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LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Eastern Nazarene College right-hander Elisabeth Schaffer and College of Saint Scholastica third baseman Josie Fourre claimed Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Pitcher and Player of the Week honors on Wednesday.

Junior Schaffer tossed four complete-game shutouts, including an 1-0, 10-inning shutout of Becker on Sunday, in which she struck out 16. For the week, the Benton, Pa., native was 4-0 with a 0.00 earned-run average, just two walks and 38 strikeouts over 27 innings in the circle.

Fourre, meanwhile, hit .650 (13-for-20) with 13 runs scored, two triples, six homers, and 17 runs batted in, as the Saints went 7-1 for the week. The sophomore from Albany, Minn., hit the six homers over a four-game stretch against Northland, and her four homers in four straight at-bats tied for second-most consecutive homers in NCAA Division III history.

Other Top Performances

Rowan senior shortstop Carly Anderson recorded the three-run double that tied the score in the bottom of the seventh, then scored the winning run in a 9-8 victory over Montclair State. …  Eastern Nazarene senior catcher Lauren Clements hit .563 (9-for-16) with four runs, two doubles, two homers and nine RBI, while collecting a hit in all six games she played. … Wesley junior utility player Brandi Dalious helped her team knock off the second and third seeds in their conference tournament, batting .545 with two doubles, three homers, and six RBI. … Lesley sophomore designated player Jordan Day hit .786 with seven runs, two doubles, a triple, and two steals. She also was 1-0 in the circle, with a complete-game, five-hitter and nine strikeouts. … St. Olaf junior pitcher Julie Graf went 3-0 with a 0.39 ERA, and allowed just six hits and two total runs over 18 innings, while striking out 42 and walking only six. She broke her own conference record for strikeouts with 19 last Wednesday against Carleton. … Calvin junior second baseman Hannah Horvath collected seven runs and 11 hits while batting .524 with five RBI, and had four multi-hit games. … Virginia Wesleyan junior pitcher Hanna Hull was 4-1 with a save, four runs allowed, a 0.43 ERA, and 48 strikeouts over 32.2 innings. She twice registered 12 strikeouts, had seven in a 3-2 loss to Randolph-Macon, and eight while winning a rematch with the Yellow Jackets the following day. … Washington and Jefferson senior shortstop Rachel Johnson was 17-for-22 (.773) with seven runs, two doubles, and eight RBI. … East Texas Baptist freshman pitcher Beatriz Lara allowed just two hits over 13.1 innings for the week. She fanned 11 and allowed her lone hit in the seventh in a 6-0 series-opening win over McMurry, then threw 6.1 innings of one-hit relief in the second game against the War Hawks. … Bethany Lutheran sophomore center fielder Morgan Mashlan hit .500 over a six-game stretch and helped lead her team to its first-ever conference crown. … Central (Iowa) sophomore shortstop Darla Parchert had four hits, including three doubles, as the Dutch swept then-No. 13 Luther to claim their first regular-season conference title since 2013. For the week, she hit .562 with six runs, four doubles, a homer and six RBI. … Emmanuel (Mass.) junior outfielder Yuleska Ramirez-Tejeda set a school record for homers in a season (10) and threw out a runner at the plate to help the Saints lock up the top seed for their conference tournament. For the week, she batted .611 (11-for-18) with four homers and 14 RBI. … Kean senior outfielder Caroline Ratti hit .429 with five runs, a double, four homers, three steals and seven RBI. …  Bethany Lutheran junior shortstop Haylee Sobrero batted .526 with a triple and homer as her team set a record for wins and won its conference for the first time. … Calvin sophomore catcher Grace Stock delivered the go-ahead run with a 3-2, two-out double, and hit .500 with three runs, three doubles and 10 RBI for the week.

Winners are selected by the NFCA Division III Top 25 Committee, which has a representative for each of the eight NCAA regions.

2019 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Pitcher of the Week

May 1 — Elisabeth Schaffer, Eastern Nazarene College, Jr., RHP, Benton, Pa.

April 24 — Kierstin Anderson-Glass, University of St. Thomas, Jr., RHP, Inver Grove Heights, Minn.

April 17 — Haley Crumpton, Birmingham-Southern, Sr., LHP, Alabaster, Ala.

April 10 — Ravenne Nasser, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sr., RHP, Methuen, Mass.

