Upsets all over the diamond (softball and baseball)

February 22, 2023
The first weeks of a season are always illuminating — some teams live up to their preseason hype, while others are forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror.
CollegeBaseballSoftball
Upsets all over the diamond (softball and baseball)
SOURCE: NCAASOFTBALL/TWITTER

The GIST: The first weeks of a season are always illuminating — some teams live up to their preseason hype, while others are forced to take a long, hard look in the mirror. And with upsets all over the diamond (softball and baseball) last week, it’s time for a little Top 25 spring cleaning.

🥎 Softball: There were seismic shifts in yesterday’s women’s poll, with 10 of the Top 25 sliding four or more spots. The biggest poll drama came from last weekend’s two-game series between then–No. 17 Stanford and then–No. 10 Georgia: Stanford won both, earning them a six-point boost while Georgia snagged a six-spot stumble.

  • And after shocking then–No. 1 Oklahoma (and softball fans nationwide) on Sunday, previously unranked Baylor cracked the Top 25 as this week’s No. 22.
  • Also failing to score? Arkansas and Arizona, the new–Nos. 8 and 19, respectively, who each dropped four ranks after suffering multiple upsets last weekend. See which squad rallies when they face off in tomorrow’s Razorback Invitational.

⚾ Baseball: On the (bat) flip side, despite a weekend full of upsets, Monday’s men’s poll remained surprisingly (suspiciously?) calm. New–No. 3 Tennessee, in particular, is thanking their lucky stars they only slipped one spot after opening their season with two losses to unranked foes. Yikes.

  • As for the previous No. 3, Stanford failed upwards, rebounding from an 8–1 L to unranked Cal State Fullerton to take the rest of the three-game series and a one-point bump to No. 2. But that didn’t stop them from falling 8–4 to unranked Cal last night.
  • The upsets kept coming, with four other Top 25 teams falling to unranked opponents yesterday. Hug a Texas A&M fan today — their No. 5 Aggies’ 7–4 shellacking at the hands of relative unknown Lamar had to sting.