BearTalk

The Cal women’s softball team is ranked atop both national polls for the sixth consecutive week.

This time, only the vote of a single college coach prevented the Bears (45-3) from being unanimous No. 1 in both sets of rankings.

Cal collected 29 of 30 first-place votes in the USA Today/NFCA top-25, with No. 2 Arizona State securing the other first-place ballot. Alabama and Oklahoma are third and fourth, respectively.

In the ESPN.com/USA Softball rankings, Cal grabbed all 20 votes, with ASU again checking in second, followed by Oklahoma and Alabama.

Eight Pac-12 teams are in the ESPN top-25, seven in the USA Today poll. But a look at the NCAA’s official RPI computer rankings suggests that neither human poll gives the Pac-12 enough credit.

The RPI includes eight Pac-12 teams in its top 25, including four in the top 10 and six in the top 15.

Here’s how the computer rankings place the best Pac-12 teams: 1. Cal; 2. ASU; 7. Oregon; 10. Arizona; 13. UCLA; 15. Washington; 22. Stanford; 23. Oregon State.

Here’s the ESPN poll: 1. Cal; 2. ASU; 12. Oregon; 13. Arizona; 15. Washington; 17. UCLA; 21. Stanford; 22. OSU.

And the USA Today poll: 1. Cal; 2. ASU; 13. Oregon; 14. Washington; 15. Arizona; 17. UCLA; 19. Stanford. (OSU is not ranked).