LINK – ASHLAND UNIVERSITY SOFTBALL PAGE
There was very little movement in the third and final set of NCAA Division II Midwest Region softball rankings, released on Wednesday (May 1) afternoon.
For Ashland University's softball team, there was no movement this week, as the Eagles remain in the No. 6 spot in the region heading into the 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament, Friday-Sunday (May 3-5) at Sports Force Parks in Sandusky, Ohio. Ashland is 33-21 overall and finished the 2019 GLIAC regular season at 18-14. The Eagles begin conference tourney play on Friday at 12:30 p.m. vs. Wayne State, 32-21 and the region's No. 5-ranked team.
The first set of D-II regional rankings were released on April 17, and the second set on April 24. The NCAA Division II softball tournament selection show will be Monday (May 6) at 10 a.m. on NCAA.com. Of the top 10 teams in the Midwest, the first nine were unchanged from last week, with Maryville joining the rankings at No. 10.
Eight teams from each of eight regions will make up the 64-team NCAA tournament. Each region will have two split regionals, to be played May 9-11, followed by a super regional May 16-17. The NCAA Division II Championships will be May 23-27 at Regency Athletic Complex in Denver, Colo.
In the Midwest Region, automatic qualifiers come from the GLIAC, Great Lakes Valley Conference and Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The other five teams are chosen as at-large entries. There are 38 teams in the Midwest – nine in the GLIAC, 14 in the GLVC, 14 in the GMAC, and one independent (Oakland City).
Davenport and Purdue Northwest are ineligible for postseason play, as they are in a candidacy/provisional year.
Ashland is 20-26 all-time in the NCAA postseason, having qualified in 1996-99, 2002-03 and 2009-15.
2019 NCAA DIVISION II SOFTBALL MIDWEST REGION RANKINGS
|
TEAM |
THIRD RANKING |
SECOND RANKING |
FIRST RANKING |
|
Grand Valley State |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
Indianapolis |
2 |
2 |
2 |
|
Missouri-St. Louis |
3 |
3 |
5 |
|
Southern Indiana |
4 |
4 |
3 |
|
Wayne State |
5 |
5 |
4 |
|
ASHLAND |
6 |
6 |
8 |
|
Illinois-Springfield |
7 |
7 |
6 |
|
Ohio Dominican |
8 |
8 |
7 |
|
Trevecca Nazarene |
9 |
9 |
9 |
|
Maryville |
10 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Truman |
N/A |
10 |
N/A |
|
Drury |
N/A |
N/A |
10 |
AU
SB/DS