LOUISVILLE, Ky. – LIU Post’s Julia Seader and Southern Indiana’s Jennifer Leonhardt were named 2019 Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week honorees for games played April 1-7. 

Seader hit .600 (21-for-35) with six home runs and 17 RBI over a 10-game stretch last week in which the Pioneers went 8-2. The senior catcher recorded at least one hit in all 10 games with eight of those being multi-hit contests. She scored 13 times, slugged 1.229 and registered a .615 on-base percentage.  

Seader connected on two homers, drove in four and scored twice against Queens (N.Y.). The East Coast Conference Player of the Week also recorded four RBI and three hits versus American International College and also posted three hits against Bridgeport and Post. Seader struck out just once in 39 plate appearances and also left the yard against Post, Bridgeport (twice) and Molloy.

Leonhardt was instrumental in five of the Screaming Eagles’ six wins last week, twirling three shutouts and recording a pair of saves. The junior righty did not allow a run, struck out 37 and held her opponents to a .152 batting average. Leonhardt, who hails from Louisville, Ky., struck out a week-high 12 in a five-hit shutout at Rockhurst. She also posted 11 and ten punchouts in three and four-hit blankings of Truman State and Williams Jewel. 

The Great Lakes Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week retired the side in order and fanned two in each of her saves versus the Bulldogs and Hawks, respectively. With her 37 strikeouts, Leonhardt entered the week 16 shy of the program’s career mark. Offensively, Leonhardt helped herself out at the plate batting .500 with four doubles, five RBI and four runs scored.

2019 Honorees

Selected Top Performances

Allison Lipovsky, Grand Valley State– 4-0, 2 SHO, 0.64 ERA, 37 K, 2 BB, .152 opp. BA, 22 IP; Taylor Stocks, Shepherd– 3-0, 0.53 ERA, 30 K, 4 BB, .150 opp. BA, 17 IP; Miriam Schmoll, Nova Southeastern– 3-0, SV, 0.45 ERA, 2 SHO, 24 K, 31 IP; Renee Wall, Indiana University of Pennsylvania– .619, 4 2B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 9 BB, .727 OBP, 1.095 SLG;  Grace Valchar, Queens (N.C.)– 1.000 (5-for-5), HR, 3 R, 2 RBI, 1.600 SLG, .909 OBP; Haley Garrett, Valdosta State– .471, 8 H, 2 2B, 3 HR, 8 RBI, 4 BB, 1.118 SLG, .571 OBP; Hannah McClouinie, Wayne State (Mich.)– .483, 14 H, 2B, 5 HR, 10 RBI, 10 R, 1.034 SLG, .516 OBP; Evelyn Arguelles, Johnson C. Smith- .625, 10 H, 3 2B, 3B, 11 RBI, 6 R, 4-4 SB; Shanna McBroom, West Texas A&M-.500, 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 1.000 SLG; Liz Pautz, Winona State– 3-0, SHO, 0 R, 29 K, 18.1 IP; Bekah Slattery, Lock Haven– 3-0, 1.00 ERA, 38 K, 3 BB; Olivia Jankowski, Edinboro– .706, 12 H, 3 2B, HR, 8 RBI, 4 R; Jordan Withrow, Tarleton State– 3-0, 3 SHO, 5 H, 17 K, .088 opp. BA, no-hitter vs. UT Permian Basin; Avery Boley, Texas AM-Commerce– .714, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R; Aniyah Jones, Winston-Salem State– .500, 2 2B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 3 SB; Kylee Smith, North Georgia– 1-0, 11 K, 5 IP, no-hitter vs. Georgia Southwestern; Annemarie Peavy, Mississippi College– .625, 4 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 9 R, 1.250 SLG, .750 OBP; Emily Otto, Texas A&M-Commerce– 2-0, SV, 0.48 ERA, 16 K, BB, 7 H, 14.2 IP; Celeste Villagrana, Cal State Monterey Bay– 2-0, 15 K, SHO, 12.1 IP; Shaniya Thomas, Claflin– 2-0, 1.07 ERA, 21 K, 13 IP; Emily Morris, Fort Lewis– 2-0, SV, 1.75 ERA, 14 K, 12 IP, no-hitter vs. New Mexico Highlands; Sarah Coronado, Arkansas Tech– .833, 10 H, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 10 R, 2.000 SLG; Marissa Butler, Ouachita Baptist– 3-0, 29 K, BB, .178 opp. BA, 26 IP; Abby Fiessinger, Carson-Newman– .500, 7 H, 3 2B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 4 R, 1.143 SLG; Allison Rager, Carson-Newman– 3-0, 2 CG, 20 K, .462, 6 H, 2 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, .533 OBP; Erin Garczynski, Southern New Hampshire– .471, 8 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 4 BB, 9 R, 8 RBI, .591 OBP; Maddy Barone, Southern New Hampshire– 4-0, 0.52 ERA, 25 K, 27 IP.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – UIC’s Kayla Wedl and Kent State’s Andrea Scali were named Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week of the Week, respectively, for games played April 15-22. 

