Virginia Wesleyan Second, Bridgewater and EMU Share Third
SALEM, Va. --- Lynchburg College earned 97
total points and seven of the 10 first place votes as the Hornets
were selected atop the 2009 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll in the
annual survey of the league's coaches. Virginia Wesleyan
College, last year's conference runner-up to LC, sits second with
81 points and one top tally. Bridgewater College and Eastern
Mennonite University share the third position with 74 points,
although the Royals did receive one first place vote.
Lynchburg (29-8 overall, 16-2 in the ODAC in 2008) won its fifth
ODAC title in 2008 and made its first trip to the NCAA Division III
Championship Finals in Salem, Virginia. The Hornets will be
without former ODAC Player of the Year, Elizabeth Perkins, but head
coach Dawn Simmons has plenty of talent remaining in the
dugout. Sophomore Katie Bruce leads the list of returnees
following her selection as ODAC Rookie of the Year and an All-ODAC
First Team accolade last season. A double threat, Bruce went
20-5 from the circle with a 1.70 earned run average. In 169
innings of work, she fanned 90 batters while only giving up 41
earned runs. As a batter, Bruce hit .342 with five homeruns
and 32 runs batted in. Tara Campbell (.361, 8, 31) is back at
first base for another season, and All-ODAC Second Teamer, Brittany
Allsop (.382, 7 doubles, 13 steals), spearheads the Hornets'
outfield contingent.
Virginia Wesleyan (29-12, 14-4) looks for a return to the ODAC
title game under head coach Brandon Elliott. Pitching should
again be a strength for the Marlins as they welcome back ODAC
Pitcher of the Year, Brittaney Brown. The Chesapeake-native
went 20-9 with a 1.49 ERA while whiffing 168 batters in 178.2
innings pitched. She started and completed all five
tournament games for VWC last season, picking up three wins
including a pair of shutouts. Betty Stewart and Kristy White
provide VWC with a pair of solid experienced bats. Stewart,
the Marlins' catcher, hit .355 with a homer and 25 runs batted
in. She also helped guide the VWC pitchers to a 1.82 ERA,
tops in the conference. White hit .305 with three triples,
one homerun and 23 RBI. The Marlins' second baseman was
second the squad with 10 stolen bases as well as 18 walks.
Bridgewater (25-15, 11-7) returns a pair of All-ODAC First Team
stars in Caity Butler and Kaitlyn Bowman. Butler posted
a .370 batting average with 10 doubles, eight homers and 42 runs
batted in. Bowman equaled Butler's eight round-trippers while
also recording eight doubles, 34 RBI and a team-best .403 batting
average. Lindsay Lam, Ashley Gills and Becky Schmidt form a
trifecta of solid pitchers at head coach Donnie Fulk's
disposal.
Eastern Mennonite (30-13, 13-5) returns all three of its second
team choices for head coach J.D. McCurdy's sixth season in
Harrisonburg. Jamie Fraysher finished fourth in the
conference with a 1.54 earned run average while posting a 9-5
record. Nicole Shelton hit .374 with a team-best 14 doubles,
good enough for second in the ODAC. She also made only two
errors in 266 chances at third base (.992 fielding
percentage). Mandee Madden batted .352 with eight doubles and
13 stolen bases.
Listed below is the entire 2009 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll.
For more information, visit the ODAC on the Internet at www.odaconline.com.
2009 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll
(#) Denotes first place votes
School |
Votes |
1. Lynchburg (7) |
97 |
2. Virginia Wesleyan (1) |
81 |
3. Eastern Mennonite (1) |
74 |
3. Bridgewater |
74 |
5. Roanoke |
67 |
6. Guilford (1) |
53 |
7. Randolph-Macon |
40 |
8. Emory & Henry |
28 |
9. Randolph |
18 |
9. Sweet Briar |
18 |