Southern Indiana Coach Sue Kunkle earned her 600th career coaching victory on Sunday in an 8-0 win over Quincy. Kunkle is in her 21st year coaching the Division I bound Screaming Eagles. USI is currently 22-8 and 8-0 in GLVC play.
Softball World Loses Icon Joan Joyce
RTS is saddened to report the passing of legendary Hall of Fame Coach Joan Joyce at the age of 81. Joyce had recently won her 1,000th career game coaching Florida Atlantic in her 28th season. She amassed a 1002-674-1 record, guiding the Owls to 11 conference championships and 11 NCAA postseason tournaments. Having been involved in sports since the age of 8, she had numerous accomplishments including 20 hall of fame inductions, All-America recognitions in multiple sports, and inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records. She also became famous world-wide for striking out Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams in front of 17,000 people.
Florida State Coach Alameda Wins 800th Game
Florida State Coach Lonni Alameda collected her 800th Career Coaching Win Saturday in a 6-1 victory over Florida International. Alameda is in 14th season coaching the Seminoles. Before joining FSU she led the program at UNLV for five seasons.
Pezzoni Promoted To Head Coach At Madonna
Ron Pezzoni has been promoted to head coach at Madonna University. Pezzoni has served the last two seasons as an assistant coach with the NAIA program. Before joining the Crusaders, he coached at Howell High School for six seasons where he had a record of 197-43-3.
UNA Extends Cozart
North Alabama has extended the contract of head coach Ashley Cozart. The four-year extension runs through the 2026 season. In her ninth season at UNA, Cozart is 297-117 overall, including a 22-7 record this season.
Itawamba Coach Kirk Set To Retire
Itawamba Community College Coach Andy Kirk will retire at the end of the 2022 season. Kirk has led the Indians since 2011 and compiled a record of 358-121. His teams have finished in the top 10 rankings five of the last six seasons. Itawamba’s team is 20-2 and currently ranked fourth nationally in NJCAA DII. Prior to his time at ICC he coached on the high school level for 13 years.
Oregon Tech Still No. 1 In NAIA
Oregon Tech has held tight to the top spot in the latest NAIA Softball Coaches Top 25 Poll. The Owls garnered 15 of the 19 first-place votes. No. 2 Oklahoma City stayed in that second spot receiving three votes, while No. 6 Mobile received one vote.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] | RECORD | FINAL POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Oregon Tech [15] | 26-4 | 526 |
| 2 | 2 | Oklahoma City [3] | 20-1 | 512 |
| 3 | 4 | Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) | 23-1 | 479 |
| 4 | 4 | Science & Arts (Okla.) | 19-4 | 464 |
| 5 | 3 | College of Idaho | 22-6 | 462 |
| 6 | 8 | Mobile (Ala.) [1] | 26-0 | 460 |
| 7 | 7 | William Carey (Miss.) | 26-3 | 427 |
| 8 | 6 | Southern Oregon | 20-6 | 415 |
| 9 | 8 | Indiana Wesleyan | 18-4 | 395 |
| 10 | 10 | Coastal Georgia | 20-1 | 380 |
| 11 | 11 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 13-4 | 355 |
| 12 | 13 | Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) | 19-5 | 332 |
| 13 | 12 | Grand View (Iowa) | 15-3 | 325 |
| 14 | 15 | Texas A&M Texarkana | 19-5 | 297 |
| 15 | 14 | Georgia Gwinnett | 24-12 | 293 |
| 16 | 16 | Marian (Ind.) | 11-2 | 284 |
| 17 | 17 | Cumberlands (Ky.) | 19-10 | 244 |
| 18 | RV | Aquinas (Mich.) | 20-4 | 231 |
| 19 | 21 | Southeastern (Fla.) | 19-4 | 229 |
| 20 | 18 | Madonna (Mich.) | 8-1 | 197 |
| 21 | 24 | Columbia (Mo.) | 10-8 | 142 |
| 22 | 23 | Ottawa (Kan.) | 12-7-1 | 139 |
| 23 | RV | William Jessup (Calif.) | 18-10 | 134 |
| 24 | 25 | Morningside (Iowa) | 12-6 | 125 |
| 25 | RV | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 11-5 | 117 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Vanguard (Calif.), Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), Milligan (Tenn.)
