OSU No. 24 in National Poll, No. 26 in First RPI
March 22, 2016 | Softball
CORVALLIS, Ore. – The Oregon State softball team softball is ranked hosting its first home series of the 2016 season this weekend, as the Beavers check in at No. 24 in this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Poll.
OSU combined its national ranking with an impressive ranking in the first NCAA Women's Softball RPI of the season, as the Beavers opened at No. 26 in the RPI released by the NCAA this week. The Beavers have the fifth-highest RPI amongst Pac-12 schools, behind only Oregon (No. 3 RPI), Washington (No. 4 RPI), Arizona (No. 16 RPI) and UCLA (No. 17 RPI).
This week marks the fourth-straight that Oregon State (20-7-1) has been nationally ranked. The Beavers have been ranked as high as at No. 22 this season, earning that ranking in the March 1 ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, their first national ranking since the 2013 season and their first by that poll since May 13, 2012.
The Beavers received 28 votes in this week's ESPN.com/USA Softball poll, sitting five votes behind No. 23 Fresno State, and three ahead of No. 25 Mississippi State. OSU is receiving 23 votes in this week's USA Today/NFCA poll, the highest vote total of any team outside its rankings. The Beavers were previously ranked by that poll at No. 25 last week.
Including Oregon State, six Pac-12 schools remain nationally ranked through this point. The other five conference members receiving national rankings are No. 4/7 Oregon, No. 10 Washington, No.14/16 UCLA, No. 18 Arizona and No. 21 Arizona State.
After 28 games on the road to start the season, the Oregon State softball team is set to play its first games of the season at the OSU Softball Complex when the Beavers host Cal next weekend in The Best College Town in the Pac-12. The series opens with 3 p.m. PT matchups on each of Thursday and Friday, and wraps up with the series finale on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. PT.
Oregon State's series against Cal will be aired live by various Pac-12 Networks outlets, including each of the National, Oregon and Bay Area outlets on Thursday. Each game on Friday and Saturday will be televised on Pac-12 Oregon and Bay Area. Ann Schatz will handle the play-by-play duties, while Tammy Blackburn will serve as the analyst.
For more information on the Oregon State softball team, follow the club's official Twitter account at Twitter.com/OregonStateSB, by Facebook at Facebook.com/OregonStateSB or on Instagram at Instagram.com/OregonStateSB.
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