Tampa Slides to No. 17 in Newest Softball Poll
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Tampa softball team is now ranked No. 17 in the NFCA Division II poll that was released by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) on Wednesday.
The Spartans, who have been ranked all season, fell four spots from their No. 13 listing last week. The NCAA South Region is heavily represented in the poll, led by Valdosta State at No. 4. Fellow Sunshine State Conference foe Rollins is No. 8 as North Alabama (15) also fall in the top-25. Barry and West Alabama are both listed as receiving votes.
Tampa now stands at 22-8 on the season and owns a 10-5 Sunshine State Conference record. While outhitting its opponents, UT's pitching has been stellar with Kayla Cox leading the way. Cox is now 17-4 on the year with a 0.59 ERA. In 141.2 innings, she has amassed 228 strikeouts while hurling a school record six no-hitters.
Sophomore Meagan Burke and Kayleen Boatwright are both hitting .333 on the season, with Stacy Piagno driving in a team-leading 22 runs. The Spartans are coming off a series where they outscored rival Florida Southern by a 22-4 clip.
Among NCAA leaders, Tampa is second in the nation with a 1.13 team ERA. The Spartans are also ranked 12th with a .972 fielding percentage.
Cox is the national leader in ERA, hits per seven innings (2.62) and shutouts (11). She is also second in strikeouts, fourth in wins, fifth in strikeouts per seven inni8ngs (11.3) and 24th in saves (2).
Piagno is 14th in triples (4) and 24th in triples per game (0.13), while Kandi Kuder is 27th in the nation in toughest to strikeout (39.5).
The Spartans have now been ranked for a school-record 33 consecutive weeks after ending the 2012 season at No. 12. Tampa is nearing its best ranking ever, as UT was No. 4 in 2002.
The NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches, two representing each of the eight NCAA regions.
Tampa travels to St. Petersburg, Fla., for a weekend series at Eckerd College, beginning Friday at 6 p.m. The series will also include a Saturday doubleheader that starts at 1 p.m. Live stats will be available through TampaSpartans.com.