NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport's softball squad is 9-3 so far this season, and the Captains are ranked fourth in the country in a poll released Wednesday morning. The National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) published its first in-season ranking of the 2021 season with voting done by coaches nationwide.
Keith Parr's squad is fresh off a doubleheader sweep of Averett on Tuesday at Captains Park. CNU won the opener, 5-4, and then took the nightcap, 5-2. Christopher Newport will host North Carolina Wesleyan Wednesday afternoon at Captains Park with start time set for 2:30 p.m. The new spectator policy for home games can be found
HERE.
The Captains have lost three games this season, all to teams ranked in the top five of the new poll. CNU dropped a pair at third-ranked Virginia Wesleyan, and this past weekend split two with fifth-ranked Salisbury. The Captains had been ranked third in the country in the pre-season poll from the NFCA.
East Texas Baptist is 8-0 and has run its unbeaten streak to 23 games, and is the top-ranked team in the country. Texas Lutheran, the NCAA Champion from the last tournament played in 2019, is ranked second this week with a 4-2 mark with both losses coming to Division II programs.
You can catch the Captains live Wednesday afternoon by clicking
HERE beginning at 2:30 p.m. Live stats will also be available for the twin bill by clicking
HERE.
The complete poll:
NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll – March 10, 2021
| Rank |
Team |
2020 Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
East Texas Baptist (8) |
8-0 |
200 |
1 |
| 2 |
Texas Lutheran |
4-2 |
192 |
2 |
| 3 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
10-1 |
184 |
4 |
| 4 |
Christopher Newport |
9-3 |
176 |
3 |
| 5 |
Salisbury |
2-4 |
168 |
5 |
| 6 |
Linfield |
7-1 |
160 |
6 |
| 7 |
DePauw |
8-0 |
152 |
9 |
| 8 |
Kean |
0-0 |
144 |
8 |
| 9 |
Berry |
8-1 |
136 |
10 |
| 10 |
St. John Fisher |
0-0 |
128 |
11 |
| 11 |
Transylvania |
7-0 |
120 |
12 |
| 12 |
Birmingham-Southern |
15-2 |
106 |
18 |
| 13 |
St. Olaf |
0-0 |
103 |
14 |
| 14 |
Milwaukee School of Engineering |
0-0 |
95 |
15 |
| 15 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
0-0 |
86 |
16 |
| 16 |
Carthage |
0-0 |
77 |
17 |
| 17 |
Moravian |
0-0 |
70 |
19 |
| 18 |
Geneseo |
0-0 |
54 |
20 |
| 19 |
St. Catherine |
2-0 |
50 |
NR |
| T20 |
Trine |
0-0 |
41 |
22 |
|
Wartburg |
7-1 |
41 |
NR |
| 22 |
Randolph-Macon |
0-0 |
28 |
23 |
| 23 |
Tufts |
0-0 |
18 |
24 |
| 24 |
Carroll (Wis.) |
2-0 |
17 |
NR |
| 25 |
Belhaven |
11-3 |
14 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Central (Iowa) 13, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute 11, Wisconsin-La Crosse 9, Illinois Wesleyan 6, Rowan 1.
Dropped out: Averett, Ferrum, Mary Hardin-Baylor, Manhattanville, Maryville (Tenn.), Mount Union, Williams and Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
