2012 Upstate Softball Team

NCAA Statistical Ranking Report - March 19

Spartanburg, S.C. – Following a doubleheader sweep at Western Carolina last Tuesday and improving its record to 22-4 on the year, the USC Upstate softball team continued to remain in the hunt for a national ranking while maintaining its position as one of the top statistical teams in the nation.

Upstate secured seven votes in the NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll, one less than it received last week when it earned a program-best eight votes. If the poll was extended beyond the top 25, the Spartans would be ranked 30^th in the country among all Division I programs. In addition, the Spartans maintained their position in the latest Mid-Major Top 25 poll, released by midmajorpoll.blogspot.com, coming in at No. 11 for the second-straight week. Upstate is the only A-Sun team to receive votes in the NFCA/USA Today poll and is the only league school listed in the Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

In addition to its achievement in the latest national rankings, Upstate also is prominent in the latest NCAA statistical leader report issued late Monday night. The Spartans lead the A-Sun with a .338 batting average, 1.07 ERA and .976 fielding percentage. Among the national leaders, Upstate ranks 14^th in batting average, ninth in ERA and 10^th in fielding percentage. The Spartans' .846 winning percentage is the 13^th-best in the nation.

Individually, a number of Spartans rank among the national leaders. Pitcher Hannah Alexander (Lexington, N.C.) ranks 12^th with 13 wins, 16^th with five shutouts, 17^th with a 0.90 ERA and 26^th with 112 strikeouts. Lacey Dinney (Hannon, Ontario) ranks 11^th in the nation with 9.7 strikeouts per game, while her 1.35 ERA is 42^nd-best in the country.

Offensively, Shellie Robinson (DeLand, Fla.) ranks 40^th in the country with 0.31 home runs per game. She ranks 27^th with eight total home runs. Ashley Butler (Laurens, S.C.) is the 38^th-toughest batter to strikeout in the nation. Lindsey Greeson (Stanley, N.C.) ranks 29^th in the country with 0.59 stolen bases per game.

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