NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Christopher Newport University softball is off to a 9-0 start, and the Captains have been ranked ninth in the country in the first weekly polling released Tuesday by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Captains had been slotted 19th in the pre-season coaches poll from the NFCA.
Two Captains received national recognition on Tuesday following a terrific weekend of play in Columbus, Georgia, in the NFCA's Leadoff Classic. Freshman pitcher
Kate Alger and senior outfielder
Sarah Proctor swept the first Division III Wilson/NFCA Pitcher and Louisville Slugger/NFCA Player of the Week honors of the season. Alger and Proctor led the Captains to six straight victories in the three-day tournament to earn the Captains the title.
Alger, a freshman pitcher from Staunton, Va., had a perfect game into the seventh inning Friday against Trine, ranked 16th in the country at the time. Alger had it broken up in the seventh, but ended up with a one-hit shutout. She also tossed an inning of scoreless relief vs. Emory, and then twirled a three-hit shutout over Pomona-Pitzer for the Captains sixth victory of the weekend. For the tournament, Alger was 2-0 with a 0.00 earned-run average, with four hits and two walks allowed, and 20 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Meanwhile, teammate
Sarah Proctor was similarly successful, hitting .647 (11-for-17) over the six tournament games, with a double, triple, two homers and six runs batted in. The senior outfielder from Mineral, Va., also scored 11 runs, stole four bases and compiled a 1.176 slugging percentage.
The Captains will play at home for the first time in 2022 on Friday. CNU will open the Cross Bay Bash, a two-day tournament being hosted in conjunction with Virginia Wesleyan University in Virginia Beach,, at 12:30 Friday vs. Berry College (Ga.). CNU will play two games Friday and two on Saturday at Captains Park, and a total of seven games will be played over the two-day tourney on CNU's home field.
The complete Top 25 National Softball Rankings:
NFCA Division III Top 25 Softball Coaches Poll – March 8, 2022
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
2022 Record |
Previous |
| 1 |
Texas Lutheran (10) |
250 |
9-3 |
2 |
| 2 |
Salisbury |
240 |
14-2 |
8 |
| 3 |
Virginia Wesleyan |
230 |
9-3 |
2 |
| 4 |
East Texas Baptist |
220 |
13-5 |
4 |
| 5 |
Birmingham-Southern |
210 |
9-3 |
5 |
| 6 |
Eastern Connecticut State |
200 |
4-2 |
6 |
| 7 |
Tufts |
190 |
0-0 |
7 |
| 8 |
Belhaven |
180 |
12-1 |
18 |
| 9 |
Christopher Newport |
170 |
9-0 |
19 |
| 10 |
DePauw |
160 |
5-5 |
1 |
| 11 |
Linfield |
150 |
11-2 |
20 |
| 12 |
The College of New Jersey |
140 |
1-0 |
10 |
| 13 |
Berry |
130 |
10-5 |
17 |
| 14 |
Milwaukee School of Engineering |
120 |
5-1 |
11 |
| 15 |
Rochester |
110 |
1-5 |
9 |
| 16 |
Wisconsin-Oshkosh |
100 |
5-3 |
12 |
| 17 |
Randolph-Macon |
66 |
10-1 |
NR |
| 18 |
Rowan |
56 |
3-2 |
NR |
| 19 |
Roanoke |
54 |
10-0 |
NR |
| 20 |
Millikin |
49 |
6-0 |
21 |
| 21 |
Gettysburg |
48 |
3-1 |
24 |
| 22 |
Moravian |
30 |
10-0 |
NR |
| 23 |
Saint Benedict (Minn.) |
27 |
6-0 |
NR |
| T24 |
Brandeis |
25 |
6-2 |
22 |
| T24 |
Trine |
25 |
0-6 |
16 |
Others receiving votes: Babson 23, Case Western Reserve 17, Wartburg 14, Mount St. Joseph 8, Huntingdon 3, Concordia (Wis.) 1, Maryville (Tenn.) 1, and St. John Fisher 1.
Dropped out: Alfred, Aurora, Benedictine, Calvin, Coe, Emory, and Piedmont.
