WALTHAM, Mass. For the first time since 2011, the Brandeis University softball team has earned a national ranking in Division III by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA). The Judges check in at #21 for their first ranking in nearly a decade, when they were 25th in the 2011 preseason poll. It's their highest ranking since finishing 18th in 2010.
The Judges enter the rankings on the strength of their 15-0-1 start, making them the lone unbeaten team in NCAA softball at any level. Their 16-game unbeaten streak is the best start in school history and the second-longest unbeaten streak, trailing only a 23-game winning streak in 2008.
Brandeis is one of three New England schools in the Top 25, joining #7 Williams and #21 MIT. They are the only University Athletic Association (UAA) team in this week's rankings, with Emory University receiving votes to sit just outside of the rankings.
Under fourth-year head coach Danielle DelPonte, the Judges boast one of the top offenses in Division III. They are averaging 8.06 runs per game (8th) and own a team batting average of .373 (8th). They rank second with 2.5 doubles per game and are 10th with a .447 on-base percentage and 13th with a .547 slugging percentage.
Individually, the Judges have two of the top hitters in the UAA in sophomore shortstop Jolie Fujita of Honolulu, Hawaii, and junior pitcher Scottie Todd of Tampa, Florida, who are batting .525 and .500 respectively, to rank first and second in the league and 17th and 25th in Division III. Todd leads the UAA in slugging percentage at .854 and on-base percentage at .564, ranking 24th and 32nd in Division III. Fujita is second in the UAA in OBP (.561) and fifth in slugging (.705), putting her 35th and 126th in Division III. Senior catcher Keri Lehtonen of Oneco, Connecticut, is tied for the Division III lead in doubles per game with 11 in 16 contests for an 0.69 average.
In the circle, Todd is second in the UAA with eight of the team's 15 victories, while rookie Sydney Goldman of Los Angeles, California, is tied for sixth with six wins. Goldman also ranks second in the UAA in earned run average at 1.86, while Todd is fourth at 2.04. They rank 94th and 125th among all Division III pitchers. Goldman's 46 strikeouts are third in the conference and rank her 93rd in Division III with 6.6 strikeouts per seven innings.
The Judges' 16-game unbeaten streak has come with a pair of dramatic victories. On March 24th, they had a walk-off home run by rookie 3B Marley Felder of Miami, Florida, against Simmons to cap a four-run rally in the ninth inning for a 9-7 win. This past Sunday, they posted a 6-3 win at UAA rival NYU in which they trailed 3-1 with two outs in the top of the seventh inning before scoring five times, including a Todd three-run home run.
Brandeis returns to action this weekend against Case Western Reserve University for a four-game set. The 15-7 Spartans were ranked seventh in Division III in the preseason and reached the championship round of last year's NCAA tournament. The teams meet for a doubleheader on Friday, April 12th at 2 p.m. and again on Saturday, April 13th at 1 p.m.
For more information on Brandeis softball, visit our web site at http://www.brandeisjudges.com/sports/sball/index.