Oklahoma strengthened its hold as the No. 1 team in college softball by sweeping the Bedlam Series at Oklahoma State over the weekend. The Sooners extended their winning streak to 41 games, marking the fourth time in the past five seasons they have had a winning streak of at least 40 games.
Elsewhere in the Big 12, Baylor — the only team to beat Oklahoma (in February) — swept Texas, winning via run rule on Friday and walking off on a two-run error on Sunday.
In a battle of top-10 Pac-12 teams, Washington took two of three games against Stanford, shutting out the Cardinal on Saturday and Sunday to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament.
Key game last week: Oklahoma 4, Oklahoma State 2. Trailing 2-0 entering the top of the seventh inning, the Sooners rallied for four runs off Kyra Aycock and Kelly Maxwell, taking the lead on Tiare Jennings’ two-run double to left-center field with one out. The Sooners haven’t lost since Feb. 19, a 4-3 defeat to Baylor.
Marquee game to watch: Kentucky vs. Florida (Wednesday, 8 p.m. ET, SEC Network). Really, it’s the entire SEC tournament. More than half of the conference is in the top 25 of the rankings, and this will be a prime opportunity for teams to make a case for hosting a regional. Florida’s Skylar Wallace ranks second in the country with a 1.638 OPS and is one of two players in the country with 15 home runs and 30 stolen bases (Tennessee’s Kiki Milloy).
Player to watch: Maddie Penta, Auburn. The junior pitcher ranks fifth among all Division I pitchers with a 0.96 ERA and has helped the Tigers claim the No. 3 seed in the SEC tournament. Over her past eight outings, she has a 0.54 ERA with 62 strikeouts in 51⅔ innings.
Play of the week: Georgia’s Ellie Armistead did her best Derek Jeter imitation by fielding this grounder with her backhand, then turning, leaping and firing to get the out at first.
Here are the schools ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll (games as of May 8):
1. Oklahoma, 49-1 (25 first-place votes)
2. UCLA, 50-4
3. Florida State, 47-8
4. Tennessee, 41-8
5. Washington, 37-11
6. Stanford, 39-12
7. Texas, 40-12-1
8. Oklahoma State, 41-13
9. Duke, 43-9
10. Clemson, 45-8
11. Georgia, 39-12
12. Arkansas, 38-17
13. Alabama, 38-17
14. LSU, 40-14
15. Auburn, 39-16
16. Baylor, 39-15
17. Utah, 34-14
18. Oregon, 35-14
19. Northwestern, 35-11
20. Wichita State, 43-9
21. Florida, 35-19
22. Virginia Tech, 36-17
23. Texas A&M, 33-18
24. Louisiana, 43-13
25. Central Arkansas, 39-9