LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Salisbury moved into the top spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll this week after Trine was swept by new-No. 24 Calvin in a doubleheader at home on Saturday.
The (22-1) Sea Gulls spent 10 weeks at No. 1 last season, and had been second to Trine in the eight rankings since the Thunder defeated Salisbury in the best-of-three NCAA Division III Finals at Bell Park at Taylor Field to close the 2023 season. Salisbury’s only loss this season was 5-1 to Lynchburg in the opening game of a home twinbill with the (23-9) Hornets, who have been ranked or receiving votes in four of the five weeks since beating the Sea Gulls.
The two losses dropped Trine (26-3) to fourth in the Top 25, behind unbeaten Linfield (28-0) and East Texas Baptist (27-2), who swept four- and three-game conference series, respectively, this past weekend to move up one place apiece. Berry (33-3) extended its win streak to 15 games with a three-game conference sweep of Millsaps to continue to round out the first five.
Pfeiffer was the biggest gainer of the week, picking up five places to No. 12 after sweeping three doubleheaders. The (33-1) Falcons have now won their last eight games, with their only blemish this season continuing to be a 1-0 loss to N.C. Wesleyan in the second game of a doubleheader on April 2.
Case Western Reserve (24-5) dropped three of four games against new receiving votes team WashU and fell four places to No. 10, while Bethel (17-7) ended its week losing four straight and slipped seven spots to No. 17. But Wisconsin-Whitewater (16-4) had the biggest drop in the rankings, tumbling eight spots from No. 15 to 23rd, after going 3-3 for the week.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
April 16, 2024
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2024 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Salisbury (10) |
250 |
22-1 |
2 |
|
2 |
Linfield |
240 |
28-0 |
3 |
|
3 |
East Texas Baptist |
230 |
27-2 |
4 |
|
4 |
Trine |
220 |
26-3 |
1 |
|
5 |
Berry |
210 |
33-3 |
5 |
|
6 |
Belhaven |
200 |
30-4 |
7 |
|
7 |
Randolph-Macon |
190 |
22-2-2 |
8 |
|
8 |
Christopher Newport |
180 |
22-5 |
9 |
|
9 |
Huntingdon |
170 |
30-4 |
11 |
|
10 |
Case Western Reserve |
160 |
24-5 |
6 |
|
11 |
Texas Lutheran |
150 |
23-2 |
14 |
|
12 |
Pfeiffer |
140 |
33-1 |
17 |
|
13 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
130 |
20-7 |
12 |
|
14 |
Rowan |
120 |
24-6 |
13 |
|
15 |
Tufts |
110 |
22-5 |
16 |
|
16 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute |
100 |
20-1-1 |
18 |
|
17 |
Bethel |
90 |
17-7 |
10 |
|
18 |
Ramapo |
80 |
22-4 |
22 |
|
19 |
Central |
70 |
19-6 |
24 |
|
20 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
60 |
22-0 |
23 |
|
21 |
Dominican |
45 |
26-2 |
19 |
|
22 |
Wisconsin-Stevens Point |
33 |
21-3 |
20 |
|
23 |
Wisconsin-Whitewater |
27 |
16-4 |
15 |
|
24 |
Calvin |
15 |
17-7 |
NR |
|
25 |
Transylvania |
9 |
18-7 |
21 |
Others receiving votes: WashU 8, Lynchburg 5, Coe 4, Saint Mary’s (Minn.) 3 and Eastern 1.
Dropped out: Illinois Wesleyan and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
2024 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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