Wednesday, April 14, 2004

MORAVIAN SOFTBALL SQUAD REMAINS #1 IN NFCA DIVISION III TOP 25 POLL

STARKVILLE, MS --- The Moravian College softball team, which has won 21 consecutive games since losing its 2004 season opener, remained in the top spot in the nation in the second regular season National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll of the year released Wednesday.

Eight NCAA Division III head coaches representing the eight NCAA regions vote on the NFCA Division III Top 25 poll.

The Greyhounds received seven first-place votes and a total of 195 points for the top spot three points ahead of #2 East Texas Baptist University, which Moravian defeated 7-3 on March 14th to capture the championship at the 2004 NFCA Division III Leadoff Classic in LaGrange, Georgia from March 12th to 14th. In addition to the victory versus East Texas Baptist at the Leadoff Classic, the Greyhounds defeated #5 Alma (MI) College, 2-0, #25 Central (IA) College, 3-0 and Methodist (NC) College, which was ranked 14th until this week, 11-3. Moravian’s only loss this season is a 3-2 defeat to #6 Christopher Newport University.

Moravian, under the direction of head coach John Byrne, is 21-1 overall and 8-0 in Commonwealth Conference action this season. Coach Byrne, who has a career record of 314-111 in his 11th season at Moravian, earned the 300th victory of his career at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in the Greyhounds’ victory over Methodist.

Moravian was ranked tenth in the NFCA preseason poll back that was released on February 11th after finishing the 2003 season as the ninth ranked Division III team in the country. Prior to earning the top spot two weeks ago; the highest the Greyhounds had ever been ranked in the NFCA Top 25 Poll was in 1998 when the squad spent two weeks as the eighth-ranked team in the country.

Moravian is scheduled to return to action on Thursday, April 15th in a non-conference twinbill at Delaware Valley College beginning at 3:00 p.m.

The softball team is just the second-ever program at Moravian to be ranked as the top team in the country. The other team was the 2001 women’s cross country squad that spent six weeks at the top of the rankings.

2004 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division III Top 25 Poll
Records as of April 11, 2004

Others Receiving Votes: Rowan (NJ) University 19; Emory (GA) University 19; Roanoke 9VA) College 13; King’s (PA) College 9, University of Wisconsin-Superior 9; Cal-State Hayward 5; Ursinus College 1.

Dropped out:#14 Rowan (NJ) University; #15 Methodist (NC) College; #18 Montclair State (NJ) University; #25 Emory (GA) University).