Others Receiving Votes: Vanguard (Calif.) 99, Northwestern (Iowa) 66, Brenau (Ga.) 62, Houston-Victoria (Texas) 57, Texas Wesleyan 42, Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 28, Eastern Oregon 28, Rio Grande (Ohio) 23, Webber International (Fla.) 13, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 10, Oklahoma Panhandle State 8, Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 6, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 6, Faulkner (Ala.) 4, Midland (Neb.) 3, Tennessee Wesleyan 3.
Christopher Newport New DIII No. 1
There is a new No. 1 in this week’s NFCA Division III Top 25 Coaches Poll. Christopher Newport (21-0) has taken over the top spot. The undefeated Captains are unanimous garnering all 10 first-place votes.
| Rank | Team | Points | 2022 Record | Previous |
| 1 | Christopher Newport (10) | 250 | 21-0 | 4 |
| 2 | Salisbury | 240 | 20-2 | 2 |
| 3 | Virginia Wesleyan | 230 | 17-3 | 3 |
| 4 | Belhaven | 220 | 18-2 | 5 |
| 5 | Texas Lutheran | 210 | 20-4 | 1 |
| 6 | East Texas Baptist | 200 | 18-5 | 7 |
| 7 | Birmingham-Southern | 190 | 17-4 | 8 |
| 8 | Linfield | 180 | 19-3 | 6 |
| 9 | Eastern Connecticut State | 170 | 12-2 | 9 |
| 10 | Tufts | 160 | 4-2 | 10 |
| 11 | Randolph-Macon | 150 | 14-1 | 12 |
| 12 | DePauw | 140 | 9-5 | 11 |
| 13 | Roanoke | 130 | 14-6 | 13 |
| 14 | Berry | 120 | 15-7 | 15 |
| 15 | Moravian | 110 | 12-0 | 16 |
| 16 | Concordia (Wis.) | 100 | 12-1 | T22 |
| 17 | Milwaukee School of Engineering | 90 | 5-1 | 17 |
| 18 | Wisconsin-Oshkosh | 80 | 7-3 | 18 |
| 19 | Chapman | 70 | 17-2 | 20 |
| 20 | Rowan | 60 | 11-5 | 19 |
| 21 | Mount St. Joseph | 50 | 11-4 | 21 |
| 22 | Wartburg | 40 | 13-5 | NR |
| 23 | Saint Benedict (Minn.) | 30 | 12-2 | T22 |
| 24 | Millikin | 20 | 16-2 | 25 |
| T25 | Loras | 5 | 13-1 | NR |
| T25 | Mary Hardin-Baylor | 5 | 17-5 | NR |
Others receiving votes: None.
Dropped out: Muskingum and The College of New Jersey.
UT Tyler, Concordia Irvine Still Atop DII Poll
The top two spots in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll remained unchanged. UT Tyler (25-1) sits at No. 1, while Concordia Irvine (24-0) comes in at No. 2. Strangely enough CUI keeps losing first-place votes to UTT each week even though they remain undefeated. The Patriots garnered 13 of those votes while the Eagles got three.
