STARKVILLE, Miss. – After going 3-1 on the diamond last week, the Bridgewater College softball team held on to its 15th-place ranking in the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Poll released on Wednesday afternoon.
Last week, the Eagles split a non-conference twinbill with the Greensboro Pride before earning a doubleheader sweep over visiting Randolph College on Saturday afternoon.
The Eagles, 19-3 overall, are third-highest ranked team in the NCAA Atlantic region behind second-ranked Emory and 12th-ranked Christopher Newport.
Two doubleheader sweeps over ranked teams propelled Linfield to another perfect week and another No. 1 ranking in the NFCA Top 25 Poll, the association has announced. Linfield beat No. 13 Redlands handily and followed that with a road sweep of No. 6 Pacific Lutheran. PLU remains the only team to have beaten Linfield this season, and the Wildcats are now 26-2 overall.
The rest of the top five remains the same as a week ago, with the exception of Eastern Connecticut State now in a tie for the No. 3 spot with Coe. Emory, at 25-3, is No. 2, while Luther remains at No. 5.
Bridgewater is back in action this evening at Lynchburg. First pitch of the conference twinbill with the Hornets is set for 3 p.m.
NFCA Division III Top 25 - April 4
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll is voted on by eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions. Records shown are as of April 2; first place votes are in parentheses.
Rankings
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linfield (8) | 26-2 | 200 | 1 |
| 2 | Emory | 25-3 | 189 | 2 |
| 3 | Coe | 22-2 | 178 | 3 |
| Eastern Connecticut State | 13-1 | 178 | 4 | |
| 5 | Luther | 19-3 | 167 | 5 |
| 6 | Pacific Lutheran | 24-10 | 138 | 8 |
| 7 | Wisconsin-Whitewater | 11-1 | 136 | 12 |
| 8 | Central (Iowa) | 17-5 | 134 | 7 |
| Texas-Tyler | 21-5 | 134 | 10 | |
| 10 | DePauw | 15-3 | 122 | 6 |
| 11 | Rowan | 19-2 | 112 | 9 |
| 12 | Christopher Newport | 22-6 | 106 | 14 |
| 13 | Redlands | 23-7 | 86 | 11 |
| 14 | Cortland State | 16-4 | 79 | 19 |
| 15 | Bridgewater (Virginia) | 19-3 | 70 | 15 |
| 16 | Western Connecticut State | 13-3 | 67 | 16 |
| 17 | Trine | 17-3 | 66 | 17 |
| Tufts | 14-3 | 66 | 23 | |
| 19 | Louisiana College | 19-5 | 59 | 13 |
| 20 | Salisbury | 23-5 | 55 | 20 |
| 21 | Montclair State | 20-1 | 46 | |
| St. John Fisher | 14-4 | 46 | 21 | |
| 23 | Claremont-Mudd-Scripps | 19-9 | 42 | 18 |
| 24 | Illinois Wesleyan | 12-3 | 38 | 22 |
| 25 | St. Thomas (Minnesota) | 17-5 | 33 | 25 |
Others receiving votes:
Point totals in parentheses: Carthage (14); William Paterson (8); Keene State (4); Ohio Northern (4); five others received votes but appeared on only one ballot.
Dropped out:
No. 24 Carthage