Wedl powered her way to a second career NFCA weekly honor by hitting .636 (14-for-22) with six home runs, 16 RBI and 14 runs scored over six games last week. The junior shortstop slugged 1.500 and recorded a .609 on-base percentage. Riding a 12-game hitting streak, Wedl left the yard in four of those contests, cranking two each in game two of UIC’s three-game Horizon League series versus IUPUI and Northern Kentucky, respectively.

The Horizon League Player of the Week also generated five RBI and scored three times in those previously-mentioned contests. Additionally, Wedl posted four multi-hit games, including four in game two versus the Norse and three in the final two matchups with the Jaguars. The Waucond, Ill. native currently leads the Horizon League with 49 RBI, 12 more than the next player.

Scali tossed her second no-hitter of the year and finished the week not allowing a single run over 22.2 innings of work. The rookie hurler finished 4-0 with three shutouts, 32 strikeouts and three walks. She scattered eight hits and held her opposition to a .107 batting average. Scali, a native of Parma, Ohio, was an error away from a perfect game against Robert Morris as she struck out 11 and faced just one batter over the minimum.

Scali twirled a pair of two-hit shutouts against Pitt and Akron, fanning eight and five batters, respectively. In her final outing of the week against the Zips, the five-time MAC Pitcher of the Week tossed 5.2 innings of shutout relief (four hits) with eight punchouts.

2019 Players & Pitcher of the Week

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s becoming tougher to separate the top teams in the NFCA Division III Top 25, but there’s no change at the top, with two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University at No. 1 for a third-straight week and the 28th time in the last 29 weeks.

The (34-3) Marlins have now won 15 of their last 16. They went 3-1 last week, including a run-rule sweep of Shenandoah and a split with Ferrum. Two-time reigning Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year Hanna Hull fanned 15 Ferrum batters while tossing a no-hitter in Virginia Wesleyan’s 5-0 victory on Saturday.

St. Thomas (33-5) and Williams (26-4) both went unbeaten last week to rank ahead of East Texas Baptist (33-4), which slipped two spots to fourth after dropping two of three to longtime American Southwest Conference rival Texas-Tyler, who is moving to Division II next season.

Nine teams are tied for four spots in the Top 25. Illinois Wesleyan (27-6) and Trine (26-4) are deadlocked at No. 6; Luther (28-5) and Texas Lutheran (27-7) occupy the No. 13 position; Kean (32-5), Manhattanville (33-2) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (22-7-1) share 16th; and Brandeis (27-2-1) and Lynchburg (30-10) are 20th.

Meanwhile, a patented late-season surge helped DePauw (22-10) break into the rankings this week at No. 25. The Tigers improved their record to 14-2 in April with their fifth straight victory in Monday’s sweep at Wittenberg.

The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.

NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 24, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Points

Previous

1

Virginia Wesleyan (8)

34-3

200

1

2

St. Thomas (Minn.)

