Arizona softball continues falling in polls after Washington losses

If the postseason started now, Arizona softball would not be deserving of hosting Super Regionals. At least that’s what two major polls say.

After two losses at Washington, the Wildcats (14-5, 0-2 Pac-12) dropped from 7th to 9th in the latest NFCA Coaches poll, and from 9th to 10th in the D1 Softball poll. Arizona remained steady at 8th in the USA Softball poll. (The top eight seeds are first in line to host Supers.)

It has been a rough go of it lately for the Wildcats, who were once ranked as high as No. 2. They have lost three straight and four of their last five.

The good news is they return home this week for the first time in a month where they will host Oregon State, a team they have won 11 straight against dating back to 2016. Arizona’s last home game was actually against the Beavers, a 3-2 victory on Feb. 28 that counted as a non-conference game.

The Wildcats needed an extra inning to win and, in a way, it was a sign of things to come. They then went 4-3 on their Florida road trip, falling to UCF and Florida State twice.

Between those three losses and the Washington series, Arizona has only scored six runs in six games against ranked teams. They are 1-5 in those games. Getting the offense going will be priority number one against Oregon State.

After hosting four games vs. the Beavers, Arizona will head to Stanford, which has the best ERA in the conference (1.07).

Where other Pac-12 teams rank in the NFCA Coaches Poll

• UCLA: 2
• Oregon: 4
• Washington: 6
• Arizona State: 14