Rounding Third Softball

Two-time defending National Champion Florida SouthWestern (41-3) sits atop this weeks NJCAA DI Rankings.

Place		Team	Record	Points	First Place Votes	Previous Rank
	1		Florida SouthWestern	41-3	140	8	1
	2		Grayson	32-4	133		2
	3		Northwest Florida State	43-5	126		3
	4		Odessa	36-4	119		4
	5		Walters State	37-1	112		5
	6		Wallace State	31-5	105		7
	7		Chattanooga State	34-7	98		8
	8		Central Florida	40-10	91		6
	9		Seminole State (FL)	39-9	84		11
	10		Seminole State (OK)	23-5	77		13
	11		McLennan	30-10	70		9
	12		Salt Lake	27-8	63		12
	13		Galveston	28-6	56		10
	14		Weatherford	30-7	49		17
	15		Indian River State	38-10	42		14
	16		Butler	28-8	35		16
	17		Hutchinson	29-6	28		15
	18		Volunteer State	25-9	21		19
	19		Lake Land	24-6	14		18
	20		Indian Hills		3		RV

Receiving Votes: Southern Idaho, Temple

Cardinal Stritch University has announced it will cease operations next month. Falling in with a recent uptick in collegiate closures, the Milwaukee, Wisconsin institute cited downward enrollment and mounting operational and financial challenges as the deciding factor. CSU has been open since 1937 and operates an NAIA athletic department of 13 sports which includes softball.

Tallahassee Community College has announced that Patti Townsend will step down as head coach at the end of the season. Townsend coached the Eagles for 20 years and compiled a record of 505-482-1. During they time she led TCC to one FCSAA Championship, three NJCAA Region 8B/FCSAA Gulf District Championships, and one Panhandle Conference Championship. In 2011, the Eagles finished in third place at the NJCAA Division I Softball Championship.

Tallahassee will conduct a national search for a new head coach. However, it is expected that assistant coach Jessica (Seamon) Santiago will garner serious consideration. Santiago is a veteran coach and spent 10 seasons on staff at DI Nicholls State, most recently as assistant head coach in 2021.

Some movement at the top of this week’s D1 Softball Top 25 Poll. While Oklahoma (36-1) keeps their stranglehold on No. 1, UCLA (36-4) moves into No. 2 followed by Oklahoma State (35-3). Newcomers Florida State (32-7) and Stanford (31-6) round out the Top 5.

Rank	Team	Overall Record	Record Last Week	Previous Rank
1	Oklahoma	36-1	3-0	1
2	UCLA	36-4	4-0	3
3	Oklahoma State	35-3	3-1	2
4	Florida State	32-7	3-0	6
5	Stanford	31-6	3-0	7
6	Georgia	31-8	2-2	8
7	Tennessee	30-5	1-2	4
8	Clemson	37-4	1-3	5
9	Texas	33-8-1	3-0	12
10	Washington	29-8	3-0	13
11	LSU	33-7	2-1	10
12	Arkansas	28-11	1-2	9
13	Duke	30-8	2-0	11
14	Texas A&M	24-13	2-0	14
15	Alabama	28-12	2-1	15
16	Baylor	30-9	3-0	24
17	Oregon	25-11	3-0	16
18	Northwestern	24-9	4-0	20
19	Kentucky	24-10-1	3-1	17
20	Virginia Tech	31-9	4-1	18
21	Wichita State	34-7	4-0	23
22	Utah	24-8	2-1	22
23	Florida	28-10	2-1	NR
24	Indiana	30-11	2-2	19
25	Louisiana	30-10	4-0	NR
Dropped Out
	Arizona	24-15	0-3	21
	California	24-12-1	0-3	25

The U-15 USA Junior Women’s National Team won their first Gold Medal on Saturday downing Mexico 14-0 in four-innings at the WBSC Pan American Championship. Team USA went undefeated 8-0 in the event held in Lima, Peru. With the championship the U-15 WNT secured a spot in the WBSC World Cup slated to take place in Tokyo, Japan later this year.

Who would win in a fight between a Sooner, Cowgirl, Vol, Bruin, and Tiger? We will soon find out as we surge toward the postseason. This weeks D1 Softball Top 25 is out.

Rank	Team	Overall Record	Record Last Week	Previous Rank
1	Oklahoma	33-1	3-0	1
2	Oklahoma State	32-2	3-0	2
3	UCLA	32-4	3-0	4
4	Tennessee	29-3	3-1	3
5	Clemson	36-1	4-0	5
6	Florida State	29-7	3-0	7
7	Stanford	28-6	1-3	6
8	Georgia	29-6	2-0	8
9	Arkansas	27-9	3-0	12
10	LSU	31-6	5-0	11
11	Duke	28-8	2-1	13
12	Texas	30-8-1	0-3	10
13	Washington	26-8	1-2	9
14	Texas A&M	22-13	3-2	15
15	Alabama	26-11	2-1	16
16	Oregon	22-11	2-1	17
17	Kentucky	21-9-1	1-2	14
18	Virginia Tech	27-8	2-2	19
19	Indiana	28-9	6-0	24
20	Northwestern	20-9	3-1	21
21	Arizona	24-12	4-0	22
22	Utah	22-7	1-2	20
23	Wichita State	30-7	4-0	25
24	Baylor	27-9	4-1	23
25	California	24-9-1	2-1	NR
Dropped Out
	Florida	26-9	2-2	18

William Peace University Coach Charlie Dobbins notched his 500th career coaching victory on Saturday. The Pacers defeated Methodist University in Game 2 of a double header 10-8 in 11 innings. The former men’s fastpitch standout and King and His Court member is in his 24th season coaching WPU.

The NCAA regular-season attendance record was obliterated on Friday as No. 1 ranked Oklahoma downed Red River Rival No. 10 Texas 8-1. 8,930 fans saw the Sooners defeat the Longhorns at USA Softball Hall of Fame Stadium in Oklahoma City. The previous record was held in a contest between Arizona and Fresno State played in Fresno that drew 5,724 fans in 2000.

Softball goes Hollywood.

“I Can” tells the inspiring true story of Katelyn Pavey a one-armed softball player. The story will be told through the eyes of the parents, who had her out of wedlock due to an affair. When she was born, her father believed she was without an arm because of how she was conceived and his sins. The story is a massive redemption arc for the father as he draws closer to God and finds his faith while watching how his daughter defies all odds.

Pavey, a native of Lanesville, Indiana, would go on to earn a college scholarship and is currently a member of the softball program at Kentucky Christian University. “I Can” is set for a national release this summer.

After 181 years Iowa Wesleyan University has announced it will close its doors at the end of this semester. Like most their size, the institute attributed the cease of operation to ongoing financial problems. The closure eliminates IWU’s athletics program including softball. The Tigers have been coached for 30 seasons by alum Mike Hampton, a part of his 56 years in the sport. Hampton has amassed 1,307 wins during his time at the collegiate and high school levels. Iowa Wesleyan was founded in 1841, five years before Iowa would officially become a state