Five Pac-12 squads ranked in Softball America's new Top 25 poll
The 2022 softball season is off and running, and the folks at Softball America have five Pac-12 sides in their latest Top 25.
Washington and UCLA sit at No. 5 and No. 6, respectively. Oregon checked in at No. 11, with Arizona at No. 13 and Arizona State hanging on in the standings at No. 25.
Brand new Top 25 👀https://t.co/vpWnuiXi3E pic.twitter.com/vnRUNNYBCW
— Softball America (@SoftbalAmerica) February 22, 2022
The Huskies moved up two spots after opening their season 9-1. In the team’s first eight wins, UW outscored its opponents 68-14. That included an 8-0 win over then-No. 8 Arkansas in the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, and an 11-0 win over then-No. 15 Tennessee at the St. Pete Clearwater Elite Invitational last Friday.
The Huskies lost for the first time this season 2-0 to Clemson on Sunday. The Tigers rose from No. 15 to No. 12 thanks in part to that win.
UCLA dropped from No. 3 to No. 6 after opening the season 7-3. The Bruins won their first four contests without conceding a run and knocking in 47 combined runs. But a highly-anticipated early-season matchup with Oklahoma at the Mark Campbell Invitational on Feb. 12 went the way of the Sooners, 4-1.
The Bruins also have a 6-4 loss to Northwestern on the ledger and a 4-3 loss to Florida State their last time out, but all three of UCLA’s defeats so far have come against current top-10 teams.
Oregon moved up one spot, from No. 12 to No. 11, after opening the season 8-1. The Ducks lost 3-0 to Baylor on Friday in the first game of a doubleheader, but took Game 2 8-4 and then won the rubber match on Saturday 10-4 after an electric seven-run seventh inning.
Arizona fell from No. 10 to No. 13 in the new ranking after opening its season 7-2. But, like UCLA, both losses so far have been to major foes. The Cats lost 11-0 to No. 2 Alabama at the Candrea Classic on Feb. 12 and 7-6 to No. 16 Kentucky last Saturday.
Arizona State dropped from No. 23 to No. 25 After opening the year 7-3. The Sun Devils lost 5-2 to Oklahoma State on Feb. 10, 4-0 to Missouri State on Feb. 13, and 7-5 to Minnesota on Feb. 19. But, each of their last two losses came after wins in the first games of the series. ASU beat the Bears 7-3 on Feb. 11 and beat the Gophers 8-0 on Feb. 17.