PHILAU PICKED FOURTH IN 2011 CACC SOFTBALL
NEW HAVEN, CT (February 16, 2011) – Caldwell College has been selected first in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) preseason softball poll for the third consecutive season and collected 12 of a possible 14 first-place votes. The poll was voted upon by the 14 head coaches. The Cougars garnered 194 points and was followed by Dominican College with 174 points and one first-place vote, while Georgian Court University finished third with one first-place tally and 168 points.
Head coach Dean Johnson, who was the CACC and ECAC Coach of the Year in 2010, returns five starting fielders and four pitchers among 15 letterwinners for Caldwell. Headlining the returning players is three-time All-CACC pitcher Brittany Pulido. Pulido, who ranks second on Caldwell's all-time list for victories with 56, was chosen the CACC Pitcher of the Year in 2010 and was a first team Daktronics All-East Region selection after posting a 20-7 record and an earned run average of 1.23. Junior outfielder Kelly Ryan is a two-time All-CACC and All-Region performer who batted .316 with a team-high 16 stolen bases. Sophomore second baseman Dia Cascone made the All-CACC second team after leading the Cougars with 47 runs as a freshman. Caldwell shared the CACC regular-season championship with Dominican last season with a 23-3 mark, while going 42-16 overall. Caldwell concluded the season by making its sixth appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament in the last seven seasons.
Dominican is the defending CACC Tournament Champion and made its
second straight appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament last
season. The Chargers went 37-16 and tied for the conference
regular-season championship with a 23-3 record. DC returns the 2010
CACC Rookie of the Year in pitcher/outfielder Delaney Childers, and
second team All-Conference selection, sophomore DP Ashley Corrao.
Childers hit .387 at the plate as a rookie with 48 runs scored and
37 runs batted in while going 22-9 with 1.67 ERA as a pitcher.
Starting SS Julie Plante is also back after earning All-CACC
honorable mention status as a freshman. Junior OF Diedre Jeppson
will also be welcomed back after hitting .345 last
season.
Georgian Court compiled a 39-19 record (19-7 CACC) last season,
which included five consecutive victories in the CACC Tournament
and a finals appearance against Dominican. The Lions also made its
fourth straight trip to the NCAA East Regional and winning one
game. The Lions return three first team All-Conference selections
in junior DP Brooke Hull, junior 2B Rachel Ruch and senior CF
Jessica Comiskey. Also back are a pair of second team picks,
including junior 3B Kelsey Cutler and senior pitcher Diana
Sansevera. Sansevera led the conference with 26 wins last season,
while Ruch was fourth with a .399 batting average.
Furthermore, Hull and Ruch were All-Region selections.
Philadelphia was picked fourth and will look to improve on a record-setting 2010 season, during which the Lady Rams recorded their most wins under the guidance of head coach John Kelly (26). PhilaU returns three All-Conference players in junior hurler Ali Schmidt, senior outfielder Jen Richard and junior catcher Katie Renner. Schmidt was a first team selection after going 18-9 with a 1.89 ERA. Renner was named to the second team and Richard was an honorable mention selection. Renner was also named to the 2010 CACC All-Tournament team.
Concordia was selected fifth with 138 points, just one vote behind Philadelphia. The Clippers will be led by first team All-CACC outfielder Alexa Rosella, second team shortstop Jaime Lorenzo and catcher Victoria Pisciotta, who earned honorable mention All-CACC status in 2010. The Clippers went 22-17 overall last season, 17-9 in conference action and notched a pair of wins in the CACC Tournament before being eliminated.
The 2011 season is slated to begin on February 27 as Concordia, Dominican and Georgian Court commence their campaigns in Florida. Conference play will start on March 19 with USciences traveling to take on Dominican in a double-header. The eight-team CACC Softball Tournament will be hosted by Georgian Court on May 5-7 in Lakewood, N.J.
The 2011 CACC softball preseason poll is listed below.
CACC Softball
2011 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
School 2010 Records Points
1. Caldwell (12) 42-16/23-3 CACC 194
2. Dominican (1) 37-16/23-3 174
3. Georgian Court (1) 39-19/19-7 168
4. Philadelphia 26-20/18-8 139
5. Concordia 22-17/17-9 138
6. Wilmington 20-24-1/12-14 115
7. Bloomfield 14-25/10-16 108
8. USciences 15-28/12-14 97
9. Holy Family 24-23/18-8 96
10. Post 16-30/12-14 74
11. Goldey-Beacom 16-23/8-18 62
12. Felician 15-28/8-18 54
13. Chestnut Hill 2-36/2-24 25
14. Nyack 2-37/0-26 24
()-First Place Votes
