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Softball Remains at #2 in Latest NFCA DII Poll
DAHLONEGA, GA – The North Georgia
softball team remained the #2 team in the country for the second
straight week Wednesday afternoon, sitting only behind the
University of Alabama-Huntsville in the latest NFCA Division II Top
25 Poll.
The Saints remain at number two after going 6-0 last week, taking
down GCSU in a doubleheader to end the regular season, before
traveling to South Carolina and sweeping their way through the
Peach Belt Conference Tournament to claim the Championship.
North Georgia improves its record to 43-3 and hold the
nation’s best winning percentage at .935. The Saints ended
the regular season at 17-1 in the Peach Belt Conference to capture
the regular season championship, the program’s first in
school history.
PBC Pitcher of the Year, and PBC Tournament MVP Sarah Phillips
continues to lead the way on the mound, picking up all four wins in
the tournament to improve to 32-1 on the season. The sophomore
allowed just 11 hits and and two runs in all 26 innings of work to
lower her earned run average to 1.09. Phillips has recorded 212
strikeouts in 211.0 innings this season, and is riding a 29 game
winning streak that dates back over two months.
Leslee Smith and Hilary Cox carried the team at the plate in the
PBC Tournament, combining to hit .500 with two home runs to earn
All-Tournament honors. Smith hit .500 with five runs batted in and
an all-important solo home run in the fourth inning of the second
round of the tournament against Augusta State University to erase
the team’s only deficit during the weekend. Cox recorded a
batting average of .500 as well, including a solo homer in the
championship game to go along with five runs batted in.
The Saints will now await word on seeding and location for the 2009
NCAA Softball Tournament as North Georgia makes their second
straight tournament appearance.
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.
Records shown are through games of April 19, 2009. First-place
votes are in parentheses.
