UH Hilo Softball Remains 7th in NCAA DII Regional Poll

With two more games left in the regular season, the University of Hawai`i at Hilo softball team remains in seventh place in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II regional rankings, released Wednesday.

UHH was slotted in seventh place when the West Region rankings were initially released on April 17th. The Vulcans have not budged from that position since.

UH Hilo is one of three PacWest Conference teams sitting in the top eight in the rankings. Grand Canyon University, in their final year of the PacWest play before moving to Division I’s Western Athletic Conference, sits in second place with a 38-14 record. In regional play, they are 34-10.

Dixie State is third in the rankings with a 32-11 overall mark and 30-9 regional record. The Vulcans, at 37-17 overall and 36-14 in the region, are in seventh.

Two other PacWest teams are listed in the regional rankings but are slated to miss the NCAA West Regional by being out of the top eight. Hawai`i Pacific, Saturday’s opponent for the Vulcans in the regular season finale, is in ninth place with a 29-16 record. All of their games have been against West region opponents. The Sea Warriors lost to UH Hilo on March 2 in a doubleheader played at Kaneohe’s Howard A. Okita Field.

Notre Dame de Namur, who swept UHH in a doubleheader played on March 30 in Belmont, CA, is in 10th place in the rankings. They are 33-17 both overall and in the region.

Humboldt State, the champion of the California Collegiate Athletic Association, remains in first place with a 44-12 overall and regional record. As long as they remain at the top of the rankings at the end of the season, they will host the West regional tournament next week.

NCAA Division II West Region rankings

1. Humboldt State (44-12 overall, 44-12 regional)

2. Grand Canyon (38-14, 34-10)

3. Dixie State (32-11, 30-9)

4. Sonoma State (35-17, 35-17)

5. Saint Martin’s (28-11, 28-9)

6. Cal State Dominguez Hills (34-19, 34-19)

7. Hawai`i Hilo (37-17, 36-14)

8. UC San Diego (31-21, 30-18)