Softball ends season ranked No. 19

The University of Houston-Victoria softball team capped of a year of late season successes ranked No. 19 in the nation in the NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 postseason poll released on Wednesday.

UHV shared the 19th ranking with Hope International (Calif.) in the season's final poll with 185 points.

UHV opened the year receiving votes in the preseason poll, but quickly fell out of the poll after some early setbacks.

The Jaguars went 13-3 over their final 16 games earning a berth in the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament and eventually their first berth to the NAIA World Series.

The Jaguars used a 6-1 record to win the RRAC Tournament, then swept through the NAIA Opening Round Hattiesburg Bracket with a 3-0 record to reach the World Series. After a 2-0 loss the Mount Mercy in the opening round of the World Series, the Jaguars then knocked off 12th-ranked Olivet Nazarene 3-2, before being eliminated by Bethany College in a 3-1 setback to finish with a 23-23 record.

National champion Southern Oregon collected all 15 first-place votes to earn the No. 1 ranking with 405 points. National runner-up Oregon Tech finished second in the poll with 392 points,, followed by the College of Idaho with 374 points.

Ottawa (Kan.) and Olivet Nazarene rounded out the top five at No. 4 and No. 5 respectively.