Tag: ESPN Poll

Where did Packers players rank in ESPN’s position-by-position top 10 polls?

The Packers had players ranked or mentioned in 9 of the 11 position groups on offense and defense.

Nothing makes winning in the NFL easier than having elite players. Stockpile enough of them, especially at key positions, and a team is going to be good. The NFL isn’t the NBA, where stars are everything, but every team in football wants as many elite players as possible.

The Green Bay Packers, despite losing receiver Davante Adams, still have elite players up and down the roster, at least according to the NFL.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler polled over 50 executives, coaches and players inside the NFL to discover who the league thinks are the elite players.

Of the major position groups on offense and defense, the Packers had a player mentioned in nine of the 11.

Here’s a breakdown of where the Packers ended up in the final poll/rankings:

Texas Softball Keeps Perfect Record Intact

The Texas Longhorns softball team kept their perfect record intact with a 3-0 weekend. The softball team was led by Miranda Elish.

After the Texas Longhorns softball team started 3-0 following their 12-0 victory in five innings, they kept it rolling through the weekend. The Longhorns played two games on Saturday. First up was their game against the Colorado State Rams.

The Longhorns started off the game with a scoreless first inning but the offense started rolling in the second inning where they brought four runs across the plate. The Longhorns went into the fourth inning with a 5-0 lead before Miranda Elish busted the game wide open with a three-run shot to get the scoring started. Kaitlyn Washington cleared the bases with a pinch-hit double with the bases loaded. MK Tedder brought Washington home on a RBI single to make it 12-0 Texas.

As good as Elish is with a bat in her hand, she was deadly on the mound. Elish pitched four scoreless innings where she struck out eight batters. Grace Green came on in the fifth but gave up three runs without recording an out. Courtney Day relieved Green, retiring all three batters to secure the 12-3 win in five innings.

In their second game of the day on Saturday, the Longhorns got off to a fast start. Texas would plate five runs in the first inning after retiring three of the first four batters faced before heading into the bottom of the first. Leadoff hitter Reagan Hathaway would walk and advance to third on a single then score on a throwing error by Wichita State.

After an Elish walk, Courtney Day would drive in a run on an RBI single. Mary Iakopo would bring everyone home on a home run to left. The Longhorns were up 5-0. After three scoreless innings, Wichita State would plate a run in the top of the fifth. Iakopo would drive in the ninth run of the day with an RBI double to give Texas the 9-1 victory.

On Sunday it was more of the same for the Longhorns softball team as they took on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi team. After AMCC took the early 1-0 on a fielders choice in the top of the first, Texas would answer immediately and frequently. Hathaway would score on a Janae Jefferson RBI triple to tie the game up. Jefferson and Shannon Rhodes would score on a Miranda Elish single to make it 3-1. Elish wasn’t done there.

In the second inning Tedder scored on a Rhodes single and then Sullivan walked in a run with the bases loaded to make the score 5-1 Texas. With the bases loaded, Elish stepped to the plate to break the game wide open.

Heading into the bottom of the third inning, the Longhorns led 9-2 after giving up a run in the top of the inning. Alyssa Popelka would take Elish’s place in the lineup. She immediately hit an RBI single to bring it to 10-2, the Longhorns rattled off eight more runs over the next two innings. Day took over on the mound in the top of the third inning. She struck out five batters and retired all nine she faced to secure the win.

The Longhorns softball team has yet to play beyond the sixth inning. Every game this season has been called due to the run rule for the Longhorns. They will head to Mexico next for the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge on Thursday.

Texas Longhorns Softball: Improve to 3-0

The Texas Longhorns softball team improved to 3-0 after a third straight run-rule game. They blanked Lamar 12-0.

The Texas Longhorns softball team improved their record to 3-0 after Friday’s decisive 12-0 victory over Lamar. This marked the third straight game that was called due to the run rule before the end of the sixth inning for the Longhorns softball team.

Ariana Adams got the start and win for the Longhorns as she pitched four innings giving up just one hit and two walks to Lamar. Adams also struck out four batters, forcing five ground outs and three flouts. Adams got her first win of the young season. Courtney Day finished the game on the mound for Texas. She pitched a scoreless fifth inning with two strikeouts and one fly out.

Miranda Elish got the scoring started in the second inning when she took a pitch out to right center field for the solo shot. Kaitlyn Slack brought home another Kaitlyn in Washington on a sacrifice bunt to bring it 2-0. The third inning is when the Longhorns busted the game open.

After a two runs came in on an infield error, Day came to the plate with a three-run homer to bring the score to 7-0. Following another error, Washington scored and Texas went to the fourth inning up 8-0. Texas would tack on four more in the fourth on a pinch hit two-run double by McKenzie Parker. Slack added a two-run single to bring it to 12-0.

 

Texas Longhorns Softball Ranked Sixth In The Nation

The Texas Longhorns softball team comes into the season ranked sixth in the ESPN Top 25 poll. The Longhorns look to win the Big 12 in 2020.

The Texas Longhorns softball team is looking to rekindle some of their postseason magic of the 2013 season that saw them reach the semifinals of the Women’s College World Series. That was the furthest in the tournament that the Lady Horns had ever reached. Last season the team reached the Super Regionals of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 under new head coach Mike White. He replaced Connie Clark who had been the head coach since they started the program in 1997.

ESPN Poll announced on Thursday ranked Texas at number six, just three spots behind their bitter rivals at Oklahoma. The Big 12 conference has four of the top 25 with Oklahoma State and Texas Tech also in the mix.

Last season the Longhorns finished with a record of 46-17. Their best since the 2013 season. The Longhorns and Sooners will likely do battle all season for softball supremacy in the Big 12.