April 3 — Ally Wiegand, Illinois Wesleyan University, Jr., RHP, Downs, Ill.

March 27 — Hadley Decker, Anderson (Ind.) University, Jr., RHP, New Haven, Ind.

March 20 — Candace Whittemore, Randolph-Macon College, Sr., RHP, Montpelier, Va.

March 13 — Alyssa Olson, Coe College, Sr., RHP, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

March 6 — Hanna Hull, Virginia Wesleyan University, Jr., LHP, Chesterfield, Va.

Feb. 27 — Beatriz Lara, East Texas Baptist University, Fr., RHP, Orange Grove, Texas

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2019 Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division III National Player of the Week

May 1 — Josie Fourre, College of Saint Scholastica, So., 3B, Albany, Minn.

April 24 — Caroline Ratti, Kean University, Sr., OF, South Plainfield, N.J.

April 17 — Brittany Attaway, Whittier College, Sr., C, Claremont, Calif.

April 10 — Jill Healy, Rhodes College, Sr., SS, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

April 3 — Paige Smotherman, Linfield College, Sr., 2B, Hillsboro, Ore.

March 27 — Krissy Hughes, Muskingum University, Sr., CF, Newark, Ohio

March 20 — Kaitlyn Hasty, Christopher Newport University, Fr., UTIL, Chesapeake, Va.

March 13 — Kendall Marinesi, California Lutheran University, Jr., 3B, Santee, Calif.

March 6 — Kelsey Hora, Coe College, So., CF, Ainsworth, Iowa

Feb. 27 — Chase Shortly, University of St. Thomas, Sr., C/INF, Forest Lake, Minn.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Cedar Ridge swept Houston Cypress Woods to open the Texas state playoffs and solidify its hold on the No. 1 spot in the USA TODAY Sports/NFCA High School Super 25 poll.

Tori McCann, Steph Elliott and Katy Repa all homered in the two victories for the (30-0) Raiders, who stay the top-ranked team for a third straight week. McCann, who saw action in both games, is now 23-0 in the circle.

Cedar Ridge opens its best-of-three playoff series with Conroe Oak Ridge tonight at Mumford High. Games two and three (if necessary) follow on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Neshoba Central (24-2) bounced back after a shocking 5-2 opening-game loss to Grenada to remain No. 2 in the rankings.  The Rockets won two elimination games to take the series and advance to the Mississippi Class 5A North State title series on Friday and Saturday.

The first 12 teams remained unchanged. Undefeated newcomers North Davidson (23-0) and Redmond (20-0) joined the poll at No. 13 and 14 this week, while Barbers Hill (34-2) slipped two spots to 15th.

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Meanwhile, two losses dropped Tualatin out this week, while Mountain View’s 15-1 loss to unranked Idaho rival Eagle caused the Mavericks to tumble out as well.

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 – May 2, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Previous

1

Cedar Ridge (Texas)

30-0

1

2

Neshoba Central (Miss.)

29-2

2

3

Norco (Calif.)

27-1

3

4

Shawnee Heights (Kan.)

12-0

4

5

Louisville Male (Ky.)

18-0

5

6

Foothill (Pleasanton, Calif.)

21-0

6

7

Winter Springs (Fla.)

25-0

7

8

New Palestine (Ind.)

13-1

8

9

Angleton (Texas)

30-1

9

10

Lakewood Ranch (Fla.)

25-0

10

11

Clarksville (Tenn.)

38-1

11

12

Keystone (Ohio)

19-0

12

13

North Davidson (N.C.)

23-0

NR

14

Redmond (Wash.)

20-0

NR

15

Barbers Hill (Texas)

34-2

13

16

Marist (Ill.)

20-2

15

17

Forney (Texas)

22-2

16

18

Keller (Texas)

26-3-1

18

19

St. John Vianney (N.J.)

12-0

19

20

Hanover (Va.)

15-0

20

21

Immaculate Heart Acad. (N.J.)

14-0

21

22

Donovan Catholic (N.J.)

12-1

22

23

Appoquinimink (Del.)

11-1

23

24

Fairhope (Ala.)

36-4

17

25

Pinnacle (Ariz.)

22-3

25

Dropped out: Mountain View (Idaho) and Tualatin (Ore.).

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Central Oklahoma captured the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) title and strengthened its hold on No. 1 ranking in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.The Bronchos (41-5) collected 13 first-place votes and 394 points. No. 2 West Florida and No. 3 Texas A&M Kingsville received one and two first-place votes, respectively.