| Rank | School | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | UT Tyler (13) | 397 | 25-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Concordia Irvine (3) | 387 | 24-0 | 2 |
| 3 | Valdosta State | 367 | 19-4 | 3 |
| 4 | Rogers State | 344 | 20-2 | 5 |
| 5 | Indianapolis | 341 | 20-2 | 4 |
| 6 | West Texas A&M | 322 | 18-7 | 6 |
| 7 | Grand Valley State | 298 | 14-1 | 7 |
| 8 | Augustana | 272 | 16-5 | 10 |
| 9 | Tampa | 267 | 20-8 | 13 |
| 10 | Lubbock Christian | 260 | 25-3 | 14 |
| 11 | West Florida | 218 | 18-4 | 12 |
| 12 | North Georgia | 207 | 23-8 | 15 |
| 13 | Angelo State | 200 | 23-5 | 17 |
| 14 | Cal State San Marcos | 175 | 27-3 | 25 |
| 15 | Texas A&M-Kingsville | 166 | 24-5 | 9 |
| 16 | Minnesota State | 153 | 15-6 | 21 |
| 17 | Auburn Montgomery | 150 | 19-6 | 16 |
| 18 | Carson-Newman | 136 | 24-4 | 18 |
| 19 | Central Oklahoma | 134 | 25-5 | 8 |
| 20 | Lincoln Memorial | 93 | 21-7 | 19 |
| 21 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 84 | 26-6 | 20 |
| 22 | Chico State | 72 | 22-8 | 11 |
| 23 | Oklahoma Christian | 36 | 19-8 | RV |
| 24 | Anderson | 35 | 22-3 | 22 |
| 25 | Embry-Riddle | 27 | 13-7 | NR |
New to Poll: No. 23 Oklahoma Christian, No. 25 Embry-Riddle
Dropped Out: No. 23 St. Mary’s, No. 24 UAH
Receiving Votes: Seton Hill (19), Harding (12), UAH (12), St. Mary’s (10), Kutztown (4), Georgian Court (1).
OU Still On Top
The stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll continues for undefeated Oklahoma (25-0). The Sooners were once again unanimous in the top spot garnering all 32 first-place votes. The Top 5 remained mostly unchanged with Florida State (27-2), UCLA (24-3), and Alabama (24-4) coming in at No. 2, 3, and 4. Virginia Tech (21-3) jumps into the fray at No. 5.
| Rank | School (First Place Votes) | Points | 2022 Record | Prev. Ranking |
| 1 | Oklahoma (32) | 800 | 25-0 | 1 |
| 2 | Florida State | 749 | 27-2 | 2 |
| 3 | UCLA | 742 | 24-3 | 4 |
| 4 | Alabama | 689 | 24-4 | 3 |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 677 | 21-3 | 6 |
| 6 | Florida | 660 | 25-3 | 5 |
| 7 | Oklahoma State | 525 | 21-6 | 10 |
| 8 | Kentucky | 522 | 20-5 | 8 |
| 9 | Washington | 504 | 20-7 | 7 |
| 10 | Arkansas | 486 | 19-5 | 12 |
| 11 | Northwestern | 477 | 19-4 | 14 |
| 12 | Oregon | 462 | 21-4 | 11 |
| 13 | Duke | 459 | 23-4 | 13 |
| 14 | Arizona | 443 | 19-6 | 9 |
| 15 | Tennessee | 340 | 20-8 | 15 |
| 16 | Clemson | 304 | 19-8 | 17 |
| 17 | Georgia | 288 | 26-4 | 16 |
| 18 | Auburn | 255 | 25-2 | 19 |
| 19 | Michigan | 221 | 17-6 | 21 |
| 20 | Arizona State | 202 | 22-5 | 22 |
| 21 | Missouri | 166 | 19-8 | 18 |
| 22 | LSU | 104 | 20-10 | 20 |
| 23 | UCF | 93 | 26-7 | 24 |
| 24 | Texas | 88 | 21-9-1 | RV |
| 25 | Stanford | 50 | 22-6 | RV |
New to Poll: No. 24 Texas, No. 25 Stanford
Dropped Out: No. 23 Louisiana, No. 25 USF
Receiving Votes: Louisiana (37), Notre Dame (31), USF (9), Ohio State (4), Boise State (3), Western Kentucky (3), Georgia Tech (2), Oregon State (2), USC Upstate (2), California 1.