33-5

192

4

3

Williams

26-4

184

3

4

East Texas Baptist

33-4

176

2

5

Linfield

32-5-1

168

8

T6

Illinois Wesleyan

27-6

149

6

T6

Trine

26-4

149

10

8

Birmingham-Southern

31-5

132

12

9

Christopher Newport

28-6

130

5

10

Ithaca

22-6-1

126

14

11

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

30-7

125

7

12

Moravian

29-5

105

11

T13

Luther

28-5

102

T16

T13

Texas Lutheran

27-7

102

15

15

The College of New Jersey

26-6

74

T16

T16

Kean

32-5

67

19

T16

Manhattanville

33-2

67

18

T16

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

22-7-1

67

13

19

Coe

30-7

65

9

T20

Brandeis

27-2-1

48

20

T20

Lynchburg

30-10

48

22

22

Southwestern

33-4

40

23

23

Rowan

24-10

20

24

24

Thomas More

27-9

18

25

25

DePauw

22-10

12

NR

Others receiving votes: Piedmont 7, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 6, Mount Saint Joseph 5, Geneseo 4, St. Catherine 3, Wisconsin-Whitewater 2, and Endicott 1.

Dropped out: Millikin, New Paltz, Pomona-Pitzer, Wartburg and Whitworth.

* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither is eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University stayed in the top spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 following another 4-0 week.

The (31-2) Marlins have now won 12 straight, and are back on track after dropping to No. 2 for two weeks before reclaiming the top spot on April 10. Before that, Virginia Wesleyan had held the No. 1 position for 25 straight weeks — a span of 720 days, which included two NCAA Division III titles.

East Texas Baptist (32-2) remained No. 2 for a second consecutive week despite dropping the third game of its American Southwest Conference series at Hardin-Simmons on a two-run walkoff homer. That loss snapped a 12-game win streak and was just the Tigers’ second defeat in 34 games.

Williams (23-4) has now won 12 straight, and gained four more places to take over the third spot this week, while St. Thomas (28-4), which is riding a 13-game win streak, moved all the way from 11th to fourth. Last week’s third through sixth teams — who all lost a game — fall in line after that to round out the top eight.

Elsewhere, Birmingham-Southern (31-5) surged six spots to No. 12 after extending its win streak to 18, Luther (27-4) moved into to a tie for 16th after sweeping a ranked matchup with No. 9 Coe, Southwestern (29-4) gained two spots after winning its 18th straight, and Thomas More (25-9), which has won 20 of its last 22, joined the mix for the first time this season at No. 25.

The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.

NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 17, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Points

Previous

1

Virginia Wesleyan (8)

31-2

200

1

2

East Texas Baptist

32-2

192

2

3

Williams

23-4

184

7

4

St. Thomas (Minn.)

28-4

176

11

5

Christopher Newport

26-4

168

3

6

Illinois Wesleyan

21-6

160

4

7

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

27-6

152

5

8

Linfield

28-5-1

144

6

9

Coe

28-7

136

8

10

Trine

22-4

128

9

11

Moravian

28-4

120

10

12

Birmingham-Southern

31-5

110

18

13

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

19-6

99

13

14

Ithaca

19-5-1

85

14

15

Texas Lutheran

25-7

81

15

T16

Luther

27-4

79

17

T16

The College of New Jersey

24-6

79

20

18

Manhattanville

29-2

57

16

19

Kean

28-5

52

23

20

Brandeis

20-1-1

41

21

21

Wisconsin-Eau Claire

17-4-1

37

22

22

Lynchburg

29-9

32

19

23

Southwestern

29-4

29

25

24

Rowan

20-10

20

12

25

Thomas More

25-9

12

NR

Others receiving votes: Geneseo 10, Mount Saint Joseph 5, Endicott 3, Millikin 2, New Paltz 2, Whitworth 2, Pomona-Pitzer 1, and Wartburg 1.

