LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Christopher Newport’s win streak came to an end, but the Captains collected two more victories this week to remain in the No. 1 spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Christopher Newport (23-1) defeated then-No. 3 Virginia Wesleyan, 6-1, last Wednesday, but lost the second game of a Sunday doubleheader with Averett, 8-5, after rolling past the Cougars, 10-0 in five innings, in the opener.
Salisbury (24-2) stayed strong at the second spot with a 4-0 week, which extended its win streak to 11. The Sea Gulls beat Cortland and Ursinus twice each, by a combined 46-3 margin. In the circle, Salisbury has a 1.12 team ERA for the season.
Meanwhile, Texas Lutheran (23-4) swept a three-game series at Southwestern to climb two places to No. 3, and Birmingham-Southern (21-4) followed up last Monday’s 6-4 victory over then-No. 4 Belhaven with two triumphs apiece over Wesleyan and Maryville to gain three spots.
Belhaven (20-3) lost twice, including being the second ranked victim of Mary Hardin-Baylor in as many weeks, but won the final two games of that conference series handily to seemingly get back on track.
Randolph-Macon (17-2) had the biggest jump of the week — five places to No. 6 — but had its nine-game win streak snapped in a twinbill split with fellow ranked squad Roanoke.
Defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan (17-6) lost twice at Ferrum after falling to the top-ranked Captains, and have their lowest ranking — ninth — since being ranked 10th on Feb. 25, 2020.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current 2022 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll – March 29, 2022
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2022 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Christopher Newport (10) |
250 |
23-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Salisbury |
240 |
24-2 |
2 |
|
3 |
Texas Lutheran |
230 |
23-4 |
5 |
|
4 |
Birmingham-Southern |
220 |
21-4 |
7 |
|
5 |
Belhaven |
210 |
20-3 |
4 |
|
6 |
Randolph-Macon |
200 |
17-2 |
11 |
|
7 |
East Texas Baptist |
190 |
20-6 |
6 |
|
8 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
180 |
13-3 |
9 |
|
9 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
170 |
17-6 |
3 |
|
10 |
DePauw |
160 |
11-5 |
12 |
|
11 |
Roanoke |
150 |
15-7 |
13 |
|
12 |
Linfield |
140 |
21-5 |
8 |
|
13 |
Berry |
130 |
18-7 |
14 |
|
14 |
Tufts |
120 |
12-3 |
10 |
|
15 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
110 |
10-4 |
18 |
|
16 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
100 |
12-1 |
16 |
|
17 |
Milwaukee School of Engineering |
90 |
5-1 |
17 |
|
18 |
Chapman |
80 |
17-2 |
19 |
|
19 |
Rowan |
70 |
13-5 |
20 |
|
20 |
Millikin |
47 |
18-2 |
24 |
|
21 |
Wartburg |
33 |
14-6 |
22 |
|
22 |
Saint Benedict (Minn.) |
32 |
12-2 |
23 |
|
23 |
Loras |
29 |
13-1 |
T25 |
|
24 |
Mount St. Joseph |
27 |
14-5 |
21 |
|
25 |
WashU |
17 |
16-4 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Mary Hardin-Baylor 7, The College of New Jersey 6, Lebanon Valley 4, Nebraska Wesleyan 4, Babson 1 and Moravian 1.
Dropped out: None.
