Alabama Softball Rises in Polls after Series Win at Florida

A hard-fought series win in Gainesville helped propel Alabama softball further up the national rankings, earning a No. 5 spot in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll and a No. 7 spot in the USA Today/NFCA poll.

In the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, Alabama moved up two spots from No. 7 last week to No. 5 this week. UCLA sits atop the rankings for the second-straight week, while Tennessee and Oregon slide ahead of Florida, who dropped from No. 2 to No. 4 with the series loss last weekend.

Alabama moved up two spots in the Week Seven USA Today/NFCA poll, from No. 9 last week to No. 7 this week. UCLA sits at the top of the rankings for the first time since 2011 thanks to some impressive wins over No. 8 Arizona and No. 5 Washington. PAC 12 rival Oregon moves up to No. 2 and Tennessee moves to No. 3 as the previously top-ranked Gators fall all the way to No. 4 after losing two of three to Alabama in Gainesville.

Eight SEC teams are ranked in both polls, the most of any conference: Tennessee (2/3), Florida (4/4), Alabama (5/7), Kentucky (10/10), Georgia (14/13), Missouri (19/16), Texas A&M (20/17) and Auburn (21/21).

Alabama is 27-5 overall this season, including a conference-leading 8-1 record in SEC play. Alabama swept South Carolina and Ole Miss before taking two of three from Florida, the first series win in Gainesville for the Crimson Tide since 2005. For her efforts over the weekend, Jaclyn Traina was named the SEC Pitcher of the Week.

Alabama plays a midweek matchup against the Jacksonville Dolphins (12-18) in Jacksonville, Fla., on Tuesday, March 25 with first pitch set for 5 p.m. CT. This weekend, the Tide returns home for a three-game series against the LSU Tigers (19-12, 2-4 SEC).