Dropped out: Baldwin Wallace, Emory, Muskingum and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither is eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –Immaculate Heart Academy’s (Washington Township, N.J.) Ryleigh White, Constitution’s (Philadelphia) Ellie Benedict, Bishop McNamara’s (Forestville, Md.) Makayla Marbury, Marion County’s (Lebanon, Ky.) Haley Mattingly and White Pine’s (Ely, Nev.) Eva Kingston were selected MaxPreps / NFCA National High School Players of the Week for their outstanding play during the week of April 8-14.

East Region
White tossed 17 innings of hitless and shutout ball, striking out 42 and walking just two batters. She also was 7-for-12 at the plate with a home run and six RBI. White twirled no-hitters against Clifton and DePaul Catholic, striking out 20 and 12 respectively. She issued one walk in each of those contests, facing just one batter over the minimum. The junior hurler fanned 10 in a five innings of work versus Livingston, adding a home run and four RBI in the 5-0 victory.

North Region
Benedict slugged an eye-popping 3.375 by homering six times in her eight at bats, leading the Generals to a pair of big wins last week. She recorded eight hits in as many at bats, registered 17 RBI and scored seven times. The sophomore clubbed four of those long balls with a double, ten RBI and five runs scored versus Parkway West. She added two more homers, including a grand slam, seven RBI against Thomas A. Edison.

South Region
Marbury, was 8-for-8 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven RBI and eight runs scored. She drew five walks, reaching base safely in all 13 plate appearances, and slugged 2.375. Against Our Lady of Good Counsel, Benedict went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a homer, three RBI and three runs scored. She posted three more RBI with a double and triple in game one against The Academy of the Holy Cross. Marbury added another long ball in game two versus the Tartans and scored three times despite not having an official at bat against Bishop O’Connell. 

South Central Region
Mattingly posted three wins last week, including a perfect game, and striking out 36. Here perfecto came against Danville, fanning 14 and retiring all 21 batters she faced. Mattingly twirled a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in a 6-0 triumph over Adair County. The junior also made an impact offensively, hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a double, home run and six RBI. Mattingly drove in two runs in each of the Knights’ three games, homering against Taylor County.

West
Kingston was a perfect 10-for-10, with three home runs, nine RBI and 11 runs scored in a three-game sweep of Battle Mountain. The sophomore outfielder, who homered in all three games, added four doubles and slugged 2.300. Her game two and three performances mirrored each other as Kingston went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and four runs scored. She added three more RBI and crossed the dish three times in game one.

2018-19 Players of the Week

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete’s game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week’s award.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA.orgevery Monday during the spring campaign with a player from each of five separate high school regions being selected. In the fall season, one representative is chosen from the participating regions.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team’s stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach’s login, please contact: [email protected] call (800) 329-7324 x1. To enter a team’s stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Neshoba Central was idle this week, but maintained its status as the No. 1 team in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll.

The (21-0) Rockets, who have won 60 straight games dating back to May 2017, return to action today with a home game against Cleveland Central. They have now been the top team in the nation for 14 consecutive weeks.

Meanwhile, Norco (24-0) remained No. 2 after winning the Michelle Carew Classic on the strength of a pair of one-run wins over Los Alamitos and Orange Lutheran on the final day, and then Tuesday’s 3-0 shutout of King. Third-ranked Cedar Ridge (24-0) kept pace with a 2-0 victory over Hendrickson.

Elsewhere, Kentucky’s unbeaten Louisville Male (15-0) continued its climb up the rankings, moving up two more spots this week to ninth after collecting seven wins over the past week to complete a perfect 8-0 Alabama spring break trip. On that trip, the Bulldogs outscored their opponents 87-16.

The other mover this week is unbeaten Immaculate Heart Academy (4-0), which moved up to No. 20 after capturing its bracket of the inaugural NFCA New Jersey Leadoff Classic over the weekend in Newark, N.J. The win was fitting, since the tournament was honoring the memory of the Blue Eagles’ longtime coach Anthony LaRezza, who died in February 2016.

