Marietta softball ranked 10th in first NFCA poll of the season
Pioneers have been not been ranked since 1996

Mar. 29, 2006
MARIETTA, Ohio — The National Fastpitch Coaches Association released its first Division III poll of the season and the Marietta College softball team was voted 10th overall.

For Marietta, it is the first time that it has seen national attention since 1996, the year that the Pioneers won the Ohio Athletic Conference championship and made their only NCAA Regional appearance.

Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle's squad has started the season 15-1 overall and began OAC play with two wins against then 11th-ranked Mount Union on Monday (Mar. 27).

St. Thomas (Minn.), the 2005 NCAA champion, remained in first place and received all eight first place votes after opening the season 15-1. Rowan (N.J.) (16-0) and Louisiana College (20-1) were voted second and third, respectively, while Ithaca (N.Y.) (12-2) and Chapman (Calif.) (22-7) were tied for fourth.

OAC rival Muskingum (14-2) was voted sixth in the poll. The Pioneers will host the Muskies in a key doubleheader on April 12.

William Patterson (10-2), who began the year ranked sixth, fell to 16th, while SUNY-Plattsburgh was 26th. Marietta defeated both schools during its spring trip to Orlando.

Marietta puts its 12-game win streak on the line this afternoon when Wooster (7-8-1) visits Marietta Field for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.