ASHLAND – A weekend sweep of Carroll (Mont.) meant more upward movement in the NAIA Top 25 for the Southern Oregon University softball team, which checked in at No. 8 in Tuesday's penultimate regular-season poll.

The Raiders (38-11 overall, 19-5 Cascade Conference) are up one spot from the previous poll, released two weeks ago. They're also tied for first place with Corban (31-10, 19-5) going into their final regular-season games Friday and Saturday at Eastern Oregon. The Warriors elevated one spot to No. 12 in the rankings, while Oregon Tech (31-11, 18-6) went from 22nd to 20th.

SOU's new ranking represents its highest-ever in a regular-season poll.

With it, the Raiders are expected to receive one of 10 NAIA National Championship Opening Round host bids that will be announced by the national office on Wednesday. Procuring one of those would mean an automatic spot in the 40-team NAIA Opening Round, which will take place May 14-16.
 

2018 NAIA Softball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 4 (April 24, 2018)

RANK	LAST WEEK^	SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES)	2018 RECORD	TOTAL POINTS
1	1	Georgia Gwinnett (19)	43-2	529
2	2	Marian (Ind.)	36-2	504
3	3	Science & Arts (Okla.)	44-3	501
4	4	Campbellsville (Ky.)	39-6	473
5	5	Oklahoma City	41-6	469
6	6	Hope International (Calif.)	43-9	426
7	8	Vanguard (Calif.)	48-8	412
8	9	Southern Oregon	38-11	402
9	7	Mobile (Ala.)	36-11	390
10	11	Indiana Wesleyan	41-8	386
11	9	Lindsey Wilson (Ky.)	35-10	341
12	13	Corban (Ore.)	31-10	333
13	18	Faulkner (Ala.)	42-8	323
14	14	Thomas (Ga.)	32-12	304
15	16	Jamestown (N.D.)	33-6	303
16	19	St. Francis (Ill.)	26-6	271
17	T22	Grand View (Iowa)	33-6	267
18	12	William Carey (Miss.)	31-13	241
19	17	Central Methodist (Mo.)	31-7	223
20	T22	Oregon Tech	31-11	187
21	RV	Southeastern (Fla.)	38-13	150
22	RV	Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)	26-11	138
23	T25	Morningside (Iowa)	23-10	123
24	20	Warner (Fla.)	31-12	119
25	T25	Baker (Kan.)	31-9	106

Others Receiving Votes: Rio Grande (Ohio) 92; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 79; Truett-McConnell (Ga.) 75; Valley City State (N.D.) 57; Georgetown (Ky.) 39; Lyon (Ark.) 29; Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 23; Aquinas (Mich.) 12; Simpson (Calif.) 12;William Jessup (Calif.) 11; Northwestern (Iowa) 10; Tabor (Kan.) 9; Columbia (Mo.) 4.