Oakland, UIC Share Top Spot in 2016 Softball Preseason Poll
INDIANAPOLIS --Oakland, the reigning 2015 Horizon League regular season and tournament champions, share the top spot with UIC in the 2016 preseason poll. The Golden Grizzlies collected six of the nine first-place votes while the Flames garnered the remaining three in voting of the League’s coaches.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team in the poll.
Oakland returns Horizon League Second-Team and All-Tournament Team selection Sarah Hartley for her senior campaign. As a junior, she set an all-time season school record in home runs (10), runs scored (41) and total bases (112). All-Freshman Team honoree Haley Zemmer also makes her sophomore debut this year after posting a 5-5 record, 2.74 earned-run average with five complete games and 57 strikeouts in the circle last season.
Elaine Heflin, the League Pitcher of the Year, is back for UIC as she appeared in 34 games for the Flames in 2015 garnering a 9-1 conference record, 2.54 overall ERA and 1.91 ERA in League play. Alongside Heflin at first base is fellow First Team All-League honoree Laura Swan who hit .390 in the League last year with 46 hits, 10 doubles, 29 RBI, 23 walks and four home runs throughout the season.
Wright State took third in the poll with 48 points. The Raiders look to be led by senior Second Team All-League member Hanna Floyd who hit .310 with 44 starts in 2015.
Valparaiso tallied 40 points in the pool to place fourth in the rankings. Head Coach Kate Stake enters her second year at the helm and will rely on veteran Kaitlyn Ranieri to lead the squad. Ranieri, 2014 Co-Player of the Year and 2015 First Team All-League Selection, finished the season with a .370 batting average with 38 runs scored, 33 RBI and led the League in on-base percentage (.460) and walks (27).
Cleveland State and Green Bay took the fifth and sixth spots in the poll with 36 points and 30 points, respectively. The Vikings’ Erica McNew became just the fifth player in program history to earn First Team All-League honors in three separate seasons last year after batting over .350 with 37 RBI and 12 home runs. The Phoenix have Katelyn Huemmer returning to the line-up after being named to the Second Team All-League and All-Tournament Team. As a sophomore Huemmer started all 46 games while hitting .348 at the plate with 47 hits, five doubles, two triples and five home runs.
Youngstown State grabbed seventh place with 26 points with senior Miranda Castiglione, two-time First Team All-League selection, leading the pack. Castiglione started all 48 games for the Penguins while batting .349 with eight doubles, three triples, four home runs and 29 RBI.
Detroit took home 16 points in the poll to slot in eighth place while newcomer Northern Kentucky closed out the standings with 10 points. Second Team All-League selection Christa McGahuey is back in the circle and at first base for the Titans as she led the team in home runs (10), RBI (22), total bases (78) and slugging percentage (.600) last year. The Norse welcome new head coach Kathryn Gleason to Highland Heights, Ky. as the team looks to make a strong impression in their inaugural conference season.
Six of the nine teams begin play this weekend while Horizon League action starts Friday, March 25. The Horizon League Softball Championship will take place May 11-14 with the top six squads in a double-elimination format at the site of the No. 1 seeded team.
