College softball rankings: Florida State holds strong at No. 1 in NFCA poll after three top 10 wins

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Florida State posted a 6-0 mark at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational to strengthens its hold on the No. 1 ranking in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. The defending champs received 29 of a possible 32 first-place votes and 793 points.

The Seminoles (11-0) knocked off three top-10 programs — then-No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Tennessee and No. 8 LSU — along with RV Ohio State, RV Minnesota and Florida Atlantic to remain perfect on the season.

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No. 2 UCLA and new-No. 3 Florida kept their perfect records intact as well. The Bruins (9-0) posted four wins in a weather-shortened weekend, while the Gators (11-0) enjoyed a 6-0 week, which included a 7-2 win at then-No. 14 Arizona State.

No. 6 Alabama, No. 10 Louisiana, No. 19 Indiana and No. 23 Texas Tech are the other undefeated programs after two weeks. The Crimson Tide (10-0) swept through the Hillenbrand Invitational, which included a 6-1 win over the hosts and then-No. 9 Arizona. The Ragin’ Cajuns (11-0) joined the top 10 following seven home wins last week, two of which came against RV California.

👀

🚨 𝗟𝗼𝘂𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗮 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝟭𝟬 🚨

Ragin' Cajuns listed at No. 10 in the Week 2 USA Today/NFCA poll.

View Poll: https://t.co/18gkhRCC3u#GeauxCajuns ⚜️ pic.twitter.com/Hml2cSdpDA

— Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns® Softball (@RaginCajunsSB) February 19, 2019

The Hoosiers (9-0) continued its hot start, second best in program history, rifling up five spots. IU swept four games at the ACC/Big Ten Challenge against Duke and Syracuse in Durham, North Carolina. 

New to the poll and the final undefeated team in the rankings is No. 23 Texas Tech. The Red Raiders (10-0) swept the competition at the Plainsman Invitational, recording three shutouts and a win over host and then-No. 21 Auburn.

No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 7 Tennessee and No. 9 LSU all competed at the St. Pete/Clearwater Elite Invitational, posting 4-1, 3-2 and 3-2 records, respectively. The Sooners (9-1) captured wins over then-no. 18 Kentucky, RV Notre Dame, FAU and then-RV Hofstra. 

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The Lady Vols (8-2) triumphed over RV Notre Dame, new-No. 24 Minnesota and then-RV Utah and also dropped a decision to then-No. 23 James Madison. The Tigers (9-2) defeated No. 20 Oklahoma State, No. 11 Texas and RV Ohio State and also fell to then-No. 19 Oregon.

No. 5 Washington and No. 8 Georgia also posted perfect weekends. The Huskies (8-1) earned wins over then-No. 25 Mississippi State, No. 12 Arkansas, UCF and North Dakota State in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, while the Bulldogs (9-1) breezed through its home weekend against Buffalo, Winthrop and Omaha, outscoring the competition 60-4.

Two more wins today!

G1>>https://t.co/7NZRCqqAuP
G2>>https://t.co/ietISX9wBt#GoHuskies // #MightyAreTheWomen pic.twitter.com/b1GnITgPos

— Washington Softball (@UWSoftball) February 16, 2019

Joining Texas Tech as top-25 newcomers are and No. 25 Illinois. Then-No. 17 Michigan, then-No. 22 Texas A&M and Mississippi State dropped out.

The 2019 USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by 32 NCAA Division I head coaches, one representing each conference. The records reflect games played through Feb. 17, 2019.