Complete NFCA Division III Week 8 Poll (.pdf)
BEREA, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University softball team has made its first appearance in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 poll this season, coming in at No. 24.
After not receiving any votes in the previous NFCA polls, BW (25-3) totaled 23 points to take the No. 24 spot. This week's poll marks the first time since the 1997 season that the Yellow Jackets have been nationally ranked when they came in at No. 15 in the Longstreth Division III poll.
Offensively, BW is led by senior three-time All-Ohio Athletic Conference and Academic All-OAC right fielder Alexis Boledovic (Brook Park/Berea-Midpark) as she is batting a career-high .490 with 49 hits, 11 doubles, five triples, three home runs and 29 runs batted in (RBIs). Her average is second best in the conference while also ranking fourth in RBIs and fifth with eight stolen bases.
In the circle, freshman right-hander Nikki Camarati (Brunswick/Holy Name) owns a 15-1 record with 14 consecutive wins and has not lost to a Division III opponent. The freshman has made 19 appearances with 15 starts and has thrown 11 complete games, five shutouts and one no-hitter. Camarati leads the OAC with her 15 wins, 1.24 earned run average and 117 strikeouts. She is tied for third in all of NCAA Division III in wins and sits sixth in shutouts and seventh in strikeouts.
Two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University owns the top billing with 200 points. East Texas Baptist University, Christopher Newport (Va.) University, Illinois Wesleyan University and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (Calif.) ranked second through fifth in the latest poll.
The Yellow Jackets begins a six-game road trip on Wednesday, April 10 when they travel to Ada for an OAC first-place showdown with Ohio Northern University at 3 p.m. BW Jackets and Ohio Northern are tied for first place along with Muskingum University with a 7-1 league record. The Yellow Jackets then travel to Hiram on Thursday, April 11 for their non-conference doubleheader finale against Hiram College at 4 p.m. BW closes out the road trip on Saturday, April 13 when it travels to New Concord for an OAC doubleheader against Muskingum at 1 p.m.
