Eagles snare top spot in final NFCA Coaches’ Poll

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University of Southern Indiana Softball is the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation according to the final National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, which was released by the NFCA Wednesday morning.

The Screaming Eagles concluded the 2018 season with a 41-23 record, its second straight NCAA Division II Midwest Region crown and its first-ever national championship. It was the fourth NCAA II team title in school history and the first for a women’s sport.

Additionally, the Eagles won the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament championship for the fourth time in program history and the first since 1998.

The No. 1 ranking marks the first time in program history that the Eagles have grabbed the top spot in the national poll. USI did not receive a single vote in the previous poll, which was released prior to the start of the NCAA II Tournament, and it is believed to be the first time in the history of the NFCA II rankings, which began in 1995, that a team went from not receiving votes to the top spot in back-to-back polls.

USI began the year ranked No. 6 in the preseason NFCA Division II Top 25 poll, but had dropped out of the rankings by the middle of March after opening the year with a 17-16 record. It finished the regular season with a 27-22 overall record, 15-13 in GLVC play, and was the No. 6 seed heading into the GLVC Tournament.

The Eagles were the No. 5 seed in the regional and were the No. 8 seed heading into the NCAA II Softball Championship.

USI, however, won seven games against top 25 teams during the postseason and an additional four games against teams that were receiving votes.

Reaching the 40-win plateau for the second straight season and third time in program history, USI finished the postseason with a 14-1 record and eight consecutive victories. The combined record of the teams USI defeated in the postseason was 380-130-1 (.745).