USAO Drops to 8^th in NAIA Softball Poll

With a 6-3 record last week, the USAO softball team dropped two spots in the fourth NAIA softball poll of the season. The Drovers were ranked No. 8 in the top 25 poll, released late Wednesday on the NAIA Web site. USAO also slipped to No. 3 in the Region VI rankings.

Currently, USAO is 35-10 overall and 11-3 in the Sooner Athletic Conference. The Drovers are coming off a doubleheader sweep Tuesday at Southern Nazarene, and have won seven of their last nine, including a second-place finish at the Capital City Classic.

USAO is a game behind Oklahoma City University in the SAC standings. The Drovers finish this week with a home doubleheader Thursday against Oklahoma Baptist, and the Pittsburg State, Kan., Tournament on Friday and Saturday.

Junior Dana Askins leads the team with a .388 batting average, along with 10 doubles, six triples, and 17 stolen bases. Junior Nikki Aguilar has a team-best five home runs and 30 RBIs. Askins also boasts an 18-5 pitching record, 151 strikeouts, and an SAC-best 0.55 earned-run average. Junior Kindra Gregory is 17-5 with a 1.18 ERA and 103 strikeouts. Askins and Gregory also have combined for a league-best 0.83 ERA.

Houston Baptist tops the Region VI rankings, followed by OCU, USAO, Bacone and St. Gregory’s. Occupying the bottom half of the regional top 10 are OBU, Northwestern, Oklahoma Christian, Northwood, Texas, and Texas Wesleyan.

Thomas, Ga., leads the NAIA top 25 poll with a 31-4 record and nine first-place votes. Houston Baptist (27-1) is ranked second and received three first-place votes. Mobile, Ala, California Baptist and Simon Fraser, B.C., round out the top five.

Oklahoma City (29-9) moved up two spots to No. 6, while Bacone also improved two spots to No. 11 in the survey. For the first time this season, St. Gregory’s slipped into the poll at No. 24, after receiving 18 votes last week.

To view the complete poll and the regional rankings, log on to the NAIA’s Web site at www.naia.org.