Rounding Third Softball

Virginia Wesleyan Pitcher Hanna Hull broke the Division III Career Wins record on Saturday scoring victory number 125 in a doubleheader ODAC sweep of Shenandoah. The previous record of 124 victories was held by the Coast Guard Academy’s Hayley Feindel set back in 2012. Hull has lead VWU to two national titles and is 16-3 in the circle for the Marlins in the 2021 season.

Days after announcing he would be leaving the University of St. Thomas program to return to his alma mater St. Mary’s University at the conclusion of the 2021 season, Hall of Fame Coach John Tschida picked up his 1,000 career coaching victory in his 27th year as a head coach. UST defeated College of Saint Benedict 4-3 in game one of a doubleheader to reach the milestone for Tschida.

Fontbonne clinched the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship on Friday with a game two victory against Iowa Wesleyan 2-0 in a doubleheader between the squads. The Griffins last SLIAC Championship came in 2016.

South Florida Coach Ken Eriksen picked up his 1,000 career coaching victory today in a 5-0 AAC win against East Carolina. Eriksen has coached the Bulls for 24 seasons compiling a 1,000-514-1 record.

The NCAA Division I Softball Committee has announced the 20 predetermined preliminary round sites for this year’s Division I Softball Championship. Of the 20 initially selected sites, the committee will choose 16 to host regional round games. Eight of those 16 regional sites will be considered to host super regional rounds. Due to “health and safety concerns” NCAA had earlier deemed it necessary to hold the championship competitions at predetermined sites.

The preliminary potential host sites include:

Alabama

Michigan

Arizona

Missouri

Arizona State

Oklahoma

Arkansas

Oklahoma State

Clemson

Oregon

Florida

Tennessee

Florida State

Texas

Georgia

UCLA

Kentucky

Virginia Tech

LSU

Washington

Six Pennsylvania schools and their athletic programs could soon be no more. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education released a 400-page report outlining its plan to merge six of its state colleges into two starting next fall as a cost cutting measure. The plan calls for Bloomsburg, Mansfield and Lock Haven universities to become one school, while California, Clarion and Edinboro universities would become another. All six institutions sponsor softball and are Division II members of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.

The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) has announced the Top 30 for the Schutt Sports/NFCA Division I National Freshman of the Year. The award honors outstanding athletic achievement among Division I freshmen softball student-athletes. The winner will be announced prior to the start of the 2021 NCAA Women’s College World Series in Oklahoma City.

The list includes:

Addison Barnhard, Wichita State University

Hannah Becerra, California State University, Fullerton

Alyssa Brito, University of Oregon

Valerie Cagle, Clemson University *

Erin Coffel, University of Kentucky

Jayda Coleman, University of Oklahoma

Matalasi Faapito, New Mexico State University *

Shaylon Govan, Stephen F. Austin State University *

Cameron Fagan, Virginia Tech *

Cylie Halvorson, South Dakota State University *

Sarah Harness, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale *

Jazmine Hill, Arizona State University *

Hannah Hughbanks, Dixie State University *

Alissa Humphrey, James Madison University

Tiare Jennings, University of Oklahoma

Lexi Kilfoyl, University of Alabama *

Tori Kniesche, South Dakota State University

Olivia Lackie, University of South Alabama

Jenna Laird, University of Missouri

Shelby Lowe, Auburn University

Janelle Meoño, University of Arizona *

Devon Miller, Fordham University *

Kiki Milloy, University of Tennessee *

Sharlize Palacios, University of Arizona *

Taylor Pleasants, Louisiana State University

Karli Spaid, Miami University *

Ashley Trierweiler, Santa Clara University *

Alana Vawter, Stanford University *

Grace Vesco, Saint Francis University *

Jenna Wildeman, University of Central Arkansas *

(*Denotes Second Year)

RTS will be in Athens starting tomorrow for the SEC Series between No. 5 ranked Alabama (36-7, 12-6) and No. 21 Georgia (29-14, 7-11). First pitch in Game 1 of the series between the Crimson Tide and Bulldogs is set for 6 pm EST at Jack Turner Stadium. Follow RTS on Twitter @Rounding3rdSB for real-time in-game updates.

Texas Lutheran (27-4) is the new No. 1 in this weeks NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. The defending national champions from 2019 garnered all eight first-place votes. The Bulldogs have won 23 of their last 24 games while outscoring their opponents by a whopping 254-58 margin this season.

Rank	Team	2021 Record	Points	Previous
1	Texas Lutheran (8)	27-4	200	2
2	Virginia Wesleyan	31-5-1	192	1
T3	Birmingham-Southern	28-4	184	6
	Eastern Connecticut State	20-0	184	3
5	DePauw	25-2	168	7
6	Belhaven	27-8	160	8
7	East Texas Baptist	23-5	152	4
8	Linfield	31-5	144	5
9	Moravian	18-0	136	T10
10	Emory & Henry	23-5	128	9
11	Berry	25-8	120	T10
12	St. John Fisher	22-2	112	13
13	Salisbury	21-7	104	12
14	Christopher Newport	24-10	95	14
15	Wartburg	22-6	86	16
16	Randolph-Macon	14-7-1	70	T17
17	St. Scholastica	29-3	64	T19
18	The College of New Jersey	15-3	56	T19
19	Mount Union	26-6	44	15
20	Concordia (Wis.)	25-5	43	24
21	Rowan	23-5	42	21
22	St. Olaf	17-3	31	T22
23	Williams	9-0	23	NR
24	Milwaukee School of Engineering	25-5	18	T17
25	Rochester	23-6	16	RV

Others receiving votes:  Saint Benedict 10, Alvernia 9, Misericordia 5, Aurora 4, Coe 4, Trine 4.

Dropped out: Alfred, Cortland, Kean, Mount St. Joseph, Southern Maine and Transylvania.

University of Arizona Coach Mike Candrea will join the Italian National Team as senior coach assisting Head Coach Federico Pizzolini in preparation for the upcoming European and Tokyo Olympic Games. Candrea led the U.S. National Team as head coach winning a Gold Medal in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens and a Silver in the 2008 Beijing Games.