LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the fifth straight week,Valdosta State laid claim to the No. 1 ranking in the NFCA Division II Poll, announced by the Association on Wednesday.

The Blazers (44-4) received 14 out of a possible 16 first-place votes and 394 points after a light week that was shortened by weather. In its only games, Valdosta State swept Albany State in a mid-week non-conference twinbill. The Blazers’ Gulf South series was canceled due to weather that forced several postponements and cancellations around the country.

The second-ranked West Texas A&M Lady Buffs garnered the other two first-place votes and 385 points keeping it in second for the fifth straight week. The Lady Buffs (39-6) were only able to get a mid-week doubleheader in as well, blanking Oklahoma Christian by identical 5-0 scores. WT’s action against Texas Permian Basin was rescheduled.

As with the first two squads, Missouri-St. Louis has held its current ranking for five consecutive weeks. The Tritons (38-4) received a Division II record fourth career perfect game from Hannah Perryman, highlighting a 3-1 week. UMSL’s lone defeat came at the hands of No. 9 Indianapolis in a top-10 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) courtesy of a bottom of the seventh rally by the Greyhounds in game one. The Tritons bounced back in game two with a 6-1 win and the previous day swept a road twinbill at St. Joseph’s (8-0 / 6-4).

No. 4 Dixie State (38-7) was idle and No. 5 Cal State Monterey Bay swept a California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series from Cal State Stanislaus (9-0 / 9-1 / 6-1 / 11-2). The Otters (41-9) reached the 40-win plateau by outscoring the Warriors, 35-4 and extended their winning streak to 10 games.

By virtue of a 3-1 week and two losses by St. Mary’s, North Georgia earned its highest ranking of the season moving into the No. 6 spot. The Nighthawks (40-6) also reached the 40-win plateau with triumphs over Columbus State (3-0 / 5-4) and split with Armstrong State (5-0 / 3-4). 

The Rattlers (37-8) dropped a spot to No. 7 as it fell in a tightly contested Heartland Conference series at Oklahoma Christian (0-2 / 4-5 / 5-4). Georgia College stayed put at No. 8 picking up a Peach Belt sweep of Young Harris (7-1 / 7-3).

Highlighted by its win over No. 3 UMSL, Indianapolis inched up to No. 9, posting a 5-1 week with sweeps of Wheeling Jesuit (4-1 / 9-1) and Maryville (5-0 / 3-2), along with its split with the Tritons (3-2 / 1-6).

Rounding out the top 10 is Alabama-Huntsville, which made its return to the top-10 rankings after taking two of three from Union (5-0 / 0-1 / 3-2 in 8 inn.).

Returning to the rankings is West Virginia Wesleyan (26-6), which has won five straight and 13-of-14 heading into this week, at No. 22, while Adelphi joins the poll at No. 25 for the first time this season.

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 – April 22, 2015(Games Played April 13-19)

Dropped Out: No. 18 California (Pa.), No. 19 Barry

New to Poll: No. 22 West Virginia Wesleyan, No. 25 Adelphi

Others Receiving Votes: 

Shorter (25), California (Pa.) (24), Carson Newman (21), Barry (20), Sonoma State (14), West Chester (14), Central Missouri (9), Missouri Western (3), Armstrong State (3), Cameron (3), Henderson State (2), LIU Post (1).