STARKVILLE, Miss. --- The Moravian College softball team has been ranked 20th in the 2012 National Fastpitch Coaches Association NCAA Division III Preseason Top 25 Poll released Wednesday.
Linfield (OR) College received all eight first-place votes and holds down the top spot with 200 points while The University of Texas-Tyler is second with 189 points. Christopher Newport University is third with 181 points while Eastern Connecticut State University is ranked fourth with 163points followed by Luther (IA) College with 151 points.
Moravian has 50 points in the poll, and is one of three teams for the East Region ranked with Messiah College in 13th and Rowan (N.J.) University in 24th.
Moravian, under the direction of 19th-year head coach John Byrne (581-182), returns 15 players and six starters from last year's 37-9 squad that won its fourth straight Landmark Conference Championship. The program also made the NCAA Division III Tournament for the 13th time in 14 seasons last year. Coach Byrne has added another six players to the roster this year.
The Greyhounds begin their 2012 season with a trip to the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida with ten total games between March 4th through 9th.
The complete poll can be found at http://nfca.org/top25/index.php?cat_id=3.
