Spartanburg, S.C. – Following wins over a nationally-ranked Syracuse squad and Penn State in the USF Under Armour Classic in Clearwater, Fla., last weekend, the USC Upstate softball team has inched closer to a Top 25 national ranking and has risen three positions to No. 11 in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll released by midmajorpoll.blogspot.com late Monday night.
Upstate received eight votes in the latest NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll, the most votes it has ever received in that poll. If the poll was expanded, the Spartans would be ranked 28th in the nation.
Upstate secured its first-ever top 25 national ranking last season when it entered the ultimatecollegesoftball.com Top 25 poll at No. 25 in early March. The Spartans have not secured a top 25 spot in either the NFCA/USA Today or ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 polls.
The rise in receiving votes in the NFCA poll is a result of Upstate's victories in the USF Under Armour Classic and maintaining its strong start to the season with a 20-4 record. The Spartans claimed a 3-1 win over No. 23 Syracuse last Friday. The Spartans then defeated Penn State on Saturday, a team that had previously defeated LSU, Auburn, North Carolina State and Virginia Tech.
Upstate was ranked 24th in the preseason mid-major poll and improved to 19th in the first regular season poll. The Spartans moved to 12th in the next poll before falling to 14th in last week's edition.
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