LOUISVILLE, Ky. – As a product of winning nine of their first ten games to start the 2018 season, Southern Arkansas Softball climbed three spots in the first weekly National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll and sits as the No. 7 ranked team in the nation following the first three weeks of the season.
 
The Lady Muleriders (9-1) began the season ranked No. 10 in the country and as the second-highest ranked team in the Central Region behind defending national champion Minnesota State who entered the 2018 campaign ranked No. 1. The Mavericks (4-0) claimed all but two of the 16 first-place votes to retain the top ranking in the country in the NFCA's Week 1 poll, but several changes took place below the nation's top-ranked team.
 
North Georgia (15-0) jumped from No. 7 to No. 2 and claimed the remaining two first-place votes, while Colorado Mesa (10-0) and Dixie State (13-0) entered the top five after beginning the season ranked No. 8 and No. 9, respectively. Angelo State (13-1) dropped from No. 2 to No. 5 with their lone blemish this season coming to new No. 3 Colorado Mesa.
 
Harding (5-1) held firm at No. 12 in the country, while Arkansas Tech (9-3) received five votes after a strong start to the season. Winona State (4-0) remained in the poll and moved up from No. 24 to No. 19 and Central Oklahoma received 24 votes in the poll as six teams from the Central Region blanketed the NFCA's first weekly poll of the year.
 
Additionally, eight new teams moved into the Top 25, including five teams that began the year without receiving votes.
 
The 2018 NFCA Division II Top 25 Poll is voted on by 16 NCAA Division II head coaches with two representing each of the eight NCAA regions. Records reflect games played through Feb. 18, 2018.
 
For Southern Arkansas, their nine wins to start the season marks the third-consecutive campaign in which the Lady Muleriders have won at least nine of their first ten games to begin the year.
 
SAU opens Great American Conference play this weekend against East Central and is scheduled to play at Dawson Field inside the Mulerider Softball Complex. Due to heavy rain currently battering the region as well as the forecasted storms to come throughout the weekend, stay up-to-date with any potential changes to the weekend schedule at www.MuleriderAthletics.com.