 

UCO wrapped up regular-season play with a 3-1 showing, sweeping Missouri Southern and splitting at Pittsburg State and will head into the MIAA tournament as the top seed. It marked the third regular-season title in six years.

The Argonauts (43-8) and Javelinas (41-8) closed out their regular seasons posting 4-1 and 5-0 weeks. After splitting a non-conference twinbill versus Florida Southern, UWF swept Gulf South foe West Alabama to secure its first GSC regular-season crown since 2006. Texas A&M-Kingsville recorded five wins on the road, including a three-game Lone Star Conference (LSC) sweep of Texas Permian Basin to capture the program’s first LSC regular-season title.

No. 4 Florida Tech and No. 5 North Georgia flip flopped position as both programs captured their respective league’s regular season crowns. The Panthers (39-10) took home their first-ever Sunshine State Conference championship and the league’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid, while the NightHawks (39-11) won their sixth straight Peach Belt title.

No. 6 Winona State and No. 7 Texas A&M-University Commerce each improved one spot. The Warriors (45-5) are the hottest team in Division II, ending the regular season on a program-record 30-game winning streak. Winona State did not lose in April and went undefeated through Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference play to take home its second straight NSIC regular-season championship.

The Lions (37-11) took two-of-three at RV Cameron and will be the No. 2 seed in the Lone Star Conference’s single-elimination postseason tournament.

Grand Valley State moved up two spots to No. 8, while West Texas A&M dropped three positions to No. 9. The Lakers (40-8) claimed its third straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season title by sweeping Ferris State and Northwood in GLIAC doubleheaders. The Lady Buffs (31-12) dropped two-of-three to then-No. 19 Tarleton State and will be the third seed at the LSC tournament.

PacWest regular-season champs Concordia Irvine pushed its winning streak to 15 games. The Eagles (44-6) wrapped up their regular season with four league wins to earn its second straight PacWest crown and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

No. 20 LIU Post, No. 23 Carson-Newman and No. 24 Saint Anselm enter the poll this week, while then-No. 17 Southern New Hampshire, then-No. 21 Georgian Court, then-No. 24 Lincoln Memoria and then-No. 25 Shepherd fall out.

Following this weekend’s conference tournament play, the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show will be held Monday, May 6 at 10:00 a.m. ET on NCAA.com

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 28, 2019.

 

2019 NFCA Division II
Top 25 Coaches Poll – May 1 (Week 11)

Rank

School

Totals

2019 Record

Previous Week

1

Central Oklahoma (13)

394

41-5

1

2

West Florida (1)

382

43-8

2

3

Texas A&M Kingsville (2)

370

41-8

3

4

Florida Tech

347

39-10

5

5

North Georgia

341

39-11

4

6

Winona State

321

45-5

7

7

Texas A&M-Commerce

300

37-11

8

8

Grand Valley State

288

40-8

10

9

West Texas A&M

260

31-12

6

10

Concordia Irvine

254

44-6

12

11

Colorado Mesa

234

42-7

11

12

Indianapolis

211

42-12

13

13

UC San Diego

196

31-12

9

14

Arkansas Tech

195

41-13

18

15

UAH

175

37-13

16

16

Augustana

167

47-8

14

17

Southern Arkansas

129

45-10

19

18

Valdosta State

125

33-14

15

19

Tarleton State

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115

38-12

19

20

LIU Post

79

44-8

RV

21

Chico State

69

29-13

23

22

Southern Indiana

58

33-17

22

23

Carson-Newman

54

28-10

RV

24

Saint Anselm

37

35-8

RV

25

Mississippi College

35

38-12

25

 

New to Poll: No. 20 LIU Post, No. 23 Carson-Newman, No. 24 Saint Anselm

Dropped Out: No. 17 Southern New Hampshire, No. 21 Georgian Court, No. 24, Lincoln Memorial, No. 25 Shepherd

Receiving Votes: Lincoln Memorial (27), Georgian Court (12), Missouri Western (8), Cameron (6), San Francisco State (4), UMSL (3), Southern New Hampshire (2), Tampa (2).

The 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Records reflect games played through April 28.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Augustana’s Maggie Kadrlik and Florida Tech’s Melanie Murphy were named the final Louisville/Slugger NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Week honorees for 2019. The dueo was recognized for their outstanding play during the week of April 22-28. 

