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Softball America's Week One Composite Rankings

by:Jason Rhea•about 11 hours
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Crash Kamon/Softball America

The below rankings are not indicative of the Softball America Top 25. The composite rankings will average all major College Softball polls. RPI and KPI will be incorporated into the polls in weeks to come as new data is in place.

A Crazy Opening Weekend

One of the best things about the College Softball season is how much these teams challenge themselves early on in the year. So much so that four of the top 10 teams in the Preseason Composite Rankings took a loss in week one. With that said, let’s see the shakeup in this week’s Composite Rankings.

Oregon, Virginia Tech, and Arizona Brought the Sticks

The Ducks had an incredible weekend at the plate averaging nearly 15 runs per game. Additionally, they hit .464 as a team paced by Kai Luschar who hit .647 and added nine stolen bases on the weekend. Virginia Tech is typically among the nation’s leaders in home runs. However, they did a lot of their damage playing station-to-station softball. Singles accounted for 70% of their hits this weekend. Finally, Arizona had an impressive weekend overall. Devyn Netz announced her return with three home runs and 10 RBIs on the weekend.

There’s some serious spinning going on

We had six teams make it out of the opening weekend with a team ERA of 1.00 or below. The duo of Kaitlyn Terry and Taylor Tinsley led one of the best staffs in the country with 17 innings pitched without giving up a run. They also surrendered only one walk while striking out 34 batters. LSU also had a dominating weekend with a team ERA of 0.23. Freshman phenom Jayden Heavener impressed. She did not allow a hit and struck out 13 of the 18 batters she faced. Finally, Florida Atlantic had a fantastic weekend overall. The Owls came away from the Paradise Classic with a 0.85 team ERA. Queens transfer Autumn Courtney led the charge for her new team. She yielded one earned run in 18 innings pitched over the weekend.

Most Impressive and Most Disappointing

Texas A&M, Florida State, and Georgia were very impressive in the first week. The Aggies were tested by Utah State and Baylor but came out unscathed. After an opening-day loss to Oklahoma State, the Seminoles went through the remainder of the Puerto Vallarta Challenge undefeated. Lastly, the Georgia Bulldogs were very dominant in Central Florida with a 5-0 weekend. The mix of veterans and newcomers could be a recipe for success in a tough SEC slate.

Duke, which came into the top 10 of our Preseason rankings suffered a pair of setbacks. Depth behind Cassidy Curd will continue to be something that the Blue Devils will need to work through. Delaware and Georgia Southern secured upset victories over Michigan. Along with a 13-2 trouncing at the hand of Florida, the Wolverines have plummeted out of the top 15. Finally, the Cowgirls, Women’s College World Series contender struggled in the circle. Oklahoma State had a team ERA of 5.03 over the weekend. Things will need to get fixed quickly as the Cowgirls face UCLA, Kentucky, Texas A&M, Auburn, and Alabama in Clearwater.

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