FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State softball remained eighth in the second version of the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday. The Tigers debuted at No. 8 in last week’s poll, and one other version will be released leading up to the NCAA Division II Softball Selection Show, set for March 5 at 10 a.m. ET. The eight teams selected will advance to the NCAA Regional, set for May 9-11.
The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and the Great American Conference, with three automatic bids being given to winners of the conference tournaments. The other five slots in the NCAA Regional are awarded on an at-large basis, with the top two seeds serving as tournament hosts. The winner of each regional site will advance to the NCAA Super Regional, May 16-17. The NCAA Championships will take place May 22-26 in Salem, Va.
Emporia State, previously second, moved up to No. 1 in the regional rankings with a 29-10 Division II record and a 38-10 In-Region record. ESU swept the Tigers at home in a mid-March doubleheader, and is currently tied for first in the MIAA standings with Central Oklahoma. ESU went 3-1 in MIAA last week, sweeping Central Missouri and splitting with Southwest Baptist at home.
Winona State (32-6 DII, 22-6 In-Region) jumped three spots to second in the rankings after going 8-0 last week with sweeps of Minnesota State (previously No. 1 regionally) and Wayne State (previously No. 9 regionally). The Tigers were scheduled to play Winona State at the Teri Mathis Tournament earlier this season, which was canceled due to wintry weather.
Minnesota State-Mankato dropped three spots to No. 3 in the second version of the rankings, losing two games to Winona State but picking up sweeps over Wayne State, Augustana and Sioux Falls. MSU-Mankato holds a 36-8 Division II record and a 31-6 In-Region record. FHSU defeated MSU-Mankato, 11-3, earlier this season in Bentonville, Ark.
Augustana (35-10 DII, 29-10 In-Region) and Central Oklahoma (36-12 DII and In-Region) each slid one spot to fourth and fifth, respectively, from last week’s rankings. FHSU split with UCO earlier this season in Edmond, Okla., snapping the Bronchos’ 35-game home winning streak with a 4-1 win in Game 1 of a doubleheader.
Missouri Western (31-15 DII and In-Region) and Southeastern Oklahoma (32-14 DII and In-Region) flipped spots for the week. MWSU moved from seventh to No. 6 while Southeastern slipped to No. 7 as one of three teams from the GAC in the rankings. MWSU took both games from the Tigers earlier this month and were idle last week.
Staying at eighth, FHSU (26-17 DII, 24-16 In-Region) did not play last week but closes out its regular season with home and away doubleheaders against Nebraska-Kearney, April 26-27, respectively. Senior Day for the Tigers is Saturday (April 26) with games at 2 and 4 p.m.
Two squads from the GAC close out the rankings as Southern Arkansas (28-22 DII, 25-20 In-Region) jumped into the ninth spot and East Central (29-22 DII and In-Region) remained 10th. Southern Arkansas went 3-1 last week against Southern Nazarene, and has picked up eight wins this season against teams that are ranked regionally throughout the nation. East Central swept Rogers State and split with Northwestern Oklahoma State in doubleheaders last week.
Below are the complete Central Region Rankings for April 23…
| Rank | Team | DII | In-Region |
| 1. | Emporia State | 39-10 | 38-10 |
| 2. | Winona State | 32-6 | 22-6 |
| 3. | Minnesota State-Mankato | 36-8 | 31-6 |
| 4. | Augustana (S.D.) | 35-10 | 29-10 |
| 5. | Central Oklahoma | 36-12 | 36-12 |
| 6. | Missouri Western State | 31-15 | 31-15 |
| 7. | Southeastern Oklahoma | 32-14 | 32-14 |
| 8. | Fort Hays State | 26-17 | 24-16 |
| 9. | Southern Arkansas | 28-22 | 25-20 |
| 10. | East Central | 29-22 | 29-22 |