Kadrlik hit an amazing .850 (17-for-20) with six home runs and 13 RBI to help the 16th-ranked Vikings post a 5-1 mark in the final week of the regular season. Slugging 1.800 over six games, the Inver Grove Heights, Minn. native also doubled twice, scored eight runs and did not strike out in 21 plate appearances. She homered in five contests, which included two in the nightcap at Minnesota-Crookston. In the doubleheader against the Golden Eagles, Kadrlik was 7-for-7 with a double, three long balls, six RBI and three runs scored.

The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Player of the Week registered three hits with one homer in each of their matchups with Upper Iowa. Against the Peacocks, she drove in three runs in game one and two more in game two. Kadrlik capped off the week with four more hits at Bemidji State. She doubled, homered and drove in two runs in the opener.

Murphy tossed 14.2 innings of shutout ball and picked up three wins, keying Florida Tech to a sweep of Eckerd. The three wins secured the fourth-ranked Panthers their first-ever Sunshine State Conference title, which earned them the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division Tournament. The senior southpaw twirled a pair of shutouts with 12 strikeouts and one walk. She surrendered just five hits, holding her opposition to a .104 batting average.

Murphy opened the series with a three-hit shutout, fanning six Tritons and hitting a batter. In the nightcap, she entered with one out, a runner on second and the score deadlocked at 0-0 in the top of the seventh. She retired the next two batters on two pitches to get out of the jam. The Sunshine State Conference Pitcher of the Week took to the circle the following day and held the Tritons to two hits and struck out six in a 5-0 victory. 

2019 Honorees

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Selected Top Performances

Cameron Barber, Ohio Dominican– 3-0, 0.64 ERA, 3 CG, SHO, 30 K, 0 BB, 22 IP; Victoria Taylor, Southern Arkansas– 2-0, 0.50 ERA, SHO, 6 H, 18 K, 14 IP, .125 opp. BA; Kinsie Hebler, Texas A&M-Commerce– .667, 6 H, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, BB, 1.556 SLG, .727 OBP; Annie Carberry, Pace– .600, 9 H, 2 2B, 3B, 7 RBI, 8 R, 1.000 FLD Pct.; Kylie Kent, Concord– .500, 10 H, 3 2B, 11 RBI; Morgan Ratliff, Cal State San Bernardino– .786 (11-for-14), 4 R, 2 SB, .813 OBP; Grace Dutoi, Northwood– .647 (11-for-17), 4 2B, 3B, HR, 11 RBI, .700 OBP; 1.176 SLG; Allison Lipovsky, Grand Valley State– 2-0, 2 SHO, 8 H, 21 K, BB, 13 IP; Gianni Iannontone, Indianapolis– .727 (8-for-11), 2 2B, 2 HR, 2 BB, 7 R, 9 RBI, 1.455 SLG, .769 OBP; Sable Hankins, East Central– .583, 3 HR, 9 R, 3 SB, 1.333 SLG, .706 OBP; Emily Harris, Young Harris– .813, 12 H, 5 RBI, 5 R, SB; Joelle Snyder, Mansfield– .520, 13 H, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 11 R, 13 RBI, 1.280 SLG, .571 OBP ; Madi Beining, Gannon– 5-0, 0.66 ERA, SB, 2 SHO, 23 K, 2 BB.

Luckin Coffee has Starbucks worried. The Xiamen-based upstart has opened 2,370 coffee shops across 28 Chinese cities since June 2017. And on Monday, it announced plans for a Nasdaq initial public offering (IPO) of around $17 a share—which, if successful, could value the company at $4 billion.

It’s a clear challenge to the Seattle-headquartered global king of coffee, which entered China two decades ago and last year held over half of the domestic market, according to Euromonitor. But Starbucks’ China sales grew just 1% in the last quarter of 2018, down from 8% growth the year before. Analysts point to China’s slackening growth in general for the slowdown, yet few dispel the specter of Luckin looming over the green siren’s shoulder.

Starbucks has responded by tackling Luckin head-on, rolling out previously overlooked services like delivery—a main pillar of Luckin’s business model—in the fall by partnering with Jack Ma’s e-commerce empire Alibaba.

