Where Mississippi State Softball is Ranked After Week 12

Where do the Bulldogs rank after avoiding series sweep?
Mississippi State softball outfielder Paige Cook celebrates a home run against Florida.
Mississippi State softball outfielder Paige Cook celebrates a home run against Florida. / Mississippi State Athletics

Mississippi State snapped its four game losing streak against Missouri in a moment that could prove to be a season-defining one. Until the final inning of the series finale, Missouri had shut down the Bulldogs, allowing the Bulldogs just one run in 20 innings of play.

But in the seventh inning Monday night, Mississippi State’s offense found enough life to score three runs and Aspen Wesley struck out all three batters in the bottom half of the inning to secure the 3-2 victory.

MSU will try to keep that momentum headed into its final SEC series of the season against No. 12/14 Georgia (37-13, 11-10 SEC). The three game series begins at 5 p.m. Friday on SEC Network+.

While the seventh inning comeback could be an impactful moment for MSU, but it didn’t help the Bulldogs’ standings in the latest top 25 polls. The Bulldogs fell at least one spot in both the  ESPN.COM/USA Softball Top 25 and USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Polls. The following are the full polls:

ESPN.COM/USA Softball Top 25

(Rank, Team, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Texas (25), 42-6, 625, 1

2. Oklahoma, 45-4, 600, 2

3. Tennessee, 37-9, 563, 3

4. Oklahoma State, 42-8, 540, 4

5. Duke, 44-6, 516, 5

6. UCLA, 30-10, 493, 6

7. Stanford, 39-11, 484, 8

8. Texas A&M, 39-9, 420, 11

9. Florida, 39-12, 398, 12

10. Washington, 31-10, 377, 10

11. Arkansas, 34-13, 375, 13

12. Georgia, 37-13, 351, 9

13. LSU, 36-13, 338, 7

14. Florida State, 40-10, 312, 16

15. Missouri, 37-13, 311, 14

16. Alabama, 32-14, 222, 17

17. Louisiana, 38-15, 196, 19

18. Virginia Tech, 38-11-1, 186, 15

19. Mississippi State, 30-16, 149, 18

20. Arizona, 32-15-1, 146, 20

21. Oregon, 27-16, 105, 23

22. Clemson, 33-16, 104, 21

23. Northwestern, 31-9, 56, NR

24. Kentucky, 30-18, 46, 22

25. Miami (Ohio), 40-7, 42, NR

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Boston U (36), Texas State (34), California (33), South Carolina (27), Baylor (19), Auburn (8), Eastern Kentucky (2), Virginia (1), Michigan (1).

USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll

(Rank, Team, Record, Points, Previous Ranking)

1. Texas (30), 42-6, 798, 1

2. Oklahoma (2), 45-2, 770, 2

3. Tennessee, 37-9, 720, 3

4. Oklahoma State, 42-8, 696, 4

5. Duke, 44-6, 658, 5

6. Stanford, 39-11, 621, 7

7. UCLA, 30-10, 574, 9

8. Texas A&M, 39-9, 546, 10

9. Washington, 31-10, 545, 8

10. LSU, 36-13, 535, 6

11. Florida, 39-12, 452, 12

12. Florida State, 40-10, 430, 16

13. Missouri, 37-13, 424, 14

14. Georgia, 37-13, 404, 11

15. Arkansas, 34-13, , 15

16. Virginia Tech, 38-11-1, 333, 13

17. Alabama, 32-14, 244, 17

18. Arizona, 32-15-1, 202, 19

19. California, 33-15, 194, 20

20. Mississippi State, 30-16, 167, 18

21. Louisiana, 38-14, 147, 25

22. Boston University, 45-4-1, 136, 23

23. Clemson, 33-16, 111, 22

24. Kentucky, 30-18, 90, 21

25. Oregon, 27-16, 65, 24

OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Northwestern (62), South Carolina (33), Miami (22), Texas State (16), Grand Canyon (6), Virginia (3), Baylor (2)


Published
Taylor Hodges

TAYLOR HODGES

Award-winning sports editor, writer, columnist, and photographer with 15 years’ experience offering his opinion and insight about the sports world in Mississippi and Texas. Taylor has covered all levels of sports, from small high schools in the Mississippi Delta to NFL games. Follow Taylor on Twitter and Facebook.