Duke softball drops to No. 5 in coaches poll after first series loss

The Cavaliers took back-to-back games from Duke softball on Saturday, but the Blue Devils’ 39 wins kept them in the top five of the latest coaches poll.

Despite dropping two games in a Saturday doubleheader to Virginia, the Blue Devils softball team stayed No. 5 in the latest USA TODAY Sports/NFCA Division I Coaches Poll on Tuesday.

The two losses were Duke’s first consecutive losses this season, and UVA became the first team to take a series from the Blue Devils. Duke is still 39-6 for the season, and the Blue Devils have won 17 of their 21 conference games.

Duke did win its first two games of the week, a 16-3 throttling of UNC Greensboro on Wednesday before taking the first game from the Cavaliers on Friday night.

Texas (38-6) received all 28 first-place votes while Oklahoma, the three-time defending national champions, sits hot on its heels in second. Tennessee and Oklahoma State lept over Duke into third and fourth, respectively.

The Blue Devils also stayed inside the top five for USA Softball, but Softball America (No. 6) and D1Softball (No. 7) both dropped Duke out of the upper tier.