It’s no exaggeration to say that Starbucks is the main reason why coffee is fast supplanting tea as the beverage of choice for China’s harried urban residents. More than 3,700 Starbucks outlets have opened across the world’s number two economy, with a new store popping up every 15 hours or so. The firm aims to have 6,000 sites in China by 2023, and sees the world’s populous nation as a main avenue of growth given market saturation in the U.S.

And so despite the impressive-looking IPO, Luckin may struggle to compete. It hopes to succeed by unleashing technology to boost convenience. In that way, it shouldn’t be thought of as a high-end coffee chain at all. After all, Ninety percent of Luckin outlets are little more than an austere counter with coffee machines in the corner of an office building lobby. Customers browse and select their beverage via an app, pay online, and then get alerted via smartphone when their order is ready. At the allotted time they can wander over to pick up their steaming cup of joe and get back to their desk before their boss notices their absence. It’s high-convenience, low-cost and zero frills. There’s virtually no waiting in line. Cash isn’t even accepted. Plus it’s about half the price of Starbucks.

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“Luckin is great as it’s super convenient during the workday,” says Shanghai office worker Xiao Wang, as she struggles to balance her iced latte, smartphone and portable charger in her grasp. But, adds Wang: “As for the coffee, it’s just so-so.”

That’s the thing. Luckin is more about convenience than great coffee. It’s not bad, but there’s no arcane choice of far-flung beans, plush ambience or tony baristas. The food on offer treats bland as an art form and leaves no doubt that it’s a distinct afterthought. For Jeffery Towson, a business professor at Peking University and private equity investor, “Luckin’s real competition is convenience stores like 7-Eleven rather than Starbucks.”

What’s more, Luckin is burning through $130 million a year, and admits that more losses are likely in the future. The company reported a net loss of $241 million for 2018 with total revenue at $125 million. Its corporate structure is peculiar and revenue forecasts are speculative at best.

Both Luckin and Starbucks are betting big that China’s demand for coffee will only increase. There’s reason to be optimistic on that front. The Chinese on average currently drink two cups of coffee every year—in Italy it’s 700—and so even a marginal uptick across China’s 1.4 billion people could herald profits galore. Of course, there’s a chance consumption could plateau, but in coffee’s corner is that it’s an addictive beverage and China is urbanizing fast.

Still, Luckin’s cash-burning expansion puts it at greater risk than Starbucks, and not just because of the American firm’s established dominance. The Luckin filing made a big deal of its scalability. But that’s usually a tech firm argument: burn cash at the start in hopes that profits flood in if and when user numbers soar. But the same doesn’t normally apply for retail enterprises like selling coffee, where scale and costs are more closely aligned.

In addition, Starbucks actually owns its stores, which to some extent insulates it from the worst vicissitudes of the marketplace. Luckin owns very little but owes a lot. Moreover, Starbucks is only half about the coffee, half about the experience. “Starbucks is a luxury product with beautiful stores in nice locations,” says Towson. “That’s not the same as what Luckin is doing, which is mass market convenience.”

Compounding matters, if convenience is your main selling point, what’s to stop an established convenience store chain — 7-Eleven, say — from launching a similar app and selling discount coffee from its 2,892 existing stores in China? Luckin’s business model is innovative but vulnerable to imitation. “That could be a big problem for Luckin,” says Towson.

(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump said Wednesday a New York Times report that his businesses lost more than $1 billion from 1985 to 1994 was “highly inaccurate.”

He contended the reported losses were “non monetary,” and that real estate developers like him during that period were entitled to take “massive write offs and depreciation” for tax purposes.

The Times reported Tuesday it has acquired printouts from Trump’s official IRS tax transcripts, including figures from his federal tax form. The newspaper said Trump reported business losses of $46.1 million in 1985, and a total of $1.17 billion in losses for the 10-year period.

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After comparing Trump’s information with that of other “high-income earners,” the Times concluded that Trump “appears to have lost more money than nearly any other individual American taxpayer.” Because of his business losses, the newspaper reported, Trump did not pay income taxes for eight of the 10 years.

Trump tweeted Wednesday that developers during that period were “entitled to massive write offs and depreciation” that would “show losses and tax losses in almost all cases.” He tweeted that much of those losses were “non monetary.”

“You always wanted to show losses for tax purposes” and “renegotiate with banks,” Trump tweeted. He called that “sport.”

Trump said the Times story was based on “very old information” and a “highly inaccurate Fake News hit job!”