State rankings submitted by NFCA member coaches are used to compile the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25. Teams are chosen based on performance, roster quality and strength of schedule.

USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 Poll – April 11, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Previous

1

Neshoba Central (Miss.)

21-0

1

2

Norco (Calif.)

24-0

2

3

Cedar Ridge (Texas)

24-0

3

4

James Madison (Va.)

6-0

4

5

Shawnee Heights (Kan.)

2-0

5

6

Angleton (Texas)

25-1

6

7

Estero (Fla.)

17-0

7

8

New Palestine (Ind.)

4-0

8

9

Louisville Male (Ky.)

15-0

11

10

Barbers Hill (Texas)

27-1

9

11

Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.)

15-0

10

12

Winter Springs (Fla.)

18-0

11

13

Oakleaf (Fla.)

17-1

13

14

South Granville (N.C.)

8-1

15

15

Apopka (Fla.)

15-1

NR

16

Fairhope (Ala.)

28-3

17

17

Marist (Ill.)

11-2

25

18

Forney (Texas)

15-2

12

19

Keller (Texas)

23-3-1

NR

20

Immaculate Heart Acad. (N.J.)

4-0

22

21

Center Grove (Ind.)

6-1

16

22

Donovan Catholic (N.J.)

3-1

21

23

Wachusett Regional (Mass.)

1-0

24

24

Los Alamitos (Calif.)

15-7

23

25

Spain Park (Ala.)

27-5

19

Dropped out: none.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. –Immaculate Heart Academy’s (Washington Township, N.J.) Ryleigh White, Constitution’s (Philadelphia) Ellie Benedict, Bishop McNamara’s (Forestville, Md.) Makayla Marbury, Marion County’s (Lebanon, Ky.) Haley Mattingly and White Pine’s (Ely, Nev.) Eva Kingston were selected MaxPreps / NFCA National High School Players of the Week for their outstanding play during the week of April 8-14.

East Region
White tossed 17 innings of hitless and shutout ball, striking out 42 and walking just two batters. She also was 7-for-12 at the plate with a home run and six RBI. White twirled no-hitters against Clifton and DePaul Catholic, striking out 20 and 12 respectively. She issued one walk in each of those contests, facing just one batter over the minimum. The junior hurler fanned 10 in a five innings of work versus Livingston, adding a home run and four RBI in the 5-0 victory.

North Region
Benedict slugged an eye-popping 3.375 by homering six times in her eight at bats, leading the Generals to a pair of big wins last week. She recorded eight hits in as many at bats, registered 17 RBI and scored seven times. The sophomore clubbed four of those long balls with a double, ten RBI and five runs scored versus Parkway West. She added two more homers, including a grand slam, seven RBI against Thomas A. Edison.

South Region
Marbury, was 8-for-8 with three doubles, a triple, two home runs, seven RBI and eight runs scored. She drew five walks, reaching base safely in all 13 plate appearances, and slugged 2.375. Against Our Lady of Good Counsel, Benedict went 4-for-4 with a pair of doubles, a homer, three RBI and three runs scored. She posted three more RBI with a double and triple in game one against The Academy of the Holy Cross. Marbury added another long ball in game two versus the Tartans and scored three times despite not having an official at bat against Bishop O’Connell. 

South Central Region
Mattingly posted three wins last week, including a perfect game, and striking out 36. Here perfecto came against Danville, fanning 14 and retiring all 21 batters she faced. Mattingly twirled a two-hit shutout with 13 strikeouts in a 6-0 triumph over Adair County. The junior also made an impact offensively, hitting .600 (6-for-10) with a double, home run and six RBI. Mattingly drove in two runs in each of the Knights’ three games, homering against Taylor County.

West
Kingston was a perfect 10-for-10, with three home runs, nine RBI and 11 runs scored in a three-game sweep of Battle Mountain. The sophomore outfielder, who homered in all three games, added four doubles and slugged 2.300. Her game two and three performances mirrored each other as Kingston went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and four runs scored. She added three more RBI and crossed the dish three times in game one.

