Must-see TV: No Lions to be found. Are you serious?
Mar. 28—I saw the most recent National Fastpitch Coaches Association polls shared on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. After clicking on the NFCA.org link, I quickly saw Missouri Southern didn't earn a top-25 spot after its 4-0 performance this weekend.
Why not?
The Lions swept Northeastern State in a Saturday doubleheader. The RiverHawks have been no slouch this year with a record of 18-13. They entered last weekend at 18-9.
On Sunday, MSSU swept No. 2 in the country, Rogers State, in another doubleheader. One of those wins came in complete domination from Bailey Lacy in the pitcher's circle. Lacy tossed a complete-game shutout as the Lions went on to win 4-0 over RSU. Lacy had four strikeouts and only allowed six hits and two walks.
Not only did the team go 4-0 over the weekend, they topped the second-ranked team in Division II softball twice and did so by blanking them in one game.
Then, against NSU, Southern showed two comeback efforts. It trailed 3-0 in Game 1 before winning 6-3, and faced an 8-2 deficit before exploding on offense for a 15-9 victory.
But last weekend isn't the only example of why the Lions deserve a top-25 spot.
Earlier this year they strung together nine consecutive wins from Feb. 18 to Mar. 10. At the beginning of that streak, they took down then No. 16 Southern Arkansas. The Muleriders are in the Great American Conference and were still featured in the top 25 this week at No. 24.
Back on Feb. 11, MSSU dropped a one-run, extra-inning contest with Harding University — which is currently ranked 20th.
The team has shown its ability to compete with and beat ranked opponents since the second week of the season. Its not like this weekend was anything new.
The Lions deserve a spot in the rankings and — at the very least — to be considered a top-25 team. But they weren't even listed as a team receiving votes on Tuesday's polls.
How? How is a 22-7 team that just swept the second-best team in the country not even being considered as one of the 25 best teams?
The Lions are 7-1 in the competitive MIAA conference and have defended their home field well with a 10-1 record at the Pat Lipira Softball Complex. The one home loss came against Winona State on Mar. 19.
The only conference loss was at Lincoln on Mar. 14 by the score of 4-3. That was after the game was rescheduled multiple times due to weather.
Another question I have: How could Southern Arkansas (23-10) be at 24 but MSSU not be featured despite having beat the Muleriders and holding a better record. Are you serious?
The Lions are back in action to try and continue to prove their case on Friday at Nebraksa-Kearney with a 2 p.m. start for a twinbill. They will play another pair on Saturday at Fort Hays State with first pitch set for noon in Hays, Kansas.