The House Ways and Means Committee has asked the IRS to provide Trump’s personal and business returns for 2013 through 2018. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Monday refused to do so, saying the panel’s request “lacks a legitimate legislative purpose.” Mnuchin oversees the IRS.

Mnuchin’s move, which had been expected, is likely to set a legal battle into motion. The chief options available to Democrats are to subpoena the IRS for the returns or to file a lawsuit.

Trump is the first president since Watergate to decline to make his tax returns public.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University reclaimed the top spot in the NFCA Division III Top 25 this week after spending two weeks at No. 2.

The (29-2) Marlins went 4-0 last week, and then swept Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday, to move back into the No. 1 position they had held for 25 straight weeks — a total of 720 days — before a doubleheader split with Christopher Newport on March 24 dropped them to second place behind the (23-3) Captains.

East Texas Baptist (30-1), meanwhile, also went 4-0 last week to extend its win streak to 10 and vault into the No. 2 spot, ahead of Christopher Newport, who won five games, but split with the same Randolph-Macon team that had already defeated Virginia Wesleyan and fellow ranked squad Rowan earlier this season.

Poll newcomers Birmingham-Southern (won 13 straight), Brandeis (no losses, one tie), Baldwin Wallace (won six straight) and Southwestern (won 16 straight) all moved into the Top 25 after continuing their strong play, while Piedmont, Saint Benedict and Tufts tumbled out.

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 10, 2019

Rank

Team

2019 Record

Points

Previous

1

Virginia Wesleyan (8)

29-2

200

2

2

East Texas Baptist

30-1

192

3

3

Christopher Newport

23-3

184

1

4

Illinois Wesleyan

17-4

176

4

5

Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

24-5

168

9

6

Linfield

25-4-1

160

10

7

Williams

19-4

152

12

8

Coe

27-4

144

7

9

Trine

19-3

136

11

10

Moravian

23-3

128

T14

11

St. Thomas (Minn.)

22-4

98

6

12

Rowan

18-6

95

T14

13

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

15-5

92

16

14

Ithaca

15-5-1

88

13

15

Texas Lutheran

21-7

78

5

16

Manhattanville

22-1

76

17

17

Luther

24-3

67

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24

18

Birmingham-Southern

26-5

65

NR

19

Lynchburg

26-8

58

8

20

The College of New Jersey

19-5

55

RV

21

Brandeis

15-0-1

38

NR

22

Wisconsin-Eau Claire

14-3-1

36

23

23

Kean

22-5

24

18

24

Baldwin Wallace

25-3

23

NR

25

Southwestern

27-4

14

NR

Others receiving votes: Emory 13, Muskingum 11, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 10 and Geneseo 4.

Dropped out: Piedmont, Saint Benedict (Minn.) and Tufts.

* 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. – Twenty-five student-athletes have been selected finalists for the 2019 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player and Pitcher of the Year awards. The winners will be announced following the conclusion of the 2019 season.

Highlighted by 2018 winner Kylee Smith of North Georgia, the list of student-athletes is represented by 23 different programs and 18 conferences. Twelve student-athletes from the original Top-50 “Watchlist” made the cut with the final group consisting of 13 seniors, six juniors, four sophomores and two freshmen.

West Florida out of the Gulf South Conference and Winona State out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference each had two recipients. The Gulf South and Lone Star Conference led the way with three selections, while the Great Lakes Valley Conference, Northern Sun and Sunshine State Conference garnered two honorees. 

Collecting one plaudit each was the California Collegiate Athletic Association, Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, East Coast Conference, Great American Conference, Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, Great Northwest Athletic Conference, Great Midwest Athletic Conference, Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association, PacWest Conference, Peach Belt Conference, Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference and South Athletic Conference.

The Top 10 finalists will be announced on May 14 with the 2018 Schutt Sports/NFCA Division II National Player of the Year revealed on May 30, following the conclusion of the 2019 season.

New in 2019 is the announcement of two awards – Schutt Sports /NFCA Player of the Year and Schutt Sports / NFCA Pitcher of the Year. Up until the reveal of the awards, there will be one list for Top-25 and one list for Top-10. The respective winners will come from the top-10 list and will be voted on by the NFCA Division II All-American Committee.

The award was created in 2015 to honor the outstanding athletic achievement among softball student-athletes throughout Division II. 