2018-19 Players of the Week

MaxPreps.com, the official high school statistical provider of the NFCA, provides all statistics for the NFCA High School Player of the Week award. To nominate a player for the award, the coach must enter his or her athlete’s game stats into MaxPreps.com by Sunday evening to be eligible for that week’s award.

The MaxPreps/NFCA High School Players of the Week are announced on NFCA.orgevery Monday during the spring campaign with a player from each of five separate high school regions being selected. In the fall season, one representative is chosen from the participating regions.

MaxPreps is a free stat tool that is available to high school coaches across the country and is one of the most recognized and respected high school athletics websites on the internet. Coaches who enter their team’s stats on Max Preps will not only be nominating their players for this award, but they will be getting their team’s information out to thousands of high school sports fans, as well as college coaches across the country.

To obtain a coach’s login, please contact: [email protected] call (800) 329-7324 x1. To enter a team’s stats on the MaxPreps website, please click here.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – USC Upstate’s Alyssa Oakes and UMBC’s Courtney Coppersmith were named Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division I National Player and Pitcher of the Week of the Week, respectively, for games played April 1-7.

Oakes slugged her way her first NFCA national honor. The junior catcher hit .500 with four home runs, 15 RBI and a 1.500 slugging percentage helping the Spartans to a 5-0 week. Oakes added two doubles, a triple, seven runs scored and a .556 on-base percentage. She drove in at least one run in all five contests, including five and six RBI outputs during a Big South sweep of Campbell. The Winter Park, Fla. native cracked two homers, including a grand slam in the series finale.

Coppersmith produced four 10-plus strikeout contests, which included 17 punchouts in a no-hitter against Maine. The rookie southpaw finished the week 3-0 with a 0.28 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 25.1 innings of work. She surrendered just six hits and holding the opposition to a .074 batting average. Against the Black Bears, Coppersmith matched her own program record with the 17 strikeouts. On the same day, she fanned 11 more batters in 4.1 innings of shutout relief, finish April 6 with 28 strikeouts and one hit allowed in 11.1 innings. 

She capped off her dominant performance against Maine with a one hit-shutout in which she sat down 13 more Black Bears in the America East series clincher. Earlier in the week, Coppersmith fanned 10 Norfolk State batters and hit the game-winning grand slam in game one of a doubleheader. For the week, she also hit .529 with six RBI and a 1.312 OPS.

2019 Players & Pitcher of the Week

Selected Top Performances
Nicole Newman, Drake – 2-0, SV, 0 R, 0 H, 28 K, BB, 9.1 IP, perfect game vs. Valparaiso; Summer Ellyson, Louisiana – 3-0, SV, 0.32 ERA, 28 K, 5 BB, 9 H, .129 opp. BA, 22 IP; Jessie Harper, Arizona– .667, 2 2B, 4 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 3 BB, .722 OBP, 1.600 SLG; Samaria Diaz, New Mexico State– 3-0, 0.30 ERA, 38 K, 4 BB, 23 IP; Taylor Pack, UCLA– .750, 6 H, 3 2B, 3 HR, 10 RBI, 5 R; Caleigh Clifton, Oklahoma-.714, 5 H, 2 3B, HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, .700 OBP; Mya Felder, New Mexico State– .571, 8 H, 2 2B, 4 HR, 9 RBI, .625 OBP, 1.571 SLG; Briana Marcelino, UConn– .611, 11 H, 2 2B, HR, 7 R, 9 RBI, .650 OBP; Jazlyn Crowder, Louisiana Tech– .750, 12 H, 3 2B, HR, 8 R, 10 RBI, 3-3 SB, 1.125 SLG; Virginia Irby, Colgate– .471, 8 H, 10 R, 4 RBI, 3 2B, HR; Miranda Elish, Texas – 2-0, 0.00 ERA, 2 SHO, 15 K, 7 H, .152 opp. BA, 14 IP; Danielle Williams, Northwestern– 2-0, 0.00 ERA 2 SHO, 22 K, 4 H.

