LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Anderson University softball team, which is riding a six-game win streak, received votes in the most recent NFCA Division II Poll that was released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday.
The Trojans (21-5), who are currently atop the South Atlantic Conference standings with four consecutive league wins, are joined by fellow conference members Lenoir-Rhyne and Wingate in the "receiving votes" category. Anderson has won 17 of its last 20 and is receiving national recognition for the first time since also receiving votes in the NFCA Preseason Poll.
West Texas A&M (20-3) won three road games at No. 6 Angelo
State and extended its record streak at the No. 1 spot to 56
consecutive weeks in the NFCA Division II Pol. The top four spots
remain the same with the nation's hottest team, Dixie State (25-5),
moving back into the top 5 and Georgia College (26-4) making its
first appearance in the top 10.
The Lady Buffs picked up 11 first place votes and 394 points, eight
points ahead of second-ranked Valdosta State. WT opened the series
with a resounding 21-0 victory over the Rambelles, but the next
three contests were close affairs. The Lady Buffs extended their
winning streak to nine games with 2-1 and 4-2 victories in games
two and three before having it snapped by a 1-0 defeat in the final
game of the Lone Star Conference series. WT has still won 17 of its
last 19.
Valdosta State (26-2) ran its winning streak to 16 games with five
triumphs last week. The Blazers swept a non-conference doubleheader
from Florida Tech (4-0 / 3-2) and then run-ruled their way to a
Gulf South Conference series sweep of West Alabama, outscoring the
Tigers, 38-1.
Cal State Monterey Bay (22-3) is riding an eight-game winning
streak after winning all six of its contests last week. The Otters,
who picked up one first-place vote, swept a mid-week doubleheader
from Dominican (11-0 / 8-2) and won all four games against Cal
State Dominguez Hills (6-1 / 8-0 / 4-1 / 7-6) in a CCAA series.
No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis (17-1) did not let a 17-day layoff
courtesy of weather-related cancellations and postponements bother
it. The Tritons swept a pair of doubleheaders from Lake Superior
State (8-0 / 10-2) and Great Lakes Valley Conference foe McKendree
(1-0 / 7-3) to run their winning streak to 14 games as of
Sunday.
Dixie State moved into the No. 5 spot following a PacWest
Conference eight-game sweep through Hawaii. The Red Storm enjoyed
their spring break trip to the Aloha State as they outscored their
hosts, 43-9 and extended the nation's longest winning streak to 19
games.
Angelo State (21-5) remained at No. 6 going 3-3 last week, which
included two wins over then-No. 5 St. Mary's (3-2 / 4-0) and one
over No. 1 West Texas A&M (1-0). Alabama-Huntsville (16-5) and
North Georgia (21-5) each moved up one spot. No. 9 St. Mary's had a
tough week and fell four spots after dropping four games.
Georgia College rounds out the top 10 after winning a pair of
doubleheaders last week over Carson-Newman (6-3 / 4-1) and at Peach
Belt Conference foe Flagler (5-2 / 7-0). The Bobcats have won five
straight and 16 of their last 17.
Returning to the poll this week are No. 23 California (Pa.) (6-4)
and No. 25 Metro State (16-6), while No. 19 Wingate and No. 23
Arkansas Tech dropped out.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II
head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions.
2015 records and previous week's rankings are shown with
first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division II Softball Poll - March 17, 2015
Rank Team 2015 Record Totals Prev. Rank
1 West Texas A&M 20-3 394 1
2 Valdosta State 26-2 386 2
3 Cal State Monterey Bay 19-4 367 3
4 Missouri-St. Louis 17-1 356 4
5 Dixie State 25-5 322 7
6 Angelo State 21-5 318 6
7 Alabama-Huntsville 16-5 299 8
8 North Georgia 21-5 291 9
9 St. Mary's (Texas) 18-7 245 5
10 Georgia College 26-4 240 13
11 Emporia State 16-4 219 20
12 Indianapolis 15-5 197 18
13 California Baptist 26-6 188 17
14 Winona State 16-3 166 12
15 North Alabama 18-4 156 21
16 Central Oklahoma 18-6 127 16
17 Southern Indiana 15-1 125 22
18 Rollins 20-3 120 15
19 LIU Post 3-5 101 11
20 Sonoma State 20-5 96 24
21 West Chester 10-4 82 10
22 Caldwell 2-3 79 14
23 California (Pa.) 6-4 66 RV
24 Augustana (S.D.) 9-3 51 25
25 Metro State 16-6 34 RV
Dropped Out: No. 19 Wingate (11-9), No. 23 Arkansas Tech (14-6).
New to Poll: No. 23 California (Pa.), No. 25 Metro State
Others Receiving Votes: Ashland (24), Arkansas Tech (23),
Humboldt State (23), Anderson (20), Southern New
Hampshire (20), Wayne State (Mich.) (14), Eckerd (14), Saint Leo
(12), Lenoir Rhyne (7), West Virginia Wesleyan (7), Arkansas
Monticello (4), Charleston (3), Wingate (3), Pittsburg State
(1).