Griffins Chosen as Pre-Season Softball Favorite

St. Louis, Mo. – Defending St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) regular season and tournament champion Fontbonne University has been chosen as the pre-season favorite in the SLIAC Softball Pre-Season Coaches' Poll. The Griffins received seven first place votes and had a total of 56 points.

Fontbonne went 27-11 in 2012 and captured their eighth regular season and sixth SLIAC Tournament Championship overall. They finished the season 13-1 in conference play. Head coach Bill Rosner has a core group of juniors returning to this year's squad that he will look to as the Griffins try to capture their fourth consecutive tournament championship in 2013. Junior infielder Cara Hargate returns after hitting .327 at the plate with 37 hits, eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 25 RBI. She was also 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts and was named the 2012 SLIAC Softball Tournament MVP. Junior Sarah Cerutti, an outfielder, led the Griffins with 10 home runs last season and finished with a .331 batting average, 41 hits, seven doubles, four triples and 38 RBI. Cerutti was also a First Team All-SLIAC At-Large selection last season. Junior pitcher Rachel McCarthy was named to both the All-SLIAC Second Team and All-Tournament Team last season. She posted a 13-7 record on the mound with 13 complete games, two shutouts, 87 strikeouts and a 3.03 earned run average in 124.2 innings pitched. Junior Marissa Simon, another infielder, rounds out the group of juniors returning. Simon was an Honorable Mention All-SLIAC At-Large selection last season after hitting .260 with three doubles, one home run and 10 RBI.

Spalding University received one first play vote in the poll and ranked second by the league coaches. The Golden Eagles will also have a group of juniors leading the way, as head coach Art Williams will look to guide his squad to their first-ever SLIAC regular season and tournament championship in just their first year eligible for post-season play. Junior second baseman, Hannah Stucker, who was named Honorable Mention All-SLIAC in 2012, is the lead returning hitter. She batted .341 last season with 45 hits, 21 RBI, nine doubles, five triples, four home runs and also went 15-for-18 in stolen bases. Junior Katy Flanagan, an outfielder, went 14-for-17 in stolen base attempts and finished the season with a .280 batting average, 33 hits, 15 RBI, seven doubles, two triples and one home run. Flanagan was also Honorable Mention All-SLIAC last season. Junior Callie Howard returns behind the plate at catcher. She recorded 31 hits, 20 RBI, eight doubles, one triple and two home runs for a .277 batting average in 2012.

Webster University, who ranked third in the poll, will be looking to improve upon their 19-22 overall and 11-4 conference showing last year. The Gorloks have a strong group of returning players, including All-SLIAC honorees Trisha Thompson and Taylor Gibbs. Thompson, a junior pitcher, was Second Team At-Large in 2012 and is the top hurler for Webster. She posted a 3.95 ERA and a 12-10 overall record last season, with 113 strikeouts in 129.1 innings of work. Gibbs, a sophomore first baseman, earned Honorable Mention All-SLIAC honors last year and finished the season hitting .351 with 26 hits, seven doubles, four home runs and 18 RBI.

Westminster College (Mo.) was chosen to finish fourth by the league coaches and the Blue Jays will definitely be in the hunt for a spot in the 2013 SLIAC Tournament. They finished 8-8 in conference play last season, with a few games that could have gone either way. Juniors Rai'an Harris, Brittany Lee and Lori Jones will be an offensive threat for the Blue Jays at the plate. Jones hit .384 with 28 hits, 16 RBI, six home runs and four triples in only 23 games played last year. Harris tallied 31 hits, 18 RBI and a .313 average in all 32 games played. Lee finished with 28 hits, 16 RBI, a .295 average and a team-high 11 doubles. Lee was also chosen Second Team All-SLIAC as a utility player in 2012.

Greenville College, Blackburn College and Eureka College were chosen fifth, sixth and seventh respectively with only nine points separating all three. Greenville will be looking for their fourth consecutive trip to the SLIAC Tournament. The Panthers finished 8-8 in conference play last season and won the tie-breaker over Westminster to earn a spot in the tournament. Junior Mattie Fairchild is the lead returner for Greenville. She led the squad in batting last season with a .350 average, 41 hits, seven doubles and 25 RBI, and she was named Honorable Mention All-SLIAC.

Blackburn returns 2012 SLIAC Player of the Year Brianna Markel in the outfield and at the plate. She hit .450 last year with 58 hits, 25 RBI, 13 doubles, seven triples and eight home runs. She also had a .845 slugging percentage, a .517 on-base percentage and was 32-for-33 in stolen base attempts. Eureka will have First Team All-SLIAC second baseman Kelli Dunne back in 2013. Dunne posted a .350 batting average with 36 hits, 24 RBI, six doubles, five triples and four home runs.

MacMurray College and Principia College rounded out the last two spots respectively in the poll. The Highlanders lost one All-SLIAC player to graduation that will prove a key loss. Principia will have some players returning and will look to improve upon their .234 team batting average and overall earned run average for the pitching staff. 

SLIAC Softball Pre-Season Poll
1 Fontbonne (7)
2 Spalding (1)
3 Webster
4 Westminster
5 Greenville
6 Blackburn
7 Eureka
8 MacMurray
9 Principia