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FAU, UNF, McNeese Rise in Softball America’s Mid-Major Rankings

The Owls moved into the Top 5 after a series win against Charlotte.
Nicole Reitz|
UNF jump into the Top 10 of Softball America's Mid-Major Rankings.
UNF jump into the Top 10 of Softball America's Mid-Major Rankings. | UNF Athletics

Softball America has released the third week of Mid-Major Power Rankings, which sees several teams fall down a peg, while the University of North Florida joins the Top 10. 

Grand Canyon, Belmont, Texas State, and Omaha remain in the Top 5, while FAU is trending upward. 

This poll differs from Softball America’s regular Top 25 ranking, as it focuses more on which teams could give a regional host the most trouble come May.

Check out the Top 10 teams and visit Softball America for the full Top 25 ranking. 

Softball America Top 10 Mid-Major Rankings

  1. Grand Canyon (Previous Rank: 1)
  2. Belmont (Previous Rank: 2) 
  3. Texas State (Previous Rank: 3) 
  4. Florida Atlantic (Previous Rank: 7) 
  5. Omaha (Previous Rank: 4) 
  6. Cal State Fullerton (Previous Rank: 5) 
  7. Southeastern Louisiana (Previous Rank: 6) 
  8. Miami (Previous Rank: 8) 
  9. McNeese (Previous Rank: 10) 
  10. UNF (Previous Rank: 11) 

Florida Atlantic Owls 

The Owls opened conference play, taking the series in Charlotte. 

In the first matchup, FAU set its season high in hits for the second game in a row, while defeating Charlotte 9-4. They totaled 17 hits and a season-high four home runs, while fending off the 49ers' late rally. 

The series finale was highlighted by the offense collecting six runs between the fifth and sixth innings, while ace Autumn Courtney made her second start in three days. She threw a strong four innings, allowing just one run to boost her record to 8-4. 

North Florida Ospreys

The Ospreys are on an 11-game winning streak after sweeping the weekend. The 8-0, run-rule over Georgia Southern moved the team to a 24-5 overall record. 

Pitcher Cameron Ponich earned the win with six shutout innings, three strikeouts, and just two hits allowed to improve to a team-best 11-1 record on the season. Her ERA leads the team at 0.77. Utility Addie Keef launched an RBI triple, her fourth hit of the game, and her first four-hit game with UNF, to secure the run-rule. 

Belmont Bruins 

Maya Johnson continues to stay hot. After holding Tennessee to just one run during the week. Johnson has now allowed one earned run in her 20 innings against SEC rivals, while collecting 36 strikeouts. 

She then went on to grab another no-hitter against UIC to open conference play. In the 8-0 five-inning game, the ace retired all 16 batters she faced while striking out nine. Her record stands at 10-1 on the season. 

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Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

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