REGIONAL POLL
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The NCAA announced its first regional polls Wednesday evening and the Nova Southeastern softball team (26-19, 8-7 SSC) secured the ninth spot in the South Region. Valdosta State, the top team in the nation, edged out Tampa for the No. 1 slot in the South Region.
The top five teams in the South Region, Valdosta State, Tampa, Barry, Rollins and Alabama-Huntsville, are all ranked in the top-25 in the nation. Only the South Central region has as many teams in the top-25 poll as the South.
|
Rank |
School |
Overall |
In-Region |
|
1 |
Valdosta State |
37-2 |
37-1 |
|
2 |
Tampa |
31-5 |
23-3 |
|
3 |
Rollins |
29-7 |
25-5 |
|
4 |
Barry |
31-8 |
28-8 |
|
5 |
Alabama-Huntsville |
27-12 |
23-12 |
|
6 |
West Alabama |
23-15 |
22-14 |
|
7 |
West Florida |
26-17 |
21-15 |
|
8 |
Florida Southern |
17-10 |
12-10 |
|
9 |
Nova Southeastern |
19-19 |
18-16 |
|
10 |
North Alabama |
17-16 |
12-13 |
The Sharks have a total of nine region games remaining this season to move up in the standings, including games against Florida Southern and Tampa who are both ahead of NSU in the South Region. The first three of those games will take place this weekend as the Sharks will make their final road trip of the season when they head to Boca Raton, Fla. to take on the Lynn Fighting Knights (2-36, 1-14 SSC).
NSU is coming off an 11-day stretch in which they played no games. Prior to the break, the Sharks had won six of their last seven contests, sweeping Saint Leo and taking three out of four from Palm Beach Atlantic.
As a team, the Sharks have proven throughout the season to be one of the best offensive teams in the Sunshine State Conference. NSU leads the conference in hits (344) this season, while holding down second in each of the following categories: batting average (.302), slugging percentage (.399), on-base percentage (.367), runs scored (192) and runs batted in (175).
Numerous Sharks have contributed to the Sharks success.
Lorena Spaulding (Fr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is tied for second in the SSC with fifty hits, while
Katie Kelton (Sr., Pembroke Pines, Fla.) is third in runs scored with 34.
Laura Saladrigas (Jr., Hollywood, Fla.) paces the conference with 11 homeruns, which is one short of the Sharks’ single-season record and 28th-best in the nation.
Sara DeMuth (Sr., Plant City, Fla.) will look to continue her record-breaking season in the circle this weekend against Lynn. DeMuth, with 259 strikeouts, has already set the Sharks single-season mark and is third nationally. With 36 starts this season, DeMuth has already surpassed the previous record of 34 set in 2009 by Lexi Sarradet, while she is just 12.2 innings off the single-season innings pitched record of 228, also held by Sarradet. Of her 19 wins this season, DeMuth has recorded a shutout in eight of those games.
It has been a rocky road this season for the Fighting Knights with only two victories in their first 38 contests. Lynn was able to remove the zero from its conference win column last weekend, capturing a 5-4 win over Eckerd in the series-opener against the Tritons.
Kaci Vassallo is the lone Fighting Knight batting over .300 this season, as she will take a .301 average into this weekend’s three-game set against the Sharks. Vassallo is also the only Lynn student-athlete with a double-digit RBI total (10) during the 2012 campaign.
In the circle, all three Fighting Knight pitchers carry ERA’s over 4.0. Missy Montgomery, who earned credit for both of Lynn’s wins this season, holds a 4.45 ERA. Kasey Murray, who is 0-11 in 12 appearances, leads the way with a 4.03 ERA, while Callie Darlin sits in the middle with a 4.24 mark.
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