LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Riding a 19-game winning streak, Valdosta State moved into the No. 1 spot in this week’s NFCA Division II Poll. The Blazers (29-2) last held the top ranking on Feb. 27, 2013 and in the process ended West Texas A&M’s record 56-week hold on the top spot.
VSU garnered 11 first-place votes and extended its winning streak last weekend with a three-game sweep of Christian Brothers (2-0, 18-0, 10-5) in a Gulf South road series. With those victories, the Blazers also remained atop their conference standings with a 16-1 mark and are in action five times this week. After a non-conference road doubleheader at Lander today, Valdosta State hosts Union in a league series this weekend.
The Lady Buffs (23-4) gathered the other five first-place votes and are seven points (388) behind the Blazers. WT fell to No. 2 and out of the top position for the first time since Feb. 26, 2014. The Lady Buffs took three-of-four from Texas A&M-Commerce (12-4, 10-3, 6-10, 12-1) in a Lone Star Conference series.
Missouri-St. Louis went 4-2 last week and jumped a spot to No. 3. The Tritons (21-3) split Great Lakes Valley twinbills versus Illinois Springfield (10-0, 0-1) and at Lewis (L, 3-5 in 8 inn., 5-3). They did close out their week sweeping league foe Wisconsin-Parkside (8-4, 8-0) on the road.
A 1-3 conference weekend had Cal State Monterey Bay drop a position to No. 4. The Otters (23-6) won game three at Chico State, 5-1, but came up short in the other three contests (3-6, 0-3, 0-2).
Dixie State (29-5) stayed at No. 5 and is on a 23-game winning streak, the longest active streak across all NCAA divisions. The Red Storm swept a PacWest series from the Academy of Art (12-0, 8-0, 10-1, 11-6) and are 20-0 and sitting atop their conference standings.
Angelo State (22-5-1) and Alabama-Huntsville (21-5) stayed put at No. 6 and 7, while Georgia College (26-4) moved up two spots to No. 8. North Georgia (25-5) and St. Mary’s (22-7) remained in the top 10 but dropped a spot to No. 9 and 10, respectively after posting identical 4-0 weeks.
Five new programs made it into the top 25 led by Missouri Western (21-9), which went from not receiving votes to 17th. Winners of 12-straight, the Griffons won 10 games last week, including triumphs over then-No. 14 Winona and then-No. 24 Augustana (S.D.), as the host of the Apple Market Classic.
Also joining Missouri Western are four squads that received votes – tied-No. 19 Southern New Hampshire (11-3), No. 23 Anderson (22-6), No. 24 Ashland (15-1) and No. 25 Cameron (24-3). Dropping out were No. 14 Winona State (18-7), No. 19 LIU Post (4-6), No. 21 West Chester (12-6), No. 22 Caldwell (3-8) and No. 25 Metro State (20-8).
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 24, 2015
Rank
Team
2015 Record
Totals
Prev. Rank
1
Valdosta State
29-2
395
2
2
West Texas A&M
23-4
388
1
3
Missouri-St. Louis
21-3
367
4
4
Cal State Monterey Bay
23-6
344
3
5
Dixie State
29-5
324
5
6
Angelo State
22-5-1
320
6
7
Alabama-Huntsville
21-5
312
7
8
Georgia College
26-4
277
10
9
North Georgia
25-5
270
8
10
St. Mary’s (Texas)
22-7
257
9
11
Emporia State
22-7
235
11
12
Indianapolis
18-6
209
12
13
California Baptist
30-6
202
13
14
Rollins
24-4
165
18
15
North Alabama
23-5
161
15
16
Southern Indiana
19-3
134
17
17
Missouri Western
21-9
117
NR
18
Augustana (S.D.)
19-5
91
24
19
Central Oklahoma
21-8
75
16
19
S. New Hampshire
11-3
75
RV
21
Sonoma State
22-7
67
20
22
California (Pa.)
8-4
61
23
23
Anderson
22-6
54
RV
24
Ashland
15-1
47
RV
25
Cameron
24-3
39
RV
Dropped Out: No. 14 Winona State (18-7), No. 19 LIU Post (4-6), No. 21 West Chester (12-6), No. 22 Caldwell (3-8) and No. 25 Metro State (20-8).
New to Poll: No. 17 Missouri Western, t-No. 19 Southern New Hampshire, No. 23 Anderson, No. 24 Ashland, No. 25 Cameron.
Others Receiving Votes: West Virginia Wesleyan (27), Caldwell (21), Humboldt State (21), Arkansas Tech (18), LIU Post (14), Armstrong State (12), Winona State (10), Eckerd (6), Henderson State (5), Metro State (2), West Chester (1).