The Vikings are listed No. 10 in the first edition of the 2019 NCAA II West Regional softball rankings. PHOTO: WWU Athletics
WWU Softball Debuts at No. 10 in First D2 West
Regional Rankings
April 18, 2019
BELLINGHAM, Wash. – The Western Washington University softball team is listed No. 10 in the first edition of the NCAA Division II Regional Softball rankings, announced Wednesday by the NCAA Softball Committee.
The Vikings are 24-13 overall and in 2nd place in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings with a 13-7 record.
WWU is one of three GNAC teams listed amongst the 10 teams in the first edition of the regional rankings, joining Central Washington (#7) and Western Oregon (#8).
The GNAC, CCAA and PacWest will all receive an automatic bid to the eight-team NCAA II West Regional, with the remaining five spots filled by at-large berths from the remaining highest regionally-ranked teams. UC San Diego, Concordia Irvine and Chico State hold the top three spots in the rankings. Additional regional rankings will be released on April 24 and May 1.
WWU put itself on the map of the regional rankings by going 18-4 over a 22-game stretch Feb. 23-April 6, including a perfect 5-0 record at the Tournament of Champions in Turlock, California. The Vikings ended a grueling stretch of 14 games in 15 days dropping four of their last five games.
The Vikings have eight remaining games left in the 2019 regular season, hosting Western Oregon (Friday) and Concordia (Saturday) in GNAC doubleheaders at Viking Field this weekend. WWU ends the regular season with four games at Northwest Nazarene April 26-27 in Nampa, Idaho. The GNAC Championships, featuring the top four teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season, will be played May 2-4 in Billings, Montana. The NCAA II West Regional will be divided into a pair of four-team pods, hosted on to-be-determined campus sites May 9-11.
Here is a look at the current NCAA II West Regional Rankings (4/17/19):
-- WWU Softball --
