College softball dustups rock NFCA Week 6 poll

Week six of the college softball season saw the true start to interconference play across the country.

These rivalry-laden matchups have caused some significant changes in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) top 25 poll, including movement among the top three teams for the first time since week two. 

Tennessee remains at the top despite suffering its first loss of the season. A three-game series against No. 11 Mississippi State saw the Lady Vols play three close games. 

The first game of the series was tied 0-0 until the 9th inning, when Tennessee rallied for three runs to eventually win it. Game two was Tennessee’s lone loss, which ended on a solo home run by Mississippi State’s Taylor Troutman in the 7th for a walkoff win.

Game three would end in a 4-1 victory for Tennessee. This weekend, No. 5 Florida will host Tennessee in a series that could shake up the top of the standings again.

Texas moves past Texas Tech to reclaim the No. 2 position on the NFCA week six poll. The team went 4-0 over the week, with two dominant wins over a 19-win Ole Miss team. 

Texas Tech’s one loss to No. 13 Arizona was enough for the NFCA voters to bump them down a spot. The first game of the series saw No. 3 Texas Tech get hammered, 9-0. 

Nijaree Canady, who is usually dominant on the circle, got roughed up this game. She gave up all nine runs, although just four were earned. The offense didn’t fare much better, managing just four hits on the day.

The Red Raiders would bounce back with wins of 14-6 and 8-0 to end the weekend on a high note.

Arizona State was the biggest riser this week, jumping from No. 25 to No. 20. The Sun Devils took two of three games against Oklahoma State, both of which were close one-run victories. Oklahoma State now sits at the No. 23 position.

Grand Canyon remains the only perfect team in the NFCA top 25 after No. 1 Tennessee and No. 4 Alabama suffered their first losses of the year. The team improved to 30-0 after a three-game sweep of New Mexico.

Arkansas fell two spots to No. 10 after a disappointing 1-2 record over the weekend. The Razorbacks had a tough task, facing No. 4 Alabama. In their lone win, the Razorback offense exploded for 14 runs.

Arkansas’ losses allowed Florida State and Nebraska to climb to No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Florida State dominated in three games against Syracuse, scoring a total of 36 runs in a clean sweep of the Orange. Nebraska took care of Michigan in a Big Ten series, winning all three games by three or more runs. 

25. Clemson, 19-9, (24)

24. UCF, 23-7, (22)

23. Oklahoma State, 18-9, (21)

22. LSU, 18-9, (20)

21. South Carolina, 19-10, (23)

20. Arizona State, 22-7, (25)

19. Stanford, 15-8, (19)

18. Oregon, 21-7, (18)

17. Grand Canyon, 30-0, (17)

16. Texas A&M, 19-8, (16)

15. Georgia, 20-7, (15)

14. Virginia, 25-3, (14)

13. Arizona, 21-7, (13)

12. Virginia Tech, 23-4, (11)

11. Mississippi State, 27-4, (12)

10. Arkansas, 23-4, (8)

9. Nebraska, 21-5, (10)

8. Florida State, 25-4, (9)

7. UCLA, 25-3, (7)

6. Oklahoma, 28-2, (6)

5. Florida, 29-1, (5)

4. Alabama, 26-1, (4)

3. Texas Tech, 27-2, (2)

2. Texas, 26-1, (3)

1. Tennessee, 26-1, (1)

Thank you for reading Female Athlete News. Carter Joseph Brooks is a student-intern at Penn State University.