For the second straight season, Butler softball has reached No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I polls.
Butler (14-3 overall, 2-0 conference) received all four first-place votes and vaulted two spots into the top spot in the poll, which was the second regular season poll to be released this season. McLennan, Texas - the previous No. 1 - dropped down to fourth in this week's poll.
The Grizzlies went 3-0 this weekend at the Carthage Bash in Joplin, Mo., and extended their winning streak to 10 games. Butler defeated Iowa Western 8-4, Jefferson College 17-7 and Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 4-0.
Butler is 3-1 against ranked teams, with two wins against then-No. 7 Galveston and one win against then-No. 13 Navarro.
Against Iowa Western on Saturday, Butler sophomore Kate James hit her 27th career home run, which pushes her past Robyn Sadowski for most career home runs in the program's history.
In addition to James' record, freshman pitcher Sydnee Eck was named the KJCCC Pitcher of the Week for the second time in three weeks. Eck pitched 13 innings and struck out 14 batters while allowing just two runs on seven hits. Eck was also named the conference's Player of the Week last week, marking three straight weeks in which she has been honored.
Five of the previous top 10 teams remained ranked in the top half of the poll. Indian River, Fla., was the biggest leap, going from unranked to second this week. Southern Nevada, McLennan and Arizona Western rounded out the top five.
The Grizzlies are off this week, but will return to action with a home conference doubleheader on Wednesday, March 26 against Barton. First pitch from East Park is at 3 p.m.
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NJCAA DIVISION I WOMEN'S SOFTBALL TOP 20 NATIONAL POLL |
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| March 19, 2014 | ||||
| Rank | College | Record | Points | Prev. |
| 1 | Butler |
14-3 | 80 | 3 |
| 2 | Indian River, Fla. | 27-5 | 76 | NR |
| 3 | Southern Nevada | 25-7 | 72 | 7 |
| 4 | McLennan, Texas | 25-6 | 68 | 1 |
| 5 | Arizona Western | 23-3 | 64 | 20 |
| 6 | Central Florida | 23-8 | 60 | NR |
| 7 | Blinn, Texas | 18-6 | 56 | 9 |
| 8 | Chattanooga State, Tenn. | 27-5 | 52 | 2 |
| 9 | Seward County | 21-4 | 48 | 11 |
| 10 | San Jacinto-South, Texas | 24-10 | 44 | 4 |
| 11 | Tallahassee, Fla. | 20-7 | 40 | NR |
| 12 | Trinity Valley, Texas | 18-6 | 36 | 14 |
| 13 | Eastern Arizona | 22-5 | 32 | 5 |
| 14 | Southern Idaho | 23-11 | 28 | 12 |
| 15 | Polk State, Fla. | 27-8 | 24 | 16 |
| 16 | Lake Land, Ill. | 16-6 | 20 | 18 |
| 17 | Southern Union State, Ala. | 24-7 | 16 | 17 |
| 18 | Darton State, Ga. | 26-10 | 12 | 15 |
| 19 | Walters State, Tenn. | 17-5 | 8 | 10 |
| 20 | Western Nebraska | 23-7 | 4 | NR |
Other schools receiving votes: Chipola, Fla. (20-10); Salt Lake, Utah (17-11); Jefferson, Mo. (14-2); Galveston, Texas (20-13); Northern Oklahoma-Enid (19-6); Northwest Florida State (25-9).
Dropped from rankings: Chipola, Fla. (6); Northwest Florida State (8); Odessa, Texas (13); Daytona State, Fla. (19).
