Kansas City, Mo. - Jumping out to a 19-1 record through their first 20 games, the Central Methodist softball team climbed two spots to No. 7 in the second edition of the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top-25 Poll, announced by the national office Wednesday afternoon. 

The No. 7 ranking is the second-highest ranking in program history, as Central climbed as high as No. 5 during the 2016 season. The only other Heart program mentioned in the Top-25 is (RV) Grand View. 

The Eagles are currently riding an eight-game winning streak and have opened Heart play with a perfect 6-0 mark. Central also owns the league's best winning percentage at .952. As a team, Central is ranked in the Top-10 nationally in 11 different statistical categories including seven in the Top-5. CMU is No. 3 in RBI/game (8.053), and opposing batting average (0.187), No. 4 in hits/game (10.947), and No. 5 in earned run average (1.310). 

Junior pitcher Keighlan Cronin has dominated opposing teams from the circle, compiling a perfect 10-0 mark through 57.1 innings pitched and an ERA of 0.85. The St. Charles, Mo. native is No 4 in the NAIA in both opposing batting average (0.102) and hits allowed per nine innings (2.36). Fellow junior Madison Love has also put together an impressive resume in 2021, owning a 9-1 record through 10 starts and an earned run average of 1.26. 

CMU returns home to host Graceland University Saturday, March 27 at 1:00 p.m. at Cox Softball Complex. 

To view the complete NAIA Top-25 poll, please click here.

 Poll Methodology

• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low rating) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
• The frequency of the polls is bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) prior to the 2016-17 academic season. This change allows raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work between rating periods.
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.

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