Rio Grande moves up in this week's NAIA Softball Coaches' Poll
By Rio Grande and NAIA Sports Information
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The University of Rio Grande softball team continues to inch its way back toward the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25.
The RedStorm received 33 points - moving from the equivalent of 34th place to 29th place - in the latest poll released Tuesday (April 9) by the national office.
The poll is the result of voting by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
Rio Grande currently sits at 24-10 overall and 12-0 in the River States Conference heading into league games this weekend at Carlow University and Point Park University.
The top two teams in the poll remain unchanged from the previous voting, with Science & Arts (Okla.) at No. 1 and Oklahoma City holding down the No. 2 spot.
Science & Arts piled up 529 points in the balloting. The Drovers are unbeaten in 39 outings.
Oklahoma City collected 505 points and has a current overall record of 34-4.
The same teams which rounded out the top five in the previous poll do the same again this week, although their order of appearance has been shuffled.
The trio includes Marian, Ind. (492 pts.), Southern Oregon (483 pts.) and Georgia Gwinnett (458 pts.).
Two teams joined the Top 25 this week - No. 22 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and No. 24 Grand View (Iowa) - while Lawrence Tech (Mich.) was the lone school to fall off the list.
Houston-Victoria (Texas) made the biggest move upward for the second straight poll, jumping four spots to No. 11.
The biggest drop belonged to LSU Alexandria, which went from 20th to 25th.