BLOG 3: High national ranking deserved, but much work still to be done

Ferris State University softball head coach Keri Becker (right) and catcher Krystle Bailey (left) will be key components of this season’s squad (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – It’s no big shock the Ferris State University softball team will begin this season ranked among the nation’s best Division II squads.

After all, the Bulldogs ended their 2008 campaign in the national championships – essentially a top-eight finish in Division II. Additionally, Ferris is back and reloaded this season with a strong and experienced group of players eager to make another run. The softball team is ranked sixth in the nation according to the 2009 National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Preseason Top 25 Poll that was released Jan. 28. As a team, the Bulldogs had 331 points and ended up just one point in back of Francis Marion (S.C.) – a team Ferris played and defeated (in a good game) during the 2008 NCAA Division II National Championships in Texas last May.

But, the reality of the national ranking is this for the Bulldogs: that national ranking attaches a bulls-eye to head coach Keri Becker’s team. A high national ranking can sometimes create pressure, but that is unlikely to adversely impact this year’s experienced team. In many ways, this team played with a chip on its shoulder much of last season and maintained that determined intensity that propelled it into a major run that included an NCAA Division II Great Lakes Region championship and a trip to nationals – both for the first time since 1999.

Expect a fight to hang onto that ranking, however. In addition to an always-tough non-conference schedule, Ferris has some Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference company on the national scene. Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State both were listed among other teams receiving votes. The Cardinals and Warriors are among the many strong teams in the GLIAC and region Ferris will battle this spring.