Concordia's Ali Paz leads the Cavaliers with a .407 batting average.
Concordia Jumps to No. 6 in NAIA Rankings
NAIA Softball Rankings - March 30
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After a perfect 4-0 week, Concordia moved up two spots to come in at No. 6 in the latest NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday.
With 504 votes, Concordia, now 19-1 on the season, received its highest ever ranking in the program’s history. Before last week’s eighth-place recording, CU held a previous best standing of No. 14 in the NAIA which it set on March 24, 2009.
Concordia is one of only two teams to have just one loss on its record. Since falling to Biola (Calif.) 4-2 on Feb. 27, the Cavaliers have won 11 straight games. Six other Top-25 teams have five or fewer losses.
California Baptist earned all 22 first-place votes to hold strong as the top-ranked team in the second edition of the softball poll. The Lancers recorded 622 points to land the No. 1 spot for the 10th consecutive poll. The top-five teams remain the same, but rearranged with Lubbock Christian (Texas) taking over at No. 2, followed by No. 3 Lee (Tenn.), No. 4 Point Loma Nazarene (Calif.) and No. 5 Bethel (Ind.).
All 25 teams that were ranked a week ago carried over to the second poll of the 2010 season.
California Baptist's stranglehold on the poll dates back to March 24, 2009. During that stretch, the Lancers have been the unanimous pick on six occasions and the defending national champs have yet to share a first-place vote during the 2010 campaign. Head coach Mike Smith's squad is 41-1 overall and 13-1 in Golden State Athletic Conference play. The lone blemish on his team's resume came on March 4 at the hands of league foe No. 11 Concordia (Calif.), 3-2.