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Central Oklahoma edged out West Florida by one point to grab the No. 1 spot in this week’s 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Bronchos (38-4) and Argonauts (39-7) each received seven first-place votes, but UCO collected 384 points to UWF’s 383 to garner their first No. 1 ranking since the 2014 preseason poll.

Central Oklahoma, the eighth different No. 1 ranked program in 2019, has been a mainstay in the top 10 since March 6 and held down the No. 2 spot the last five weeks. UCO posted a 3-1 mark in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) play last week, sweeping Emporia State and splitting a twinbill with Washburn, suffering its first home loss of 2019. With four games left in the regular season, the Bronchos enter the final week with a three-game lead over Missouri Western in the MIAA standings.

West Florida’s run of four straight weeks at No. 1 was snapped after it dropped both games of a Gulf South Conference doubleheader at then-No. 18 UAH, its first GSC series loss of the season. The Argonauts still hold a three-game lead in the loss column over the Chargers heading into the final week of the regular season.

No. 3 through No. 8 remained the same as those programs went through the week unscathed. No. 3 Texas A&M-Kingsville collected the final two first-place votes and 376 points. The Javelinas bounced back from a 2-3 week with a three-game Lone Star Conference sweep of Midwestern State. TAMUK heads into the final week of the regular season in a three-way tie for first place with No. 8 Texas A&M-Commerce and No. 6 West Texas A&M. 

The Javelinas, who close out league play at Texas Permian Basin, currently own the tiebreaker having swept the Lions (36-10), who were idle last week, and won the series versus the Lady Buffs, who are coming off a three-game sweep of Texas Woman’s.

No. 4 North Georgia posted a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader sweep of USC Aiken last week. Seeking their sixth straight PBC regular-season title, the NightHawks (36-10) have a pair of crucial Peach Belt Conference doubleheaders left of the slate, including one against second-place Columbus State.

No. 5 Florida Tech swept Florida Southern on the road and are tied with Tampa atop the Sunshine State Conference standings with one weekend to go. The Panthers (36-10) close out their regular season with Eckerd, while the Spartans battle Saint Leo. UT owns the tiebreaker having taken two-of-three from FIT earlier in the season.

No. 7 Winona State extended its program-record winning streak to 24 games with an 8-0 week in Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference action. Undefeated in the NSIC and the month of April, the Warriors (39-5) hold a two-game lead over No. 14 Augustana in the league standings. Owning the tiebreaker with the Vikings (42-7), the Warriors have six remaining conference contests this week.

UC San Diego (29-10) went 3-1 at Cal State San Marcos and moved up to No. 9 this week, while Grand Valley State returned at No. 10 following a brief top-10 absence. The Lakers (36-8) put forth a 7-1 week in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. Both squads hold slim leads in their respective league standings as they head into the home stretch.

This week’s poll welcomes No. 24 Lincoln Memorial and t-No. 25 Mississippi College back into the rankings. Then-No. 23 Georgia College dropped out.

The 2019 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. Records reflect games played through April 21, 2019.

 

2019 NFCA Division II
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 24 (Week 10)

Rank

School

Totals

2019 Record

Previous Week

1

Central Oklahoma (7)

384

38-4

2

2

West Florida (7)

383

39-7

1

3

Texas A&M Kingsville (2)

376

36-8

3

4

North Georgia

357

36-10

4

5

Florida Tech

335

36-10

5

6

West Texas A&M

317

30-10

6

7

Winona State

304

39-5

7

8

Texas A&M-Commerce

285

35-10

8

9

UC San Diego

261

29-10

10

10

Grand Valley State

246

36-8

15

11

Colorado Mesa

218

38-7

12

12

Concordia Irvine

217

40-6

14

13

Indianapolis

199

39-11

9

14

Augustana

191

42-7

17

15

Valdosta State

172

30-12

16

16

UAH

156

35-12

18

17

Southern New Hampshire

147

33-9

13

18

Arkansas Tech

122

37-13

24

19

Tarleton State

102

36-11

22

19

Southern Arkansas

102

41-10

11

21

Georgian Court

83

39-6

19

22

Southern Indiana

70

31-15

21

23

Chico State

49

29-13

25

24

Lincoln Memorial

44

32-12

RV

t25

Shepherd

19

32-10

20

t25

Mississippi College

19

34-11

RV

 

