LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Top-ranked Salisbury won both games of a top-10 conference matchup to continue rolling along as the undisputed No. 1 team in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Sea Gulls (34-2) closed out the regular season with a doubleheader sweep of No. 7 Christopher Newport on Saturday to secure the top seed for this week’s three-team Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference tournament at Sea Gull Softball Stadium. Salisbury earned a tournament bye, and will play the winner of Thursday’s first game between the second-seeded Captains and No. 3 seed Mary Washington later in the day. The two losing teams play an elimination game on Friday, with the winner advancing to the title game. A second championship game will be Saturday, if needed.
Meanwhile, No. 2 Berry (36-4) beat then-No. 11 Birmingham-Southern (31-9) twice to capture the Southern Athletic Association title in a matchup of that tournament’s top two seeds. After two losses to the nation’s No. 2 team, the Panthers dropped one position in the rankings.
Two tough one-run defeats in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tourney, including a 2-1 loss to receiving votes St. Thomas (32-8) in Sunday’s championship game, dropped Texas Lutheran (38-6) from fifth to No. 8 in the Top 25 this week. This marked the first time the Bulldogs haven’t won both the regular-season and tournament titles since joining the league in 2014.
Top seed Texas Lutheran lost its tourney opener, 1-0, to Trinity, but rebounded to beat Schreiner, Centenary and Trinity to set up a matchup of the top two tournament seeds in the final.
Elsewhere, Randolph-Macon (36-8) moved into the top 10 after winning three of four games to advance to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference final later this week against receiving votes Roanoke (27-10). Two of those tournament victories (and the one loss) were against No. 13 Virginia Wesleyan (35-10). The Yellow Jackets opened tournament play with a 10-2 triumph over Randolph.
Luther (31-7) surged into the No. 23 spot from the receiving votes category on the strength of a 5-1 week, which included two wins over then-No. 17 Central.
Mount Union (32-8) and The College of New Jersey (26-9) are this week’s poll newcomers in the receiving votes category, while Greensboro (33-8) is back in the mix following a one-week hiatus.
The NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll is selected by 10 NCAA Division III head coaches representing the 10 NCAA regions. Current 2023 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses. Weekly polls continue through May 16. A final poll will be released on June 13 following completion of the national championship.
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
Points |
2023 Record |
Previous |
|
1 |
Salisbury (10) |
250 |
36-2 |
1 |
|
2 |
Berry |
240 |
36-4 |
2 |
|
3 |
Case Western Reserve |
230 |
35-3 |
3 |
|
4 |
Linfield |
220 |
41-4 |
4 |
|
5 |
Trine |
210 |
32-4 |
6 |
|
6 |
Tufts |
200 |
35-3 |
8 |
|
7 |
Christopher Newport |
190 |
24-8 |
7 |
|
8 |
Texas Lutheran |
180 |
38-6 |
5 |
|
9 |
East Texas Baptist |
170 |
35-5 |
10 |
|
10 |
Randolph-Macon |
160 |
36-8 |
12 |
|
11 |
Bethel |
150 |
29-3 |
9 |
|
12 |
Birmingham-Southern |
140 |
31-9 |
11 |
|
13 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
130 |
35-10 |
13 |
|
14 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
120 |
34-3 |
14 |
|
15 |
Mary Hardin-Baylor |
110 |
29-10 |
15 |
|
16 |
Rowan |
100 |
35-4 |
16 |
|
17 |
Rochester |
90 |
32-6 |
18 |
|
18 |
Coe |
80 |
31-7 |
20 |
|
19 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
70 |
32-6 |
21 |
|
20 |
Transylvania |
60 |
30-9 |
23 |
|
21 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
33 |
33-5 |
22 |
|
22 |
Central (Iowa) |
25 |
30-8 |
17 |
|
23 |
Luther |
23 |
31-7 |
RV |
|
24 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
20 |
26-8 |
25 |
|
25 |
Saint Benedict (Minn.) |
12 |
25-7 |
19 |
Others receiving votes: Roanoke 9, St. Thomas (Texas) 9, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 8, Belhaven 3, Mount Union 3, Calvin 2, Greensboro 1, The College of New Jersey 1, Wisconsin-Whitewater 1.
Dropped out: Pfeiffer.
2023 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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