NAIA Coaches' Poll- 3

Kansas City, MO – After sitting at #17 for two straight NAIA Coaches' Polls, the UC softball team jumped up to #15 in the latest poll with 285 points, announced by the national office on Wednesday.

With the rise to #15 this marks the new highest ranking in program history. Under the guidance of Head Coach Bailey Dillender, who took over the program in 2018, UC has continued to climb the national rankings, breaking the program's highest ranking for the third time in her five seasons. Someone who has been with Coach Dillender since the beginning is Assistant Coach Alyssa Richards.

"This is a testament to Bailey and the vision she had along with all of the hard work of our kids that have bought into our culture and vision of where this program could go," said Coach Richards. "This is the vision that not only Bailey sold me on but all our student-athletes. It's not always been easy but we just continue to push our culture forward and continue to strive to be the best."

There is a belief among the staff and the team that even with the national attention and program records this team has been setting, there is even more they can and will accomplish. "It's crazy to see the growth and success this program has had since Coach Dillender took over, but this is just the beginning," said Assistant Coach Mia Aldridge. "We still have a lot of work to do this season and have more goals to accomplish. We are just scratching the surface and are starting to put all of the pieces together at the right time"

On the season, Cumberlands boasts a 26-12 record where they have outscored opponents by almost 100 runs at 187-99. The Patriots have five wins over teams ranked or at least mentioned in the latest poll, including two over #14 Georgia Gwinnett.

UC is in the top-10 for NAIA rankings for five team statistical categories including second for double plays (24), third in sacrifice flies (17) and 10^th for walks (115). Individually, Emily Jasper is ranked fifth for stolen bases, having swiped 37 so far this season.

The Patriots have spread out their offensive production this season with different hitters leading different categories. Maddie Sickau leads the team in batting average (.372) and hits (42) while Hailey Wood has the most doubles (11), triples (3) and total bases (64). Emily Bryant has blasted the most home runs (6) and tallied the most RBI (25).

The pitching staff is also led by committee having Morgan Radford with the most wins (10) and innings pitched (84) with Kaci Goedde having the lowest ERA at 0.69. Talli Burgess and Kaiti White are tied for second in ERA at 1.90, with Burgess striking out the most hitters with 61 K's.

In Mid-South Conference play the team is 13-5 with three series victories already under their belt. UC is among four MSC teams mentioned in the latest poll with Freed-Hardeman in fourth, Cumberlands at #15, Lindsey Wilson in 17^th place and Campbellsville is now receiving votes.

The Patriots will battle the Tigers of Campbellsville this weekend starting on Saturday, April 9 at 2PM ET for a double header. The games will be at home in Williamsburg, KY with live video found here and live stats here.

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