the regular season. In 1997, Missouri was ranked seventh in the USA Today/NFCA twice over the course of the year.
The Tigers are coming off an opening weekend series win against the Crimson Tide in Tuscaloosa, Ala. Mizzou took the first game by a 2-1 final, and bounced back after being run-ruled 9-0 by issuing a 9-0 run rule of their own in the rubber match. The run-rule by Missouri marked the first time Alabama had ever been run ruled in their current softball complex, which opened in 2000.
Washington, the defending national champions, was unanimously voted No. 1 in both polls after starting 5-0. In the USA Today/NFCA poll, Arizona, Florida, Michigan and Arizona State rounded out the top five, while Arizona, Michigan and UCLA joined Washington and Mizzou in the ESPN.com/USA Softball’s top five.
Missouri will face No. 2 Arizona this weekend in a three-game set, marking the third straight series that the Tigers have been on the road for a three-game series against the No. 2 team in the country. On top of last week’s series win over Alabama, the Tigers battled with No. 2 UCLA in last year’s NCAA Super Regional championship. Just like the Alabama series, both teams split the first two games before Missouri pulled out a run-rule victory in the third and final game.
The Mizzou-Arizona series begins this Saturday, Feb. 20 with a doubleheader that kicks off at 1 p.m. CT. Stay tuned to mutigers.com for more information.
USA Today/NFCA Top 25
|
RANK
|
TEAM
|
Record
|
TOTALS
|
Last Poll
|
|
1
|
Washington (30)
|
5-0
|
750
|
1
|
|
2
|
Arizona
|
6-0
|
689
|
6
|
|
3
|
Florida
|
3-1
|
645
|
3
|
|
4
|
Michigan
|
2-1
|
635
|
4
|
|
5
|
Arizona St.
|
5-1
|
613
|
5
|
|
6
|
Missouri
|
2-1
|
600
|
9
|
|
7
|
UCLA
|
3-1
|
579
|
8
|
|
8
|
Georgia
|
3-1
|
546
|
7
|
|
9
|
Alabama
|
1-2
|
486
|
2
|
|
10
|
Georgia Tech
|
4-0
|
477
|
13
|
|
11
|
Stanford
|
4-1
|
450
|
10
|
|
12
|
California
|
4-1
|
410
|
12
|
|
13
|
Oklahoma
|
2-1
|
399
|
11
|
|
14
|
Ohio St.
|
4-1
|
369
|
14
|
|
15
|
Louisville
|
4-1
|
301
|
22
|
|
16
|
Louisiana-Lafayette
|
5-0
|
226
|
24
|
|
17
|
Fresno St.
|
6-0
|
210
|
25
|
|
18
|
Massachusetts
|
4-1
|
198
|
20
|
|
19
|
LSU
|
2-3
|
182
|
18
|
|
20
|
Texas
|
5-0
|
173
|
RV
|
|
21
|
Northwestern
|
2-3
|
159
|
15
|
|
22
|
Tennessee
|
1-2
|
152
|
16
|
|
23
|
Florida St.
|
4-1
|
134
|
23
|
|
24
|
North Carolina
|
2-3
|
104
|
19
|
|
25
|
Baylor
|
2-3
|
84
|
17
|
Others Receiving Votes:
DePaul 40, Texas A&M 26, Hawaii 23, Kentucky 14, BYU 13, Oklahoma St. 12, Southern Mississippi 10, Nevada 9, New Mexico St. 7, Illinois 6, Mississippi St. 6, Jacksonville St. 5, Central Florida 4, San Diego St. 2, Cal Poly 1, Creighton 1
ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25
|
Rank
|
Team
|
Record
|
Points
|
Ranking
Last Week
|
|
1.
|
Washington (20)
|
5-0
|
500
|
1
|
|
2.
|
Arizona
|
6-0
|
472
|
4
|
|
3.
|
Michigan
|
2-1
|
435
|
3
|
|
4.
|
UCLA
|
3-1
|
425
|
6
|
|
5.
|
Missouri
|
2-1
|
416
|
9
|
|
6.
|
Georgia
|
3-1
|
401
|
8
|
|
7.
|
Arizona State
|
5-1
|
372
|
7
|
|
8.
|
Alabama
|
1-2
|
346
|
2
|
|
T9
|
Georgia Tech
|
4-0
|
328
|
14
|
|
T9
|
Florida
|
3-1
|
328
|
5
|
|
11.
|
California
|
4-1
|
300
|
11
|
|
12.
|
Oklahoma
|
2-1
|
247
|
10
|
|
13.
|
Stanford
|
4-1
|
246
|
12
|
|
14.
|
Ohio State
|
4-1
|
243
|
16
|
|
15.
|
Texas
|
5-0
|
228
|
RV
|
|
16.
|
Louisville
|
4-1
|
197
|
21
|
|
17.
|
LSU
|
2-3
|
138
|
13
|
|
18.
|
ULL
|
5-0
|
122
|
23
|
|
19.
|
Fresno State
|
6-0
|
119
|
24
|
|
20.
|
Florida State
|
4-1
|
107
|
19
|
|
T21
|
Northwestern
|
2-3
|
78
|
17
|
|
T21.
|
Texas A&M
|
4-1
|
78
|
RV
|
|
23.
|
North Carolina
|
2-3
|
55
|
22
|
|
24.
|
UMass
|
4-1
|
51
|
25
|
|
25.
|
Baylor
|
1-3
|
47
|
15
|
Parenthesis Denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Tennessee and DePaul
New to Poll: Texas and Texas A&M
Others receiving votes: Tennessee (45), San Diego State (41), Oklahoma State (36), Kentucky (27), DePaul (21), BYU (16), New Mexico State (12), Nevada (9), Cal Poly (6), Jacksonville State (5), Ball State (3).
