Afton Nelson slide March 25, 2009

Central jumps to 15th in rankings

PELLA—Central College’s fast start has vaulted the Dutch softball team back into the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III rankings.

It’s Central’s first appearance in the NFCA poll since the Dutch were rated 21st in the 2008 preseason poll. Central posted a 15-1 record at the Tucson Invitational Games, falling only to defending NCAA Division III champ Wis.-Eau Claire 7-2 March 14. That loss was avenged when Central rallied to defeat the Blugolds 6-4 last Friday. It’s Central’s fastest start since 2002.

Texas-Tyler (17-1) is a unanimous choice for No. 1, followed by Louisiana College and St. Thomas (Minn.). Wis.-Eau Claire slipped to sixth. Iowa Conference rival Wartburg College (19-1) is 20th and Luther College (7-1) is 25th.

Central also debuts in 18th in the Division III Softball-The Newsletter rankings. Texas-Tyler also leads that poll with Wartburg fifth and Luther among those receiving votes.

The Dutch open league play with a doubleheader at Mount Vernon Saturday at 2 p.m. against Cornell College. The Rams scored an upset victory of No. 5 Washington (Mo.) Sunday in St. Louis. The games will be broadcast on KRLS radio (92.1 FM) and can also be heard via www.kniakrls.com or through the Central athletics Web site at www.central.edu/athletics.


NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll - March 25

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll is voted on by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Records shown are as of March 23. First place votes are in parentheses.

No.Team                      Record        Pts      Pvs
1 Texas-Tyler (8)         17-1            200     3
2 Louisiana Coll.          14-3            191     2
3 St. Thomas (Minn.)  7-1              176     4
4 Emory (Ga.)              23-5            156     7
5 Washington-St. Louis 13-4       153      10
6 Wis.-Eau Claire         9-3              150     5
7 Willamette (Ore.)      10-1            146     8
8 Wis.-Whitewater       5-1              141     1
9 Tufts (Mass.)             12-0            128     12
10 Cortland St. (N.Y.) 13-1            118     9
11 Linfield (Ore.)         12-0            115     22
12 Ohio Northern         13-1            112     14
13 Christoph. Newport  17-3           95     10
14 East Texas Baptist  18-4            91       13
15 Central                   15-1            84       NR
16 DePauw (Ind.)         10-2            81       16
17 Ramapo (N.J.)         10-0            77       20
18 Illinois Wesleyan    10-0            49       21
19 Rochester (N.Y.)     10-5            46       19
20 Wartburg                 19-1            45       18
21 Howard Payne        16-2            41       NR
21 Salisbury (Md.)       16-4            41       NR
23 Rhode Island Coll. 10-2            40       25
24 Adrian (Mich.)        15-1            27       NR
25 Luther                     6-1              26       6
Others receiving votes:
John Carroll (20); Rowan (13); Coast Guard Academy (10); Gustavus Adolphus (10); Bridgewater (6); Lynchburg (5); three others received votes but appeared on only one ballot. 

Dropped out:
No. 15 John Carroll; No. 17 Mississippi College; No. 23 Ithaca; No. 24 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps.