LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Salisbury dropped a game this past week, but remains the unanimous No. 1 choice of voters in the NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll for a second straight week.
The (17-1) Sea Gulls split a pair of games against new No. 16 Lynchburg (10-4) and defeated both The College of New Jersey and Swarthmore last week. Salisbury is 5-1 versus ranked teams so far this season and plays a doubleheader at Roanoke this afternoon before getting another swing at Lynchburg in a road twinbill on Wednesday.
Christopher Newport (11-3) kept pace in the second spot after a doubleheader split with No. 6 Virginia Wesleyan. The reigning national champion Captains won the opener with their nearby rival, 6-5, before falling to the Marlins, 7-4, in the nightcap.
Trine (10-2) and Texas Lutheran (13-2) didn’t play and stayed put in the No. 3 and 4 positions, while Case Western Reserve (14-0) won eight contests at The Spring Games to remain unbeaten and move up two places to fifth.
No. 7 East Texas Baptist (16-1) swept two games each from Oneonta, Illinois Wesleyan and Eastern Connecticut State to gain one place, while Berry (18-4) slipped three spots to eighth after a loss. Linfield (14-2) moved up two places to ninth after a 6-0 run at Transylvania’s Pioneer Classic and Randolph-Macon (9-3) continues to round out the first 10 teams, after a sweep of No. 17 Transylvania and a win over Stockton before suffering a six-inning loss at Christopher Newport.
Elsewhere, No. 13 Tufts (6-0) validated voters’ confidence after ranking them in the two polls before the Jumbos opened their season with six wins this past week, No. 15 Rowan (14-2) kept rolling, and Lynchburg moved up from its receiving votes spot after adding a victory over the nation’s top team to earlier ranked wins over Belhaven and Piedmont on its resume.
No. 22 Huntingdon (16-4), No. 24 Wisconsin-Oshkosh (12-0) and No. 25 St. John Fisher (7-3) are the three newcomers in this week’s Top 25.
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 |
17-1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Christopher Newport |
240 |
11-3 |
2 |
|
3 |
Trine |
230 |
10-2 |
3 |
|
4 |
Texas Lutheran |
220 |
13-2 |
4 |
|
5 |
Case Western Reserve |
210 |
14-0 |
7 |
|
6 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
200 |
12-4 |
6 |
|
7 |
East Texas Baptist |
190 |
16-1 |
8 |
|
8 |
Berry |
180 |
18-4 |
5 |
|
9 |
Linfield |
170 |
14-2 |
11 |
|
10 |
Randolph-Macon |
160 |
9-3 |
10 |
|
11 |
Bethel |
150 |
11-3 |
9 |
|
12 |
Pfeiffer |
140 |
10-8 |
12 |
|
13 |
Tufts |
130 |
6-0 |
15 |
|
14 |
Saint Benedict (Minn.) |
120 |
9-1 |
14 |
|
15 |
Rowan |
110 |
14-2 |
18 |
|
16 |
Lynchburg |
100 |
10-4 |
RV |
|
17 |
Transylvania |
90 |
12-7 |
13 |
|
18 |
Birmingham-Southern |
80 |
17-5 |
21 |
|
19 |
Central (Iowa) |
70 |
13-3 |
23 |
|
20 |
Concordia (Wis.) |
60 |
9-3 |
16 |
|
21 |
Hardin-Simmons |
50 |
16-2 |
24 |
|
22 |
Huntingdon |
30 |
16-4 |
NR |
|
23 |
Coe |
23 |
13-3 |
RV |
|
24 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
15 |
12-0 |
NR |
|
25 |
St. John Fisher |
11 |
7-3 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Amherst 4, Belhaven 4, Ramapo 4, Luther 3, Millikin 2, Piedmont 2, Rochester 1 and WashU 1.
Dropped out: Babson, Eastern Connecticut State and Hiram.
2023 NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee
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