Past Winners
2018 – Kylee Smith, North Georgia
2017 – Coley Ries, Minnesota State
2016 – Lindsay Butler, Wayne State University
2015 – Courtney Poole, North Georgia

 

2019 Schutt Sports / NFCA Division II Player & Pitcher of the Year Top 25

Emily Benson, Western Washington University, Senior, First Base

Shelby Booker, University of Alabama in Huntsville, Sophomore, Third Base

Rosa’Lynn Burton, Wilmington University, Junior, Outfield

Georgia Capell, Tarleton State University, Sophomore, Outfield

Jordan Davis, Rollins College, Senior, Outfield

Makaleigh Dooley, University of Tampa, Senior, Pitcher

JoBi Heath, University of Central Oklahoma, Senior, Third Base

Teala Howard, University of West Florida, Freshman, Utility

Sara Keeny, Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Senior, Outfield

Jordyn Kleman, Winona State University, Junior, Pitcher

Jennifer Leonhardt, University of Southern Indiana, Junior, Pitcher

Allison Lipovsky, Grand Valley State University, Senior, pitcher

Peyton Mills, Harding University, Senior, Outfield

Kylee Moore, West Texas A&M University, Senior, First Base

Callie Nunes, Concordia University Irvine, Sophomore, pitcher

MaKray Odom, Trevecca Nazarene University, Junior, Shortstop

Emily Otto, Texas A&M University-Commerce, Sophomore, Pitcher

Christa Reisinger, Truman State University, Senior, Outfield

Rhiannon Sassman, University of West Florida, Senior, Third Base

Julia Seader, Long Island University Post, Senior, Catcher

Kylee Smith, University of North Georgia, Junior, Pitcher

AnnMarie Torres, Colorado Mesa University, Junior, First Base

Brylynn Vallejos, San Francisco State University, Freshman, outfield

Lani Van Zyl, Winona State University, Senior, Shortstop

Natalie Willis, Newberry College, Senior, Shortstop

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. –MacQuarrie Stone-Folmar of Notre Dame Catholic (Fairfield, Conn.), Kylee Pachel of Park Rapids (Minn.), Taylor Barrett of Harmony (Fla.), Riley Price of Edgewood (Texas) and Jennifer Cummings of Redmond (Wash.) were selected MaxPreps / NFCA National High School Players of the Week for their outstanding play during the week of April 22-28.

East Region
Stone-Folmar hit .900 with four doubles, four home runs, 13 RBI and nine runs scored. She slugged 2.500, connecting on two doubles and two home runs in wins over Bunnell and Immaculate. Stone-Folmar was 5-for-5 with five RBI and five runs scored versus the Mustangs. Against the Bulldogs, the sophomore drove in eight runs and scored four times. 

North Region
Pachel was 9-for-10 at the plate with four doubles, three home runs, 10 RBI and four runs scored. The senior catcher slugged 2.200 and register a .909 on-base percentage. Pachel was a perfect 4-for-4, drove in a season-best six runs with three of her doubles, a long ball and two runs scored versus Wadena-Deer Creek. She homered and drove in two runs apiece in each game of a doubleheader sweep of Crosby-Ironton.

South Region
Barrett keyed the Longhorns to a pair of wins last week with her arm and her bat. She finished 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA and 31 strikeouts in a pair of complete game outings. The junior hurler fanned 15 and walked two during a one-hit shutout of 1-0 Okeechobee in a game that saw Barrett’s fourth-inning solo home run provide the only run of the game. In her first start of the week, Barrett tossed a three-hitter with 16 punchouts and one free pass in a 4-1 victory over Lake Nona. She held her opponents to an .082 batting average in 14 innings of work.

South Central Region
Price held Palmer High School without a hit and allowed just two base runners in a doubleheader sweep. She struck out 21, walked two as sophomore hurler twirled a perfect game and a no-hitter. Additionally, Price was 5-for-7 at the plate with a pair of doubles, six RBI and a run scored. The perfecto came in game two as she fanned eight and retired all 15 batters she faced, while doubling twice and driving in three runs. In the opener, Price recorded 13 strikeouts and issued two free passes. At the plate, she registered three more RBI and a run scored.

West
Cummings was a perfect 10-for-10 and reached base safely in all 15 plate appearances, keying the Mustangs to a 4-0 week. The junior recorded four doubles, three triples, eight RBI, eight runs scored, five walks and a 2.000 slugging percentage. Cummings posted three-hit games against Issaquah and Mount Si. She drove in three runs and scored three times with two doubles and triple versus Newport-Bellevue.

