UCLA maintained its undefeated record, but it didn’t come easily as the Bruins were pushed to a pair of eight-inning wins on Saturday at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, coming from behind to beat Wisconsin and Florida.
Fellow Pac-12 power Washington also went unscathed at Mary Nutter highlighted by a big win over Oklahoma, which was ranked #3 at the time. Florida beat three ranked opponents at the tournament despite the close loss to UCLA, 5-4.
Here’s the latest from the two polls Extra Inning Softball tracks for DI college softball (USA Today/NFCA and ESPN.com/USA Softball)…
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UCLA nearly unanimous in 2020 USA Today/NFCA D1 Top 25 Coaches Poll
UCLA continued as the No. 1 team in the 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bruins (15-0), who put forth an undefeated effort at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, received 31 of a possible 32 first-place votes and 799 points.
UCLA walked off with extra-inning wins over RV Wisconsin (3-1) and then-No. 7 Florida (5-4), while posting run-rule triumphs over Texas A&M and then-RV Auburn.
No. 2 Washington also enjoyed an unblemished record at the Mary Nutter. The Huskies (15-1) topped Wisconsin (5-3), Bethune-Cookman (8-1), then-No. 3 Oklahoma (12-2), Nebraska (10-2) and then-No. 25 Northwestern (3-2).
No. 3 Texas and No. 4 LSU leapfrogged Oklahoma. The Longhorns (15-1) and Tigers (13-1) combined to go 10-1 in their respective friendly confines. Texas edged RV North Texas 3-2 in nine innings, before posting a 4-1 record at its Texas Invitational. The Longhorns defeated Lipscomb twice, North Dakota State and Weber State, but did drop its first game of 2020, 1-0 to Duke.
LSU cruised to five wins last week, posting four shutouts and four run-rule victories. The weekend was capped off by Maribeth Gorsuch’s perfect game in a 4-0 win over Belmont, the first seven-inning perfecto in program history.
https://twitter.com/LSUsoftball/status/1231397370413244416
The Sooners (11-3) opened the Nutter with wins over Nebraska, Texas A&M and Seattle before dropping their final two of the weekend to Washington and Wisconsin.
No. 6 Florida moved up one spot after a 5-1 week. Following a mid-week win over Jacksonville, the Gators (16-2) put forth a very strong showing at the Nutter. UF struck down three nationally-ranked programs in then-No. 5 Arizona (3-2), Northwestern and then-No. 16 Arizona State, before suffering a tough 5-4 defeat to UCLA in eight innings.
Arizona fell two positions to No. 7 after a 3-2 weekend at the Nutter. The Wildcats (12-3) topped then-No. 18 Missouri, San Diego State and Auburn, but fell to Texas A&M and Florida. No. 8 Alabama cruised to a 5-0 mark at its Easton Bama Bash, with four run-rule victories and two shutouts.
No. 9 Florida State was idle, while Louisiana and Oregon came in tied for the 10th spot. The Ragin Cajuns (11-3) went 4-1 at the UAB Blazer Classic. After an opening loss to then-No. 14 Oklahoma State, Louisiana rebounded with wins over the Cowgirls, Ole Miss (2) and host UAB.
The undefeated Ducks (14-0) continue their rise up the poll following a 5-0 showing at the Nutter. Oregon posted triumphs over Bethune-Cookman, RV Mississippi State, RV Notre Dame, Idaho State and Northwestern.
Red-hot Baylor has won 11 straight, all at home, to bring its mark to 13-2 on the year and a No. 23 ranking. Northwestern fell out of the poll.
The 2020 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. Records reflect games played through Feb. 23 with first-place votes in parentheses.
