LAREDO, Texas – In the midst of arguably the greatest season in program history, Texas A&M International softball added yet another first to the program's history, a ranking in the NCAA Regional Rankings, whose initial poll was released on Wednesday.
The NCAA ranked its eight regions and in the South Central Region, TAMIU, joined alongside six other Lone Star Conference teams, made up seven of the eight teams ranked, with the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's Colorado Mesa earning the final spot.
"We are very excited," said head coach
Scott Libby. "The season has been record setting in so many ways and we hope in the next couple weeks we can see TAMIU be even higher [in the regional rankings] and get back to Top 25 recognition as well."
Currently sitting at 21-16 heading into their final homestand of the season, the Dustdevils are nearing just the second plus-.500 record in program history and are close to solidifying the best record and win percentage in history. The current benchmark is 2011's 32-29 season.
The list of conference and national accolades have grown throughout the campaign.
Junior designated player,
Briana Arredondo, at the onset was named LSC Preseason Player of the Year, while sophomore pitcher,
Erika Cortez, has brought home three LSC Pitcher of the Week awards, as well as the Wilson NFCA National Pitcher of the Week award after throwing the program's first perfect game against Eastern New Mexico on March 21.
The national spotlight began to shine on the Dustdevils when the team reeled off eight consecutive victories (tied for longest in history), leading to the best start of all-time (20-9).
Four times this season, TAMIU has received votes in the NFCA DII Top 25 Coaches Poll, as well as being ranked as high as 25th in the masseyratings.com poll.
The Dustdevils still have six regular season games scheduled and as previously noted the final homestand begins this weekend. TAMIU entertains Texas Woman's for a doubleheader beginning at 12 p.m. on Friday April 23, and on Sunday, April 25, seven Dustdevil seniors will be recognized in the final home doubleheader against Midwestern State, with first pitch set at 11 a.m.
