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The ACC held center stage in the world of college softball this past week as Florida State and Clemson faced off in a series pitting a pair of top-10 teams. The upstart Tigers came in with a lofty 37-1 record, but the Seminoles reminded them who rules the roost in the ACC, completing a three-game sweep.
Florida State, winner of seven of the past eight ACC tournaments, snapped Clemson’s 29-game home winning streak with a doubleheader sweep Thursday, winning 7-0 and 4-1. The Seminoles closed the series by taking a 3-2 thriller Friday to secure a two-game lead in the conference standings.
For the series, Florida State allowed just one earned run against a Clemson offense that was among the top five in most major offensive categories.
Key game last week: Wichita State 8, Oklahoma State 7. The Shockers lived up to their name with a wild win over No. 2 Oklahoma State for the first victory over a top-five team in program history. Wichita State, which rapped out 14 hits, held on for the win as starting pitcher Lauren Howell, who allowed five runs in 4⅔ innings, returned to retire the side in the seventh for her first career save.
Marquee game to watch: Tennessee at Kentucky (Sunday, 2 p.m. ET, ESPN2). After dropping a pair of home games to Baylor last week, the Lady Vols look to strengthen their hold on the top spot in the SEC with a three-game series at Kentucky. The matchup features two of the country’s top hitters in Tennessee’s Kiki Milloy, who enters the week with 15 home runs and a .969 slugging percentage, and Kentucky’s Erin Coffel, third in the country with a 1.031 slugging percentage.
Player to watch: Montana Fouts, Alabama. The Crimson Tide’s ace threw her fourth career no-hitter, blanking South Carolina and recording 10 strikeouts. The fifth-year senior enters the week leading the country with 223 strikeouts (11.2 per 7 IP). Alabama is at Mississippi State this weekend.
Play of the week: How does Oklahoma continue to dominate? With plays like this one by Rylie Boone to rob Texas Tech of a home run.
.@rylieboonee said not today🚫#NCAASoftball x 🎥 ESPN+ / @OU_Softballpic.twitter.com/YluDP4v2wH
— NCAA Softball (@NCAASoftball) April 8, 2023
Here are the schools ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll (games as of April 10):
1. Oklahoma, 36-1 (25 first-place votes)
2. UCLA, 36-4
3. Oklahoma State, 35-3
4. Florida State, 32-7
5. Stanford, 31-6
6. Tennessee, 30-5
7. Clemson, 37-4
8. Texas, 33-8-1
9. Georgia, 31-8
10. Washington, 29-8
11. Arkansas, 28-11
12. LSU, 33-7
13. Duke, 30-8
14. Alabama, 28-12
15. Florida, 28-10
16. Kentucky, 24-10-1
17. Virginia Tech, 31-9
18. Oregon, 25-11
19. Baylor, 30-9
20. Northwestern, 24-9
21. Texas A&M, 24-13
22. Utah, 24-8
23. Wichita State, 34-7
24. Auburn, 29-12
25. Louisiana, 30-10
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