LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Following an undefeated run to its third straight Great Lakes Valley Tournament (GLVC) title, Missouri-St. Louis is ranked No. 1 for the first time in program history in this week’s NFCA Division II Poll, announced by the Association on Wednesday.
The Triton’s (44-6) entered the GLVC tournament as the top seed and posted three shutouts in its four-game run to the championship. Gathering 12 first-place votes and 395 points, UMSL triumphed over Rockhurst (9-0), Truman State (6-4), Lewis (3-0) and No. 10 Indianapolis (2-0 in 8 inn.) in the title game. The shutout against Rockhurst was highlighted by junior Hannah Perryman’s second perfect game of the week, sixth of the season and seventh of her career, matching Texas All-American Cat Osterman and Division III All-American, Salisbury’s Rachel Johnson, for the most in NCAA history.
Valdosta State, which received two first-place votes, slipped to No. 2 after bowing out of the Gulf South Tournament in two games. Hosting the tournament, the Blazers (46-7) were defeated by eventual champion Shorter (3-5) and then No. 11 Alabama-Huntsville (3-6).
The final eight spots in the top-10 remained the same. No. 3 West Texas A&M and No. 4 Dixie State each recorded one first-place vote. The Lady Buffs (44-9) claimed the Lone Star Conference title with victories over RV Cameron (10-3) and Texas Woman’s (9-6). The Red Storm (44-7) closed out their regular season with a doubleheader sweep of Holy Names (9-1 / 12-0).
No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay went a perfect 3-0 to take home the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) Tournament title. The Otters (3-0) trumped Chico State 7-6 in 10 innings and knocked off then-No. 15 Humboldt twice (5-3 / 2-0) for the crown.
No. 6 North Georgia and No. 8 Georgia College finished play last week, while No. 7 St. Mary’s (42-9) won the Heartland Conference championship, defeating Newman (6-3) and St. Edward’s twice (8-2 / 2-1).
Rounding out the top 10 are conference tournament runner-ups, No. 9 Augustana (S.D.) in the Northern Sun and No. 10 Indianapolis in the GLVC.
Every program in the top-10 will be hosting a respective regional with UMSL (Midwest), Valdosta State (South), West Texas A&M (South Central), Cal State Monterey Bay (West), North Georgia (Southeast) and Augustana (Central) garnering top seeds. Joining that group as No. 1 region seeds are No. 14 Caldwell (East) and No. 21 California (Pa.) (Atlantic), which won the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) titles, respectively.
Rounding out the ranked NCAA Regional host teams- No. 15 Southern New Hampshire (#2 East), No. 19 North Alabama (#3 South), No. 20 Central Missouri (#2 Central) and No. 22 West Virginia Wesleyan (#2 Atlantic).
The 21st-ranked Vulcans and No. 23 Shorter (Gulf South Champions) enter the top-25 this week.
Following the NCAA Tournament, the final Top-25 poll will be announced shortly after the National Champion is crowned.
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 – May 6, 2015
Rank
Team
2015 Record
Totals
Prev. Rank
1
Missouri-St. Louis (12)
44-6
395
2
2
Valdosta State (2)
46-7
375
1
3
West Texas A&M (1)
44-9
369
3
4
Dixie State (1)
44-7
359
4
5
Cal State Monterey Bay
47-10
334
5
6
North Georgia
44-7
318
6
7
St. Mary’s (TX)
43-8
307
7
8
Georgia College
42-9
276
8
9
Augustana (S.D.)
50-9
265
9
10
Indianapolis
42-12
244
10
11
California Baptist
40-9
229
12
12
Alabama-Huntsville
39-14
225
11
13
Winona State
46-12
219
14
14
Caldwell
34-12-1
173
17
15
Southern New Hampshire
31-6
161
24
16
Humboldt State
41-17
150
15
17
Southern Indiana
37-9
143
13
18
Metro State
42-14
135
18
19
North Alabama
35-12
129
16
20
Central Missouri
44-14
103
22
21
California (Pa.)
35-10
89
RV
22
West Virginia Wesleyan
35-8
60
19
23
Ashland
38-8
46
20
24
Shorter
36-15
33
RV
25
Anderson
39-13
28
23
Dropped Out: No. 21 Angelo State, No. 24 West Chester
New to Poll: No. 21 California (Pa.), No. 24 Shorter
Others Receiving Votes: Cameron (17), Sonoma State (13), Angelo State (9), Rollins (9), Catawba (8), Henderson State (7), West Chester (5), Armstrong State (5), Gannon (5), Missouri Western (1).