Central 17th in softball poll
Central Dutch Athletics
PELLA—Central College is the only Iowa Conference team left in the NFCA Division III Top 25 softball poll.
The Dutch (27-9) slipped a notch from last week. They split a league twinbill with then-No. 12 Luther College Tuesday at Decorah, falling 3-1 before rebounding 2-1. However, the Norse (32-8) dropped out of the rankings, after being in the top 10 most of the spring, as they were after swept by league champ Coe College Sunday. Coe and Luther are among those schools receiving votes.
Coe (25-11) carries the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s six-team, single-elimination conference tournament at Cedar Rapids. Central is the No. 2 seed and has a first-round bye. The Dutch play at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against the winner of a Friday contest between third-seeded Luther and sixth-seeded Simpson College. The tourney winner is awarded the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Division III Championships.
Virginia Wesleyan (45-2) remains a unanimous choice for the No. 1 spot in the poll, followed by Texas Lutheran (37-1) and Texas-Tyler (35-1).
