Still not enough

Salem CC softball among national leaders in hitting, as a team and individually, but remain outside JUCO’s Division II Top 20

By Al Muskewitz
Riverview Sports News

CARNEYS POINT – The Salem CC softball team is off to its best start in program history. The Mighty Oaks have one of the longest current winning streaks in its division and several players among the national leaders, but it’s still not enough to break them into the national rankings.

The Mighty Oaks (20-4) have an 18-game winning streak and lead JUCO Division II in batting (.436) and on-base percentage (.534) among teams that have played at least 20 games this season, but they weren’t listed in this week’s Top 20 or teams receiving votes.

Oaks leadoff hitter Karyn Trice is second nationally in batting (.594) and first in OBP (.689) among players on teams with a minimum of 20 games. Ella Hayes is fourth in batting (.585), fourth in OBP (.641) and 11th in slugging (1.015). Other statistics are listed on a total basis and Hayes is tied for 14th in total RBIs.

Morgan Mecham is eighth in ERA among pitchers with 10 or more appearances (1.35). The Oaks are sixth in team ERA (2.40) and tenth in strikeouts per seven innings (7.37).

Despite their early-season success, the Oaks remained unranked in the latest D-II Top 20. Among the teams in this week’s poll, only unanimous No. 1 Parkland (30) and No. 14 Bryant & Stratton-Wis. (18) have winning streaks equal or longer than the Oaks. 

“There’s no reason why we shouldn’t be (in the poll); I think we have a good shot,” Salem coach Angel Rodriguez said after Sunday’s sweep of Bucks CC. “We’re playing hot. We’re doing all the right things.

“The first step was getting a player recognized for the first time (GSAC Player of the Week Hayes). That’s a good start; hopefully we can make a good argument this week and see when the new rankings come up. It’s definitely going to be nice to see it, but (if) we don’t see it, it’s just more motivation for us – what do we have to keep doing to get there.”

JUCO DIVISION II RANKINGS
1. Parkland (37-3), 2. Copiah-Lincoln (27-3), 3. Louisburg (33-3), 4. Murray State (33-5), 5. Pearl River (33-6), 6. Jones (26-10), 7. Johnson County (26-6), 8. LSU-Eunice (32-8), 9. Kirkwood (22-10), 10. Phoenix (25-6);
11. Des Moines Area (23-7), 12. East Central (26-8), 13. St. Johns River (36-13), 14. Bryant & Stratton-Wis. (18-1), 15. Hines (23-11), 16. Spoon River (24-12), 17. Catawba Valley (19-2), 18. Cowley County (29-10), 19. Marion Military Institute (32-12), 20. NW Mississippi (19-13).
Receiving votes: Bryant & Stratton-Va., North Iowa Area, Kankakee, Rock Valley.