Softball America Composite Rankings: Week 8

The rankings below are not indicative of the Softball America Top 25. The Softball America composite rankings average all major College Softball polls and the RPI and KPI rankings. All stats include games played from Monday to Monday each week and do not include Tuesday’s games.

Movers and Shakers of the Week

With their series win over Oklahoma, Tennessee is our biggest mover of the week as they move from No. 12 to No. 9. Also, Duke had a much-needed series sweep over Louisville in ACC play this weekend. With that, they jumped three spots from No. 17 to No. 14. Even with the loss to Purdue, Nebraska has played much better softball as of late. They re-enter our rankings this week at No. 24.

The Cowgirls had a 2-2 week with losses to Georgia and Georgia Tech. They rebounded to defeat Georgia Tech in the second game of their series and run-ruled Penn State. However, that didn’t prevent the slide from No. 15 to No. 19. Comparatively, Auburn has now slid out of the top 25 overall and is still winless in SEC play. Finally, with their three-game losing streak at the hands of Virginia Tech, Stanford drops slightly from No. 13 to No.15.

Offense is Still King

Texas A&M stepped out of conference play this weekend and took full advantage of it. The Aggies scored 43 runs in four games. Their team batting average went from .332 to .351. Mya Perez leads the Aggies in power numbers with 10 home runs and 51 RBIs while hitting .457. Texas A&M has excellent metrics with a top 10 RPI and nine Quad One wins. They have more opportunities to add to that with series against Georgia and LSU over the next two weeks.

Oregon only played twice this week but took full advantage by outscoring Rutgers 41-3 in those two games. The Ducks have built a strong offensive team with a combination of speed and power. They are No. 5 in the country with 3.41 stolen bases per game. Kai Luschar is second in the country with 38 stolen bases. Additionally, Oregon has hit 57 home runs this year and is led by Freshman Rylee McCoy with 13. The Ducks are 31-3 right now, but based on a strength of schedule of only 117, could get seeded lower than expected.

See where Perez and McCoy rank in the first base power rankings

Georgia had an uneven weekend as they defeated Oklahoma State in a midweek game but lost their SEC series to Alabama two games to one. Even though it didn’t always translate into scoring more runs, nearly every offensive metric saw an uptick this week. The immediate road is tough against Texas A&M this weekend, but the load will lighten considerably. Georgia faces Auburn, Ole Miss, and Missouri to conclude the regular season.

Outs However We Can Get Them

The Red Raiders are on top of the Big 12 standings, and a big part of that is due to the dominance in the circle by NiJaree Canady. In the three-game sweep against Kansas, Canady threw 12 innings and gave up only three hits and one earned run. As a staff, Texas Tech surrendered just four runs in three games. Currently, Texas Tech is 27-9 but is searching for more quality wins, as they currently only have four top 25 victories.

Arkansas has rebounded very well after being swept by Oklahoma. The Razorbacks have won six of their last seven games. They have given up a total of 14 runs in those seven games. Robyn Herron continues to be the ace of the staff. Opponents are only hitting .183 off of her, and she leads the team with 10 wins. The schedule coming up for Arkansas is very challenging. Florida, South Carolina, Texas A&M, and LSU all remain for the Razorbacks.

Much like Texas Tech, Liberty got a weekend sweep by only giving up four runs in three games over UTEP. Elena Escobar leads the charge for the Flames in the circle. Her 1.84 ERA and 13 wins on the year lead the team. Liberty has been up and down against Power Four competition this year, going 6-5 in those games. However, they have an opportunity over the next couple of weeks with midweek games against Virginia Tech and Virginia.

Read more from Softball America:

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April Third Base Power Rankings
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