South Carolina softball holding on to one top-25 ranking in major polls

South Carolina softball dropped its fourth SEC series of the season last weekend. The Gamecocks did not play in the midweek before losing two of three in Knoxville against the top-10 Tennessee Lady Volunteers.

The 1-2 week moved USC’s season record to 23-17 overall, and the Gamecocks are now 3-9 in SEC play.

Below is a look at Ashley Chastain Woodard’s team’s updated placement in the rankings.

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Though the distribution doesn’t look the same as last week, three of the major polls (Softball America, D1Softball, ESPN.com/USA Softball, and NFCA/GoRout) left the Gamecocks out of their weekly top 25 rankings.

For the fifth week in a row, Softball America did not rank South Carolina. Joining them this week, D1Softball left USC out of the top 25 for the third time, and the NFCA/GoRout poll left Carolina out for the first time. Chastain Woodard’s group popped up in the voting for D1Softball and NFCA/GoRout.

Though Softball America didn’t rank Carolina, 10 Southeastern Conference teams did earn spots in the outlet’s top 25.

For the third week in a row, South Carolina did not earn a spot in D1Softball’s updated top 25. Like Softball America, D1Softball included 10 SEC teams in this week’s rankings. South Carolina found itself in the “also receiving votes” portion of the poll.

The combined ESPN.com and USA Softball poll dropped South Carolina out of its top 25 last week but restored the Gamecocks to the poll this week. Just as they were two weeks ago, USC slotted in at No. 24. 10 SEC teams are ahead of Gamecock softball in the top 25.

South Carolina softball fell out of the NFCA/GoRout top 25 for the first time this season. After being 25th a week ago, the Gamecocks earned some votes in the updated rankings. Despite the fall, the Gamecocks’ No. 11 position in the SEC remains the same.

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Once again, South Carolina softball will not play a mid-week opponent. Instead, the Gamecocks will see action in three weekend contests, as another SEC series begins on Friday.

The Gamecocks will return home for the first time in over two weeks, as the Florida Gators travel to Columbia. The Gators rank between sixth and eighth in all four major polls for this week.

Game one of the SEC series will begin at 6 p.m. on Friday at Beckham Field. The game will broadcast on SEC Network and stream on the ESPN app.

Then, on Saturday, the Gamecocks and Gators will start at 3 p.m. SEC Network and the ESPN app will again handle the television broadcast and gameday stream.

First pitch for Sunday’s series finale has been set for 1 p.m. Though the game will not be on traditional television, fans can stream the SEC contest on SEC Network+.

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