Around NCAA softball: April 17

A new No. 1 in Week 10 power rankings

The Texas Longhorns have moved to the No. 1 spot in the Week 10 NCAA softball rankings after they won their series against Oklahoma, swept No. 24 Baylor and beat Texas State.

Texas was ranked No. 4 in the previous rankings, but now have made their way to the top for Week 10. The Longhorns’ team numbers on the season rank among some of the best in the NCAA.

They rank second in team batting average (.369) and are sixth in ERA (1.69) in the NCAA.

Power ranking shakeups

Duke was ranked No. 1 in the Week 9 NCAA power rankings, but has since fallen to No. 3. Duke swept Clemson in a three-game series but lost 3-2 in their mid-week matchup at home against Campbell.

The Oklahoma State Cowgirls dropped to No. 6 in the Week 10 power rankings, they previously were ranked No. 3. Oklahoma State dropped a series against an unranked Iowa State team after losing the first two and mercying Iowa in game three.

The University of Missouri makes its way up to the top 10 for the Week 10 power rankings. They took their mid-week matchup against Drake then took the series against the University of Florida.

Ranked matchups of the week

No. 7 LSU Tigers take on the No. 4 Tennessee Lady Volunteers starting Friday.

LSU stands at 34-8, losing its most recent series to Auburn and taking their mid-week match-up versus UL Lafayette. The Lady Volunteers are 32-7 and won both of their last two series against Georgia and Mississippi State.

A big matchup on the West Coast between the No. 11 UCLA and the No. 5 Stanford begins on Friday.

UCLA is 24-9, only one game was played in their series against California Berkley, in which they won. But UCLA won its most recent series against Oregon State. Stanford is 34-7, and is 8-2 in their last 10 games, most recently winning a series against Oregon State.

Player performance highlights

Not only did the Longhorns make their way up to the top of the power rankings, but junior utility player Mia Scott went 3-4 in the first game against Baylor. Scott was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.

In the Big Ten, Northwestern has started to turn some heads as they are on an eight-game winning streak. Sophomore Kansas Robinson’s .442 batting average ranks 22nd in the NCAA.

UCLA will most likely be facing Stanford’s No. 1 pitcher in NiJaree Canady a few times during their upcoming series. Canady leads the entire NCAA with an outstanding 0.46 ERA, giving up only eight earned runs in 122.1 innings.

Caitlyn Brooks is a first-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email crb6283@psu.edu.