NFCA Division II Top-25 Poll (4-15-15)

1. National Fastpitch Coaches Association
Contact: Brian Stanley, NFCA Director of Media Relations,
502-409-4600, brian@nfca.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Valdosta State Continues Hold on No. 1 in 2015 NFCA Division II Poll
April 15, 2015
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – With no changes to the top-five, Valdosta State continues its hold on No. 1 spot in
this week’s NFCA Division II Poll. After the first five, there was some shuffling amongst the rest of the
programs in the poll with one new addition to the top-10 and only three teams staying in their respective
spots.
A week removed from their first Gulf South series defeat of the season, the Blazers (42-4) won all five of
their games, including a league series sweep of West Georgia (15-0 / 8-0 / 2-1). VSU, which received 13
first-place votes and 393 points, outscored its opponents 38-2 with three shutouts as it became the first DII
team to reach the 40-win plateau.
Behind one of the biggest offensive outputs of the season, West Texas A&M (2 first-place votes/384
points) extended its winning streak to 13 games as it cruised to a Lone Star series sweep at Eastern New
Mexico (13-2, 23-0, 17-2, 21-7) to remain at No. 2. In just four games and 24 innings, the Lady Buffs (37-
6) scored 74 runs, launched 21 home runs, hit .504, slugged 1.065 and recorded a .585 on base percentage.
No. 3 Missouri-St. Louis received some strong pitching from junior Hannah Perryman (1H, 13 IP),
including her third perfect game of the year against Missouri S&T, to win four Great Lakes Valley
Conference games and extend their winning streak to 17 games. The Triton (35-5) received the final first-
place vote and 373 points as they hit the road for two key conference series, including a top-10 matchup at
No. 10 Indianapolis.
At No. 4, Dixie State (352) picked up four victories with two doubleheader sweeps last week. The Red
Storm (38-7) won at Cal State-San Bernardino (12-11, 14-3) in non-conference action, and a day later
swept a PacWest twinbill from Notre Dame De Namur (12-4, 10-0).
Rounding out the top-five is Cal State Monterey Bay (327). In a CCAA series that was decided by a total of
six runs, the fifth-ranked Otters (37-9) returned from San Francisco State (4-3, 7-5, 2-1, 4-2) with a hard
fought sweep.
No. 6 St. Mary’s (313) and No. 7 North Georgia (312) each advanced a spot with undefeated weeks. The
Rattlers (35-7) have won 18 straight after a dominant pitching performance in a four-game sweep against
Texas-Permian Basin (6-1, 7-0, 6-0, 8-0). St. Mary’s allowed just one run and held the Falcons scoreless
over the final 24.1 innings of the series.
The seventh-ranked Nighthawks (37-5) pushed their winning streak to 18 games following a 6-0 week. In a
battle of top-10 programs, North Georgia opened with two key Peach Belt Conference wins at then-No. 6
Georgia College (3-1, 2-1). They also swept league twinbills versus USC Aiken (2-0, 4-1) and Georgia
Southwestern (8-0, 14-0).
Following their defeats to the Nighthawks, the Bobcats (39-7) dropped to No. 8, but did bounce back with
league sweeps of Lander (2-0, 10-2) and USC Aiken (3-2, 9-0).
A 6-0 week and a 21-game winning streak has Augustana (273) in the top-10 for the first time this season.
The No. 9 Vikings (37-5) posted three doubleheader sweeps of Sioux Falls (10-0, 8-2), Minnesota
Crookston (14-2, 8-0) and Bemidji State (13-1, 13-0) in which they outscored their opposition, 66-5.
Rounding out the top-10 in Indianapolis, who went 3-1 in GLVC action, sweeping McKendree (8-0, 10-5)
and splitting with Illinois-Springfield (6-0, 0-1).
Making their return to the top-25 are Caldwell (15-9) at No. 21 and Ashland (25-5) at No. 25. Dropping out

2. this week were No. 23 Rollins (33-10) and No. 24 Missouri Western (32-14).
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 15, 2015
Rank Team 2015 Record Totals Prev. Rank
1 Valdosta State (13) 42-4 393 1
2 West Texas A&M (2) 37-6 384 2
3 Missouri-St. Louis (1) 35-3 373 3
4 Dixie State 38-7 352 4
5 Cal State Monterey Bay 37-9 327 5
6 St. Mary's (Texas) 35-7 313 7
7 North Georgia 37-5 312 8
8 Georgia College 39-7 273 6
9 Augustana (S.D.) 37-5 254 12
10 Indianapolis 30-8 251 10
11 Alabama-Huntsville 32-9 233 11
12 Humboldt State 36-10 212 13
13 North Alabama 31-8 209 9
14 Angelo State 28-11-1 186 14
15 Southern Indiana 29-5 167 16
16 California Baptist 35-9 166 17
17 Emporia State 30-12 153 15
18 California (Pa.) 16-5 100 19
19 Winona State 33-8 89 22
19 Barry 29-10 89 21
21 Caldwell 15-9 73 RV
22 Anderson 31-11 61 20
23 Metro State 30-10 55 25
24 Southern New Hampshire 16-5 26 18
25 Ashland 25-5 25 RV
Dropped Out: No. 23 Rollins (33-10), No. 24 Missouri Western (32-14)
New to Poll: No. 21 Caldwell, No. 25 Ashland
Others Receiving Votes: LIU Post (21), Henderson State (18), Sonoma State (17), Rollins (10), Missouri
Western (12), West Virginia Wesleyan (12), Armstrong State (10), Central Missouri (7), Young Harris (2).