After posting a 12-1 record during the first month of the season, including an 11-game winning streak, the Seattle University softball team has moved up to 11th in the first National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II poll of the 2008 regular season, the highest national ranking in school history.
placed 18th in the preseason poll released on Jan. 30, the same spot the team finished the 2007 season after reaching the NCAA West Regional final. The Redhawks started the season by winning the Mizuno Best of the West Invitational with four victories, including a shutout over then-10th ranked Cal State Stanislaus. After sweeping ’s in a non-conference doubleheader on Feb. 10, SeattleU posted a 6-1 record at last weekend’s Clarion Hotel Central Washington Invitational.
Western Oregon, the team that handed its first loss this season, is the highest ranking GNAC and West Region team at eighth. No other GNAC school is in the rankings, but other West Region teams in the top 25 include UC San Diego at 19th and Hawaii Pacific in the 25th spot. With a 24-1 start, Alabama-Huntsville takes over the top spot in this week’s poll, with defending national champion SIU Edwardsville in second after starting the season 10-2.
begins conference play this weekend with its first home games of the year, as Montana State Billings comes to town for a three-game series. Saturday’s GNAC doubleheader and Sunday’s non-conference single game both begin at 11 a.m. at Logan Field.