2020 USA Today / NFCA Division I
Top 25 Coaches Poll – February 25 (Week 3)
| Rank | School | Totals | 2020 Record | Previous Ranking |
| 1 | UCLA (31) | 799 | 15-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Washington (1) | 765 | 15-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas | 689 | 15-1 | 4 |
| 4 | LSU | 672 | 13-1 | 6 |
| 5 | Oklahoma | 668 | 11-3 | 3 |
| 6 | Florida | 667 | 16-2 | 7 |
| 7 | Arizona | 592 | 12-3 | 5 |
| 8 | Alabama | 520 | 9-5 | 10 |
| 9 | Florida State | 509 | 7-4 | 9 |
| 10 | Louisiana | 491 | 11-3 | 11 |
| 10 | Oregon | 491 | 14-0 | 15 |
| 12 | Kentucky | 418 | 12-3 | 13 |
| 13 | Michigan | 392 | 10-3 | 8 |
| 14 | Georgia | 350 | 14-3 | 19 |
| 15 | Oklahoma State | 338 | 8-5 | 14 |
| 16 | South Carolina | 252 | 10-3 | 22 |
| 17 | Arizona State | 222 | 12-5 | 16 |
| 18 | Minnesota | 208 | 8-6 | 17 |
| 19 | Virginia Tech | 189 | 12-3 | 24 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 158 | 7-6 | 12 |
| 21 | Missouri | 151 | 12-5 | 18 |
| 22 | Arkansas | 150 | 12-2 | 23 |
| 23 | Baylor | 141 | 13-2 | RV |
| 24 | James Madison | 123 | 6-3 | 21 |
| 25 | Texas Tech | 122 | 10-5 | 20 |
New to Poll: No. 23 Baylor
Dropped Out: No. 25 Northwestern (5-9)
Receiving Votes: UCF (96), Fresno State (39), Mississippi State (38), North Texas (34), Duke (25), Utah (22), Houston (15), Oregon State (13), Wisconsin (10), Stanford (8), Northwestern (6), Notre Dame (6), San Jose State (4), Tulsa (3), BYU (2), North Carolina (2).
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ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll – Week 3
No. 1 UCLA (15-0) unanimously remains at the top spot on the Week 3 ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll after a sweep of their opponents at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.
UCLA’s wins included then-RV Auburn, then-No. 9 Florida, Texas A&M and Wisconsin.
After also competing in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, No. 2 Washington (15-1) holds on to their spot from last week. Washington went undefeated in Cathedral City with wins over Bethune-Cookman, Nebraska, then-RV Northwestern, then-No. 3 Oklahoma and Wisconsin.
No. 3 Texas (15-1) jumps up one spot from last week with a lone loss against then-RV Duke while No. 4 LSU (13-1) rises into the Top 5 for the first time this season after recording four run-rule victories and five total wins.
https://twitter.com/TexasSoftball/status/1231683952185946112
Oklahoma (11-3) drops to No. 5 after closing the week with back-to-back losses against then-No. 2 Washington and Wisconsin at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
2020 Season – Week 3 – February 25, 2020
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
| 1. | UCLA (20) | 15-0 | 500 | 1 |
| 2. | Washington | 15-1 | 476 | 2 |
| 3. | Texas | 15-1 | 445 | 4 |
| 4. | LSU | 13-1 | 424 | 7 |
| 5. | Oklahoma | 11-3 | 401 | 3 |
| 6. | Florida | 16-2 | 399 | 9 |
| 7. | Arizona | 12-3 | 375 | 5 |
| 8. | Florida State | 7-4 | 318 | 8 |
| 9. | Louisiana-Lafayette | 11-3 | 316 | 10 |
| 10. | Oregon | 14-0 | 300 | 17 |
| 11. | Michigan | 10-3 | 292 | 6 |
| 12. | Alabama | 9-5 | 281 | 13 |
| 13. | Kentucky | 12-3 | 262 | 11 |
| 14. | Oklahoma State | 8-5 | 221 | 14 |
| 15. | Georgia | 14-3 | 209 | 18 |
| 16. | Arizona State | 12-4 | 175 | 16 |
| 17. | South Carolina | 10-3 | 173 | 22 |
| 18. | Minnesota | 8-6 | 154 | 15 |
| 19. | Baylor | 13-2 | 100 | RV |
| 20. | Virginia Tech | 12-3 | 95 | 25 |
| 21. | Arkansas | 12-2 | 80 | 23 |
| 22. | Tennessee | 7-6 | 76 | 12 |
| 23. | Missouri | 12-5 | 71 | 19 |
| 24. | Texas Tech | 10-5 | 60 | 20 |
| 25. | James Madison | 6-3 | 52 | 21 |
Parenthesis denotes first place votes.
Dropped Out: Mississippi State
New to Poll: Baylor
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State (49), UCF (44), Duke (29), Utah (28), North Texas (25), Wisconsin (20), Fresno State (14), South Florida (14), Stanford (10), Northwestern (2), Houston (1), Notre Dame (1), Oregon State (1) San Diego State (1)
