Posted: Feb 01, 2023

Spalding Leads Balanced Softball Poll

The 2023 SLIAC softball season is expected to be an exciting one with four teams within five points of each other on the preseason coaches poll and five teams total picking up at least one first-place vote. Spalding University edged out the six other league teams as the favorite, totaling 36 points and picking up three first-place nods. Head Coach Art Williams returns 14 players including 7 starters from last year's 22-16 squad. The league's top scoring offense last year should once again be formidable in 2023 with the return of four All-Conference hitters. The lineup is built around Jessica Tucker. The senior outfielder hit .478 with 3 home runs and 36 RBI with 22 stolen bases last season; ranking 3rd in the SLIAC in average and stolen bases and 4th in RBI. Rylee Phillips sets the table, hitting .349 and leading the team with 27 stolen bases; second most in the conference. Grayce Marcum earned First Team All-Conference honors as a freshman after hitting .450 with 33 RBI and gives the Golden Eagles a third player with at least 20 stolen bases from last season. Bella Velez showed a knack for clearing the bases, hitting .448 with a conference-best 54 runs batted in. The team also returns its top two hurlers in Erica McMann and Velez. When Velez isn't driving in runs she is preventing them; throwing 60 innings last spring. McMann topped the team with 122 innings and 45 strikeouts, notching a conference-high 13 wins in the circle. Top newcomers include a trio of freshmen: Kaleigh Franklin-Brooks, Brooklyn Nolot, and Michaela Ferman.

Last year's runner-up Greenville University comes in 2nd on the poll with 34 total points with one first-place vote. The Panthers finished 22-21 last season and first-year head coach Ivan Estevez will have nine starters back. The Panthers blasted a league-high 20 home runs last season with freshman Mia Boyd doing much of that damage. The infielder hit .424 with 7 home runs and 40 RBI in her first collegiate season and should only continue to get better. Fellow sophomore infielder Madi Case, who hit .424 with 35 runs scored, will start the offense off. The lineup continues with a pair of All-Conference hitters in Desirae Yost (.339/2/31) and Jaclyn Belzer (.326/2/26). Also back is All-Conference outfielder Emma Funk. Alison Klaus and Melissa Bernal will command the circle. Klaus was 12-6 with a 2.89 earned-run average and a SLIAC leading 138 strikeouts while Bernal finished 9-8 with a 2.77 E.R.A. in just under 99 innings pitched. The team brings in several new faces including Andrea Roberts, Sarah Salas, Audrey Noble, and Jamey Johnson.

Webster University received 32 total points and one first-place selection. The Gorloks finished last year 20-16 with head coach Katie Griffith. They are a young team with just one senior, but their underclassmen all picked up experience last season with nine being regular starters. The lineup will be bolstered by All-Conference hitters Katie Croxall, Paige Thomas, Jaelin Holdaway, and Lucy St. John. Croxall, the SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, hit .483 with 21 RBI last season while Thomas batted .377 with a team-best 5 home runs and 26 RBI. Holdaway finished with a .373 average and St. John a .327 mark. Reese Waggoner shoulders the load in the circle, working 86 innings last season and going 10-4 with a 2.51 earned-run average on her way to earning SLIAC Pitcher of the Year honors. Top incoming players include Kaley Adzick, Ella Zgaynor, and Madi Stichling. Also returning are All-Conference performers outfielder Alyssa Lyell and pitcher Braidyn Burr.

Defending SLIAC Champion Fontbonne University finished 4th on the poll with 31 total points and one first-place vote. The Griffins return seven starters but will be welcoming in a new head coach in Roni Knittig. They were 22-19 overall last season, winnings its first tournament since 2015. They lost some impactful players in top-average hitter Lexi Becker, top power hitter Hannah Miener, and E.R.A. leader Michaela Mason. However, they can look towards a trio of All-Confernece players to pick up the production. Lilly Jones hit .377 last season with a team-high 17 stolen bases and 30 runs scored. Allysa Ibarra batted .348 with 16 RBI as a freshman while Grace Paez hit .275 and drove in seven while striking out just six times. The Griffins also welcome back Patience Vandermierden, who missed most of last season with an injury but is a lifetime .301 hitter. Hailey Kutz is back to take the ball in the circle, leading the team in innings pitched and going 8-4 last season with 71 strikeouts. Coach Knittig brings in newcomers Mackenzie Howell, Kami Matthews, and Brenna Foley.

Receiving the last first-place vote, and 24 points total, was Westminster College. The Blue Jays return 24 players from last year's team that finished 10-23 overall. Head Coach Sara Stafford has built a strong offense, which led the conference with a .354 team batting average. The middle of the lineup will consist of Eva Gannon, Emily Esquivel, Raigan McKee, and Raegen Dickinson. Gannon hit .397 with a team-best 4 home runs and 26 RBI last season. Esquivel was a .381 hitter that drove in 21. First-year players McKee (.371 average with 25 RBI) and Dickinson (.333 with 25 RBI) both made their names known. The Blue Jays also bring back depth in the circle with all three pitchers returning. Erin Carr and Haley Miller each topped 70 innings pitched last year and struck out a combined 105 batters. With incoming freshmen Payton Dudenhoffer and Caroline Bentley joining the team Coach Stafford feels this season could be the year the team's youth and experience match up well.

Eureka College comes in at 6th on the poll, receiving 20 total points. The Red Devils were 14-24 last season in head coach Juell Hodges first year. They bring back seven starters and bring aboard 22 newcomers including eight transfers. Bria Wessel finished with a .339 average and 4 home runs with 41 RBI last season, leading the team in the last two categories. Christine Mepham hit .309 with 12 RBI while Bri Tanksley batted .262 with 11 RBI as a freshman. Newcomers expected to contribute immediately are freshman pitcher/infielder Tatum Trotter, freshman infielder Ashlyn Voyles, and sophomore infielder KayLee Hohlbauch.

Blackburn College totaled 12 points to finish 7th on the preseason poll. The Beavers finished last year 11-20 overall under first-year head coach Leslie Messina. The offense will be built around Third Team All-Conference infielder Josie Manar. The senior hit .404 last season with 2 home runs and 20 RBI while striking out just six times in 52 at-bats. Chelsea Ashlock (.293/1/21), Chelsea Terranova (.286 average), and Holly Heuerman (.247/1/13) will provide support for Manar. Two-way player Taylor Girth is also back after hitting .319 at the plate and leading the team with 83.2 innings pitched and 70 strikeouts. Joining her in the circle is Jesse Tomson, who threw 76 innings and lead the team in earned-run average.