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Last Year's Finalists 'Bama and OU Top Initial 2013 Polls

With the 2013 college softball season starting this coming Thursday, February 7, the major preseason polls are now out.

In the ESPN/USA Softball Poll, defending NCAA champion Alabama is ranked No. 1 and last year's national runner-up Oklahoma is ranked second. Cal, Arizona State, Tennessee, and Oregon round out the top six.

The USA Today/NFCA Poll likewise has 'Bama, OU, Cal, and ASU as the top four. One slight difference is that USAT/NFCA has Oregon No. 5 and Tennessee No. 6.

Interestingly, the two historically dominant programs are not highly ranked this year. Arizona is pegged at No. 13 (USAT/NFCA) and 14 (ESPN/USAS), whereas UCLA is ranked 19th in both polls.

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