Justin’s College Softball Week 10 “Mid-Major” Top 10

National College Softball Editor Justin McLeod’s “Mid-Major” Top 10 is here following Week 9 action.

For the second week in a row, two teams sit tied atop the MM Top 10. Louisiana and Central Arkansas continued their torrid paces on the season, with the Cajuns sweeping a conference series over Texas State despite losing midweek games to Baylor and Texas A&M. UCA, for their part, swept a series over Bellarmine with a convincing offensive effort.

Moving up to #3 this week is Boston, as the Terriers remain undefeated in Patriot League play. BU is riding an 18-game winning streak and have looked like a really solid team thus-far. The Terriers won’t meet fellow-undefeated Lehigh until the final week of the regular season.

Up to #4 is McNeese. The Cowgirls move up in the rankings after sweeping a Southland series with Nicholls and a day after their Tuesday night home win over LSU. The Cowgirls have lost just once in conference play and own some convincing non-conference wins, including LSU and Washington.

Northern Iowa also moves up this week, into the #5 spot. Currently on a six-game winning streak, the Panthers bookended a weekend sweep of Southern Illinois with midweek home-and-home wins over Drake. The SIU sweep saw UNI score a total of 42 runs in three games.

A solid team despite their subpar week’s showing, Charlotte checks in at #6 this week. The Niners lost a midweek game against Liberty – an extra-innings thriller on their home turf – and followed that performance with a series loss at North Texas. The Niners still have solid wins and are still a solid team, but need to rebound.

Just hours after last week’s MM Top 10 was released, Boise State dropped game one of a doubleheader to Nevada. The Broncos responded by winning game two against the Wolfpack, then sweeping a weekend pair of games against San Jose State and taking home a Monday win over Saint Mary’s.

Debuting in the MM Top 10 for the first time this season is Florida Atlantic. The Owls sit atop the Conference USA standings and are riding a 7-game winning streak. Series’ against Western Kentucky and North Texas await in the next two weeks, but the Owls have proven themselves a legitimate contender.

Returning to the MM Top 10 after several weeks of being “also noted” is Liberty, as the Flames have finally started pulling off some wins in some of their famously-high-caliber games. Last week’s midweek victory over Charlotte was an important one, while Tuesday’s win over Alabama was also a feather in the Flames’ cap. A big conference showdown at UCA is next up.

Rounding out this week’s rankings and checking in at #10 is South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits swept a conference series over North Dakota State on Sunday and Monday, reiterating their active and continued dominance of the Summit League. The Jackrabbits are an undefeated 9-0 in conference play.

ALSO NOTE:

Jacksonville State is no longer undefeated in the ASun, but the Gamecocks remain a solid team… Western Kentucky fell out of this week’s top ten after losing a series to Middle Tennessee, but the Hilltoppers can climb back in this weekend against FAU… Seton Hall is showing up and showing out in the Big East and reached the 30-win plateau on Tuesday… the WAC is a fun league, with Utah Tech still mathematically atop the standings after losing two out of three in a wild and wacky series against Grand Canyon.