Release courtesy of the NFCA
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – By virtue of receiving 15 of 16 possible first-place votes, West Texas A&M continues at No. 1 for the second consecutive week according to the release of the NFCA Division II softball rankings on March 20.
The Lady Buffs improved their record to 21-2 overall by taking two of three Lone Star Conference contests from then-No. 19 Midwestern State on the road in Wichita Falls, Texas. After suffering just their second loss of 2013 via a 6-3 defeat in the series opener versus the Mustangs, West Texas A&M erupted for 22 total runs during a Saturday doubleheader in sweeping a pair of slugfests, 14-12 and 8-6.
After taking both ends of a doubleheader from Drury and improving its overall winning streak to 13 games, Indianapolis (20-2) continued its steady climb up the polls, reaching yet another season-peak by advancing into the No. 2 position. Preseason No. 1 and defending national champion Valdosta State (23-6) garnered the single remaining first-place nod, but dropped a slot to third after going 3-1 last week with a doubleheader sweep of West Georgia and a split against Shorter.
Armstrong Atlantic State (22-3-1) and Southeastern Oklahoma State (25-6) managed to hold firm in the No. 4 and 5 positions, respectively.
A perfect six-victory week with DH sweeps of Belmont Abbey, USC-Aiken and Lander helped North Georgia (25-6) leap three spots to No. 6, while Tampa (18-6) improved four positions to seventh after a two-games-to-one series triumph (0-2, 5-0, 2-1) at then-No. 6 Rollins. Grand Canyon (22-7) fell a single slot to No. 8, while ninth-ranked Texas Woman’s (27-7) and 10th-rated Rollins (29-4) rounded out the top 10, respectively.
Only two teams entered this week’s poll as Gannon (13-2) advanced to No. 22, while St. Mary’s (24-9) settled in at No. 25. Previous No. 13 West Virginia Wesleyan (13-9) and No. 22 Francis Marion (19-11) dropped into the latest list of those “teams receiving votes.”
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Current 2013 records are shown, first-place votes are in parentheses.
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
Totals |
Last Poll |
|
1 |
West Texas A&M (15) |
21-2 |
399 |
1 |
|
2 |
Indianapolis |
20-2 |
378 |
3 |
|
3 |
Valdosta State (1) |
23-6 |
367 |
2 |
|
4 |
Armstrong Atlantic |
22-3-1 |
356 |
4 |
|
5 |
SE Oklahoma State |
25-6 |
336 |
5 |
|
6 |
North Georgia |
25-6 |
300 |
9 |
|
7 |
Tampa |
18-6 |
290 |
11 |
|
8 |
Grand Canyon |
22-7 |
289 |
7 |
|
9 |
Texas Woman's Univ. |
27-7 |
246 |
10 |
|
10 |
Rollins |
29-4 |
245 |
6 |
|
11 |
Fort Hays State |
19-3 |
226 |
21 |
|
12 |
California (Pa.) |
14-0 |
208 |
16 |
|
13 |
Colo. School of Mines |
20-3-1 |
194 |
12 |
|
14 |
Molloy |
14-4 |
190 |
15 |
|
15 |
Sonoma State |
18-7 |
186 |
14 |
|
16 |
Central Oklahoma |
17-5 |
167 |
8 |
|
17 |
Grand Valley State |
10-2 |
146 |
18 |
|
18 |
West Alabama |
17-6 |
125 |
17 |
|
19 |
Midwestern State |
20-6 |
111 |
19 |
|
20 |
Columbus State |
22-11 |
79 |
24 |
|
21 |
Cal St. Dominguez Hills |
17-9 |
74 |
20 |
|
22 |
Gannon |
13-2 |
66 |
RV |
|
23 |
Winona State |
13-3 |
46 |
23 |
|
24 |
North Alabama |
21-9 |
34 |
25 |
|
25 |
St. Mary's |
24-9 |
27 |
NR |
Dropped Out of Poll: No. 13 West Virginia Wesleyan (13-9), No. 22 Francis Marion (19-11)
Others Receiving Votes: Lenoir Rhyne (24), Adelphi (18), West Virginia State (16), UC San Diego (15), West Virginia Wesleyan (11), Augustana (SD) (8), Minnesota State Mankato (7), Francis Marion (6), Dixie State (3), Flagler (3), LIU Post (2), Kutztown (2).
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