RANKINGS
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A 16-1 week from the Top five saw no movement at the top of the rankings, though the rest of the Top 10 experienced a bit of shifting in this week’s Extra Inning Softball/JWOS College Power Rankings for Week 11.
With a couple of teams falling out of the rankings after experiencing series sweeps— including Auburn and Stanford—Wisconsin rejoins the rankings after a week away while the North Carolina Tar Heels jump into the Power Ranking party after showing themselves as serious contenders over the last two weekends of ACC play.
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1. Oklahoma Sooners (41-2, last week: 1)
The Sooners solidified their stronghold on the top spot with a three-game sweep of the Red River Rivalry and archrivals Texas.
2. UCLA Bruins (40-2, last week: 2)
In a conference series against Oregon State, the Bruins made quick work of the Beavers, outscoring their opponents 25-3 and posting a run-rule victory in game two of the series.
3. Arizona Wildcats (38-7, last week: 3)
Another team that made quick work of a conference opponent, the Wildcats opened a series against Stanford with a shutout win and completed the sweep with back-to-back run-rule wins.
4. Alabama Crimson Tide (45-4, last week: 4)
Down in the Swamp against Florida, the Tide proved that their nation’s-best win total is no accident, as they swept past the Gators in an impressive performance on the road.
5. Washington Huskies (38-7, last week: 5)
A single loss to Utah did not drop the Huskies in our rankings, as they won the series over the Utes and added a win over BYU for good measure. It did bring about some questions about the Huskies’ inclusion in the definition of the nation’s truly “elite” teams.
6. Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (42-4, last week: 8)
The Cajuns won their 53rd consecutive conference series this weekend over Georgia State and moved to a perfect 21-0 showing in Sun Belt conference play.
7. Florida State Seminoles (41-8, last week: 9)
After beginning the calendar week with a pair of losses to North Carolina—which were accounted for in the Week 10 power rankings—the ‘Noles rebounded from back-to-back series losses with a three-game sweep over Boston College that included three shutouts.
8. Minnesota Golden Gophers (32-10, last week: 10)
The Gophers recorded a three-game sweep over conference for Nebraska in Lincoln, outscoring the Cornhuskers 20-6 and moving to 13-1 in conference play.
9. Tennessee Lady Vols (34-10, last week: 7)
A series loss to Georgia moved the Vols to an 11-7 record in conference play, a mark that surprisingly sits near the pinnacle of the SEC.
10. Oklahoma State Cowgirls (33-11, last week: 11)
Taking a week off from conference play, the Cowgirls went 1-0 on the week with just a midweek shutout victory over Tulsa to their credit.
11. Ole Miss Rebels (33-12, last week: 12)
Just a few hours after posting a slaughtering 21-0 win over archrivals Mississippi State, the Rebels came out cold in the second game of the series and were shut out themselves before recording the series win a day later.
12. LSU Tigers (37-11, last week: 6)
On the road against Arkansas, the Tigers lost the series opener to the Hogs 8-5 and were embarrassed by an 11-1 run-rule defeat before rebounding for a 3-1 win to avoid the series sweep.
13. Northwestern Wildcats (36-7, last week: 19)
Quietly undefeated in Big Ten play with a perfect 15-0 record, the Wildcats posted their fifth series sweep of the season, outscoring Purdue 25-6 and notching a trio of wins over the Boilermakers.
14. James Madison Dukes (36-7, last week: 18)
The Dukes posted a perfect 5-0 week bookending the week with run-rule victories over Duke and College of Charleston, respectively. With two wins over the Blue Devils and a conference sweep over the Cougars, the Dukes outscored opponents 46-9 on the week.
15. South Florida Bulls (35-15, last week: 20)
Since losing a one-run affair to Florida on April 10th, the Bulls are 6-0 in conference play and have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 18-4.
16. Texas Longhorns (36-12, last week: 13)
An embarrassment of a performance in the Red River Rivalry—with three losses to their bitter rivals Oklahoma—was almost compounded by an earlier midweek performance against UT-Arlington that required a come-from-behind victory to take down the Mavs.
17. Colorado State Rams (34-7, last week: 16)
After absorbing just their third conference loss of the season in the series opener against Nevada, the Rams rebounded with a shutout run-rule win in game two of the series and finished off the Wolfpack with a 9-1 victory in game three.
18. Texas Tech Red Raiders (35-9, last week: 17)
Another team that lost a series opener to a lower opponent, the Red Raiders pulled off a comeback of their own with two straight wins to close the weekend and earn the series win over Kansas.
19. Florida Gators (37-12, last week: 15)
Were they not the perennial-contender Florida Gators, Tim Walton’s club might not be ranked at all after an embarrassing home sweep at the hands of Alabama. The Crimson Tide are a top-caliber team, but the Gators aren’t used to getting swept, much less at home.
20. Arkansas Razorbacks (34-15, last week: 24)
Another SEC team that has seen quite a see-sawing campaign, the Hogs made some noise against an SEC West rival, taking the series win from LSU and moving to 8-10 in conference play.
21. Michigan Wolverines (33-11, last week: 21)
A 12-1 midweek victory over archrivals Michigan State led into a weekend conference series at Illinois, where the Wolverines recorded a series sweep over the Fighting Illini, outscoring the Illini 27-14 and running their own conference record to 15-1.
22. Virginia Tech Hokies (40-8, last week: 14)
The Hokies suffered their first major slip-up of the conference season, recording a series loss to North Carolina as they only managed to salvage a shutout win in game two of the series against the upstart Tar Heels.
23. South Carolina Gamecocks (34-12, last week: 22)
Taking on a pair of regional opponents in an off-week from conference play, the Gamecocks recorded a decisive win over USC-Upstate and swept a doubleheader against UNC Greensboro.
24. North Carolina Tar Heels (30-15, last week: NR)
Back-to-back series wins over the ACC’s two best teams in Florida State and Virginia Tech see the Tar Heels make their first appearance of the season in the Power Rankings. Of note, the Heels also own early-season wins over Georgia, South Carolina, and Northwestern.
T25. Wisconsin Badgers (33-8, last week: NR)
Just one week after suffering a series sweep at the hands of Northwestern, the Badgers bestowed a similar fate on another conference rival, Indiana. The Badgers swept past the Hoosiers, twice shutting out IU and outscoring the Hoosiers 17-3.
T25. Kentucky Wildcats (28-18, last week: NR)
Another team benefitting in national polls from their affiliation with the SEC, the Wildcats earned their way back into the rankings this week with a positive showing in the latest result from their up-and-down campaign. The Wildcats recorded an impressive series sweep over Auburn in Lexington.
Dropped out: #23 Stanford, #25 Auburn
— Justin McLeod, Extra Inning Softball College Correspondent