National Fastpitch Coaches Association

Contact: Brian Stanley, NFCA Director of Media Relations,

502-409-4600, brian@nfca.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

56 Weeks and Counting, West Texas A&M Still No. 1 in 2015 NFCA Division II Poll

March 18, 2015

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – West Texas A&M (20-3) won three road games at No. 6 Angelo State and extended

its record streak at the No. 1 spot to 56 consecutive weeks in the NFCA Division II Poll that was released

by the Association on Wednesday. The top four spots remain the same with the nation’s hottest team, Dixie

State (25-5), moving back into the top 5 and Georgia College (26-4) making its first appearance in the top

10.

The Lady Buffs picked up 11 first place votes and 394 points, eight points ahead of second-ranked

Valdosta State. WT opened the series with a resounding 21-0 victory over the Rambelles, but the next three

contests were close affairs. The Lady Buff extended their winning streak to nine games with 2-1 and 4-2 victories in games two and three before having it snapped by a 1-0 defeat in the final game of the Lone Star

Conference series. WT has still won 17 of its last 19 and the No. 1 ran dates back to Feb. 26, 2014.

Valdosta State (26-2) ran its winning streak to 16 games with five triumphs last week. The Blazers swept a

non-conference doubleheader from Florida Tech (4-0 / 3-2) and then run-ruled their way to a Gulf South

Conference series sweep of West Alabama, outscoring the Tigers, 38-1.

Cal State Monterey Bay (22-3) is riding an eight-game winning streak after winning all six of its contests

last week. The Otters, who picked up one first-place vote, swept a mid-week doubleheader from Dominican

(11-0 / 8-2) and won all four games against Cal State Dominguez Hills (6-1 / 8-0 / 4-1 / 7-6) in a CCAA

series.

No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis (17-1) did not let a 17-day layoff courtesy of weather-related cancellations and

postponements bother it. The Triton swept a pair of doubleheaders from Lake Superior State (8-0 / 10-2)

and Great Lakes Valley Conference foe McKendree (1-0 / 7-3) to run their winning streak to 14 games as

of Sunday.

Speaking of streaks, Dixie State moved into the No. 5 spot following a PacWest Conference eight-game

sweep through Hawaii. The Red Storm enjoyed their spring break trip to the Aloha State as they outscored

their hosts, 43-9 and extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 19 games.

Angelo State (21-5) remained at No. 6 going 3-3 last week, which included two wins over then-No. 5 St.

Mary’s (3-2 / 4-0) and one over No. 1 West Texas A&M (1-0). Alabama-Huntsville (16-5) and North Georgia (21-5) each moved up one spot. No. 9 St. Mary’s had a tough week and fell four spots after

dropping four games.

Georgia State rounds out the top 10 after winning a pair of doubleheaders last week over Carson-Newman

(6-3 / 4-1) and at Peach Belt Conference foe Flagler (5-2 / 7-0). The Bobcats have won five straight and 16

of their last 17.

Returning to the poll this week are No. 23 California (Pa.) (6-4) and No. 25 Metro State (16-6), while No.

19 Wingate and No. 23 Arkansas Tech dropped out.

The 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. 2015 records and previous week’s rankings are shown with

first-place votes in parentheses.

NFCA Division II Softball Poll – March 17, 2015

Rank Team 2015 Record Totals Prev. Rank

1 West Texas A&M 20-3 394 1

2 Valdosta State 26-2 386 2

3 Cal State Monterey Bay 19-4 367 3

4 Missouri-St. Louis 17-1 356 4

5 Dixie State 25-5 322 7

6 Angelo State 21-5 318 6

7 Alabama-Huntsville 16-5 299 8

8 North Georgia 21-5 291 9

9 St. Mary's (Texas) 18-7 245 5

10 Georgia College 26-4 240 13

11 Emporia State 16-4 219 20

12 Indianapolis 15-5 197 18

13 California Baptist 26-6 188 17

14 Winona State 16-3 166 12

15 North Alabama 18-4 156 21

16 Central Oklahoma 18-6 127 16

17 Southern Indiana 15-1 125 22

18 Rollins 20-3 120 15

19 LIU Post 3-5 101 11

20 Sonoma State 20-5 96 24

21 West Chester 10-4 82 10

22 Caldwell 2-3 79 14

23 California (Pa.) 6-4 66 RV

24 Augustana (S.D.) 9-3 51 25

25 Metro State 16-6 34 RV

Dropped Out: No. 19 Wingate (11-9), No. 23 Arkansas Tech (14-6). New to Poll: No. 23 California (Pa.), No. 25 Metro State

Others Receiving Votes: Ashland (24), Arkansas Tech (23), Humboldt State (23), Anderson (20), Southern New Hampshire (20), Wayne State (Mich.) (14), Eckerd (14), Saint Leo (12), Lenoir Rhyne (7), West Virginia Wesleyan (7), Arkansas Monticello (4), Charleston (3), Wingate (3), Pittsburg State (1).