LOUISVILLE, KY – The Roanoke College softball team was ranked 18^th in the latest NFCA Week Five Top-25 Poll, announced Wednesday.  The Maroons move up seven spots after being ranked 25^th in the NFCA Week Four poll, despite not having played any games since the last release.

Roanoke currently has a 13-4; 2-0 ODAC record through the first half of the season.  Alea Bier leads the team in hitting, batting .462 with a team-high 24 runs scored.  She also ranks seventh in the NCAA in walks with .93 walks per game.  Also batting over .400 for the Maroons are Leona Rainey (.452) and Alexis Roop (.426).  Rainey ranks second on the team in runs scored (18), while Alexis Roop leads the team in home runs with five.

Kelly Higbie, currently in her sophomore season, has a 2.17 ERA and a 6-3 record.  She has pitched eight complete games and struck out 35 batters.  Stephanie Clark has been splitting time with Higbie in the circle and has posted a 6-1 record.  She has thrown four complete games and struck out 26 batters.  Clark is also batting .327 with 14 runs scored and a team high 22 RBIs.

The Maroons return to action on Friday, March 29^th as they travel to Harrisonburg to take on ODAC opponent Eastern Mennonite University.  The first game is scheduled for a 3:00 PM first pitch.

Listed below is the Week Five NFCA Top-25 Coaches Poll.  For more information, visit http://www.nfca.org

Rank	Team	Record	Points	Previous
1	Montclair State (8)	12-0	200	1
2	Emory	34-1	191	2
3	Illinois Wesleyan	8-1	180	4
4	Texas-Tyler	20-2	172	3
5	Trine	13-1	169	5
6	Luther	3-1	155	7
7	Tufts	13-1	149	13
8	East Texas Baptist	17-3	143	11
9	Linfield	17-5	138	8
	Salisbury	16-2	138	10
11	Piedmont	21-3	118	12
12	Claremont-Mudd-Scripps	18-6	101	17
	St. Thomas (Minnesota)	8-2	101	16
14	Redlands	15-7	86	9
	Simpson (Iowa)	19-3	86	18
16	Coe	13-1	73	19
17	Lynchburg	15-4	55	23
18	Roanoke	13-4	43	25
19	Wisconsin-Whitewater	6-0	41
20	Carthage	6-2	39	14
21	Christopher Newport	17-8	38	24
22	Rowan	13-3	36
23	Eastern Connecticut State	3-3	32	6
24	Chapman	19-7	31	21
25	Plattsburgh State	7-5	16	15

Others receiving votes:
Haverford (15), UW-Eau Claire (14), The College of New Jersey (10), Randolph Macon (10), Virginia Wesleyan (9), Susquehanna (6), Washington College (2), Central (1), La Verne (1), Moravian (1)

Dropped out:
Haverford