The Rogers State softball team made history by cracking the Top 25 in the NAIA national softball rankings released Wednesday.
Coach Dawn Reed’s Hillcats earned the No. 22 spot in this week’s ratings after narrowly missing out a week earlier. Unranked in the pre-season poll, RSU fell just two voting points short of the Top 25 when the first in-season ratings were released last week. In week two of the ratings, the Hillcats picked up 11 more points and jumped up four spots and into the polls for the first time in school history.
“Our program is proud to be included among the best in the country,” Reed said. “My kids have worked hard to gain such prestigious recognition and I am extremely proud of their accomplishments.”
The Hillcats started the season 6-0, including a doubleheader sweep of pre-season No. 18 University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma. RSU also stood tall against three Top 10 programs while playing in the prestigious Gulf Coast Invitational in Orange Beach, Ala., in early March. The Hillcats posted victories over pre-season No. 19 Reinhardt (Ga.) College and Spring Hill (Ala.) College. Both Reinhardt and Spring Hill received votes in the latest ratings poll.
Rogers State placed third in the Lady Bison Classic at Oklahoma Baptist University and boasts a 15-8 record entering the month of April. The Hillcats have suffered the majority of their losses to highly regarded programs, including NCAA Division I and II programs and NAIA teams ranked in the Top 10. The Hillcats are currently ranked fourth among teams from Region VI. Region VI teams Oklahoma City, St. Gregory’s and Houston Baptist are all currently ranked in the Top 10.