New to Poll: No. 24 Lincoln Memorial, t-No. 25 Mississippi College.

Dropped Out: No. 23 Georgia College.

Receiving Votes: LIU Post (18), Saint Leo (10), Cameron (5), Carson-Newman (4), Missouri Western (2), Saint Anselm (2), San Francisco State (1).

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — It’s becoming tougher to separate the top teams in the NFCA Division III Top 25, but there’s no change at the top, with two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University at No. 1 for a third-straight week and the 28th time in the last 29 weeks.

The (34-3) Marlins have now won 15 of their last 16. They went 3-1 last week, including a run-rule sweep of Shenandoah and a split with Ferrum. Two-time reigning Schutt Sports/NFCA Division III National Player of the Year Hanna Hull fanned 15 Ferrum batters while tossing a no-hitter in Virginia Wesleyan’s 5-0 victory on Saturday.

St. Thomas (33-5) and Williams (26-4) both went unbeaten last week to rank ahead of East Texas Baptist (33-4), which slipped two spots to fourth after dropping two of three to longtime American Southwest Conference rival Texas-Tyler, who is moving to Division II next season.

Nine teams are tied for four spots in the Top 25. Illinois Wesleyan (27-6) and Trine (26-4) are deadlocked at No. 6; Luther (28-5) and Texas Lutheran (27-7) occupy the No. 13 position; Kean (32-5), Manhattanville (33-2) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (22-7-1) share 16th; and Brandeis (27-2-1) and Lynchburg (30-10) are 20th.

Meanwhile, a patented late-season surge helped DePauw (22-10) break into the rankings this week at No. 25. The Tigers improved their record to 14-2 in April with their fifth straight victory in Monday’s sweep at Wittenberg.

The NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll is selected by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Current 2019 records are listed, with first-place votes in parentheses.

NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – April 24, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Points

Previous

1

Virginia Wesleyan (8)

34-3

200

1

2

St. Thomas (Minn.)

33-5

192

4

3

Williams

26-4

184

3

4

East Texas Baptist

33-4

176

2

5

Linfield

32-5-1

168

8

T6

Illinois Wesleyan

27-6

149

6

T6

Trine

26-4

149

10

8

Birmingham-Southern

31-5

132

12

9

Christopher Newport

28-6

130

5

10

Ithaca

22-6-1

126

14

11

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

30-7

125

7

12

Moravian

29-5

105

11

T13

Luther

28-5

102

T16

T13

Texas Lutheran

27-7

102

15

15

The College of New Jersey

26-6

74

T16

T16

Kean

32-5

67

19

T16

Manhattanville

33-2

67

18

T16

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

22-7-1

67

13

19

Coe

30-7

65

9

T20

Brandeis

27-2-1

48

20

T20

Lynchburg

30-10

48

22

22

Southwestern

33-4

40

23

23

Rowan

24-10

20

24

24

Thomas More

27-9

18

25

25

DePauw

22-10

12

NR

Others receiving votes: Piedmont 7, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 6, Wisconsin-Eau Claire 6, Mount Saint Joseph 5, Geneseo 4, St. Catherine 3, Wisconsin-Whitewater 2, and Endicott 1.

Dropped out: Millikin, New Paltz, Pomona-Pitzer, Wartburg and Whitworth.

* NOTE: Texas-Tyler is reclassifying to NCAA Division II, and Pfeiffer continues the process of going from Division II to Division III. Neither is eligible for the NCAA Division III Championship.