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.

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LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Florida was nearly the unanimous No. 1 as the top six teams remained steady in this week’s 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll. The Argonauts (36-5) captured 15 of the 16 first-place votes and 399 points after sweeping Union in a three-game Gulf South Conference series. 

No. 2 Central Oklahoma earned the other first-place vote and 381 points The Bronchos (31-3) posted five wins in Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association road action last week. They swept twinbills from Nebraska-Kearny and Northeastern State and split at Fort Hays State.

No. 3 North Georgia, No. 4 Southern Arkansas and No. 5 Texas A&M University-Kingsville went undefeated in conference play, while No. 6 Grand Valley State was 5-1. The NightHawks (34-8) won both ends of a Peach Belt Conference doubleheader against Georgia Southwestern State. The Muleriders (35-6) and Javelinas (31-5) swept Southern Nazarene and Western New Mexico, respectively. Southern Arkansas ran its winning streak to 17 games, while TAMUK’s pitching staff twirled three shutouts.

The Lakers (26-4) sandwiched Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader sweeps of Northwood and Ferris State around a split with Saginaw Valley State.

Lone Star Conference foes West Texas A&M and Texas A&M University-Commerce each maneuvered up two spots to No. 7 and 8. The Lady Buffs (27-10) and Lions (33-9) swept league series from Eastern New Mexico and Texas Woman’s, respectively.

UC San Diego (26-7) split a weather-shortened California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) series with California State University, East Bay. 

No. 10 Florida Tech returned to the top-10 following a short absence. The Panthers (30-10) picked up a key Sunshine State Conference series win on the road at then-No. 24 Rollins. 

No. 20 Georgia College and No. 22 Sonoma State make their first appearances of the season in the top-25. The red-hot Bobcats (31-10) have reeled off 14 consecutive victories, including a pair of doubleheader sweeps of Emmanuel and Lander last week. The Seawolves (24-10) took three-of-four at Cal State San Marcos in CCAA play. The defeat in the series finale snapped a 14-game winning streak.

No. 25 Southern Indiana returns after starting the season as the preseason favorite. The Screaming Eagles (25-13) have won six straight and nine of their last 10 contests.

Making way for the three newcomers by dropping out of the poll were No. 13 Chico State, No. 18 Lincoln Memorial and No. 20 Wayne State (Mich.).

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 7, 2019.

 

2019 NFCA Division II
Top 25 Coaches Poll – April 10 (Week 8)

Rank

School

Totals

2019 Record

Previous Week

1

West Florida (15)

399

36-5

1

2

Central Oklahoma (1)

381

31-3

2

3

North Georgia

365

34-8

3

4

Southern Arkansas

349

35-6

4

5

Texas A&M Kingsville

338

31-5

5

6

Grand Valley State

318

26-4

6

7

West Texas A&M

298

27-10

9

8

Texas A&M-Commerce

273

33-9

10

9

UC San Diego

268

26-7

8

10

Florida Tech

256

30-10

11

11

Augustana

245

32-5

12

12

Colorado Mesa

209

31-6

14

13

Southern New Hampshire

207

27-4

16

14

UAH

190

31-11

7

15

Concordia Irvine

178

29-6

15

16

Indianapolis

146

30-10

17

17

Winona State

135

27-5

21

18

Georgian Court

116

30-5

22

19

Valdosta State

111

27-12

19

20

Georgia College

86

31-10

RV

21

Tarleton State

78

30-9

23

22

Sonoma State

55

24-10

RV

23

Rollins

41

33-7

24

24

Shepherd

37

26-6

25

25

Southern Indiana

34

25-13

NR

 

New to Poll: No. 20 Georgia College, No. 22 Sonoma State, No. 25 Southern Indiana.

Dropped Out: No. 13 Chico State, No. 18 Lincoln Memorial, No. 20 Wayne State (Mich.).

Receiving Votes: Chico State (24), Coker (21), Arkansas Tech (14), Lincoln Memorial (9), Mississippi College (9), LIU Post (4), Ohio Dominican (3), Oklahoma Christian (2), Columbus State (1).

The 2019 NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the NCAA’s eight regions. Records reflect games played through April 7.

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