Rounding Third Softball

The gap between the two top spots in this week’s NFCA Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll is mere votes. UT Tyler (17-1) keeps hold of the No. 1 spot, but No. 2 Concordia Irvine (20-0) is coming up fast from behind. The Patriots collected 9 of the 16 first-place votes, while the Eagles received 7.

Rank	School	Points	2022 Record	Prev. Ranking
1	UT Tyler (9)	400	17-1	1
2	Concordia Irvine (7)	391	20-0	2
3	Valdosta State	363	16-4	3
4	Indianapolis	350	13-1	5
5	Rogers State	325	18-2	8
6	West Texas A&M	324	12-5	4
7	Grand Valley State	317	6-0	7
8	Augustana	277	6-3	10
9	Texas A&M-Kingsville	267	19-2	15
10	Central Oklahoma	241	17-3	13
11	Chico State	234	18-4	16
12	Lincoln Memorial	219	17-5	14
13	West Florida	193	14-3	19
14	Tampa	183	11-8	11
15	Lubbock Christian	167	18-2	RV
16	North Georgia	162	15-8	9
17	Auburn Montgomery	147	14-5	12
18	Angelo State	136	16-4	6
19	Carson-Newman	98	21-3	25
20	Minnesota State	92	8-5	17
21	Texas A&M-Commerce	81	17-5	23
22	Cal State Monterey Bay	56	14-8	20
23	UAH	47	15-5	RV
24	Anderson	39	17-3	21
25	St. Mary’s	35	18-4	RV

New to Poll: No. 15 Lubbock Christian, No. 23 UAH, No. 25 St. Mary’s

Dropped Out:  No. 18 Oklahoma Christian, No. 22 Georgian Court, No. 24 Harding

Receiving Votes: Georgian Court (18), Oklahoma Christian (18), Harding (13), Seton Hill (11), Cal State San Marcos (2), Kutztown (1). 

Two undefeated teams sit atop this week’s USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll. No. 1 Oklahoma (15-0) and No. 2 Alabama (20-0) are once again in the top two spots. The Sooners received all 32 first-place votes.

Rank	School (First Place Votes)	Points	2022 Record	Prev. Ranking
1	Oklahoma (32)	800	15-0	1
2	Alabama	768	20-0	2
3	Florida State	721	19-1	3
4	Florida	696	21-1	4
5	UCLA	680	17-3	5
6	Virginia Tech	628	14-3	6
7	Washington	575	15-5	7
8	Arizona	530	15-4	9
9	Kentucky	511	16-2	10
10	Oklahoma State	503	12-5	8
11	Oregon	470	16-3	12
12	Arkansas	445	14-4	11
13	Duke	417	16-3	13
14	Missouri	392	16-4	15
15	Georgia	343	19-2	16
16	Northwestern	331	15-4	17
17	Clemson	282	12-6	14
18	Tennessee	268	15-6	18
19	Michigan	255	13-6	19
20	Auburn	233	21-1	20
21	LSU	146	17-6	22
22	Louisiana	101	12-4	21
23	Arizona State	94	13-5	23
24	Notre Dame	50	16-4	25
25	Charlotte	42	18-3	RV

New to Poll: No. 25 Charlotte

Dropped Out: No. 24 UCF

Receiving Votes: UCF (38), USF (36), Stanford (25), Liberty (7), Texas (7), Boise State (2), Oregon State (2), USC Upstate (1), Wisconsin (1).

NCAA today released the first Rating Percentage Index (RPI) for the 2022 season. The RPI ranks teams based upon their wins and losses and strength of schedule. The rating is used as a primer for the NCAA Division I Softball Committee in selection of teams for postseason play. Virginia Tech sits in the No. 1 spot in the first RPI of 2022. The complete rankings can be found at DI Softball Rankings – NCAA Women’s Softball RPI | NCAA.com

Softball Australia has announced the passing of former coach Barry Blanchard at the age of 86 years old. Blanchard was a beloved coach and personality within the National Program in Australia. His first national appointment came in 1995 with the Men’s National team, before being named as assistant coach for the Women’s National Team in 1997. He held that position through the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. He also had a stint as Head Coach of the Italian National Team at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He later returned to the Australian program as video analyst and selector for the Open Men’s program during the 2009 and 2013 World Championships.

RTS has learned that multiple games were canceled at The Spring Games yesterday due to what was termed as an “umpire shortage”. Ashland University Head Coach Emlyn Knerem Tweeted that her squad’s game with Central Missouri was canceled just before game time, and that the information was initially sent through email. She also indicated all of the scheduled session games in that time slot were also canceled, and that the teams in attendance this week were told that the event was at only “60% capacity for umpires”. The Spring Games is hosted by PFX Athletics and features games played over a month period by teams from all divisions and levels of collegiate softball that descend on the Central Florida area.

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology opened their 2022 season yesterday. That isn’t something usually reserved for a headline. What is though, is it is the first time the Engineers have taken the field in 1,026 days. MIT split two games at the NFCA DIII Leadoff Classic in Columbus, GA marking the programs first games since May 13, 2019 due to the pandemic. The squad defeated Transylvania 5-4 while losing 9-4 to Alma.

University of Charleston Coach Michelle Frew notched her 1,000th career coaching victory Thursday in a 10-1 victory over University of Mary. Frew is in her first season leading the Golden Eagles after 25 seasons coaching Rollins College.

RTS is saddened to report the passing of longtime club softball coach Ben Guidry at the age of 83 years old. Guidry, a USA Softball Hall of Fame Member in his home state of Louisiana, was most known as one of the founders of the Louisiana Patriots Club Program. One of the first teams in Louisiana to actively travel across the country competing, he helped hundreds of Prospective Student-Athletes achieve their dreams of playing on the collegiate level over his 50+ years in the sport.

RTS will be in Atlanta starting tomorrow to kickoff ACC play as host Georgia Tech (15-2) welcomes Duke (13-3) for a three-game series. Check-in at all of RTS’s platforms on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for live in-game updates and information throughout the weekend.

Former Rockford Thunder and Chicago Bandits General Manager Aaron Moore has been named the new head coach at Morton College in Cicero, Illinois. The longtime pro league executive spent the last five years as head coach at NAIA Roosevelt University before now landing at the JUCO level.