LOUISVILLE, Ky. – For the first time since the week one poll in 2016, the Bethel University softball team is in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Top 25 earning the No. 22 spot. The Royals are off to the program's best start with an 18-2 record, 7-0 in the MIAC, and have won a program-best 16 straight.
 
Bethel at the plate is hitting a MIAC-leading .346 while outscoring the opposition 133-30 this year. They rank fifth nationally with a 1.10 team ERA and third with a 0.81 WHIP. BU is flying around the base paths with 69 stole bases this year which rank 15th. They average 3.45 swipes a game, the fourth best mark in Division III.
 
Individually, Allie Fauth has the 11th most stole bases this year in Division III with a MIAC-leading 24, which is seven off the single-season record she recorded last year.
 
Hastings native Kayla Simacek has struck out 166 batters this season, second-most in NCAA Division III. She also ranks second in the country with 17 wins this year. Simacek ranks eighth in Division III with an earned-run average of 0.67 this season. She ranks fifth in the nation in strikeouts-to-walks ratio at 16.60.
 
Bethel as a big top 25 matchup Wednesday afternoon hosting No. 18th-ranked Saint Benedict. First pitch at Ona Orth is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.