Ithaca Voted Preseason Favorite in Empire 8 Softball Poll
ROCHESTER, NY – As the Empire 8 softball teams prepare to throw out the first pitch of the 2013 season, it appears Ithaca College and St. John Fisher are prepared to contend once again, but a strong crop of challengers are eager to make it more than a two-team race this time around.
Heading into the season, the Empire 8 coaches agree that Ithaca is the team to beat, as the Bomber’s claimed the top spot in the 2013 Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. Ithaca received six first-place votes and racked up 48 total points to earn the role of preseason favorite. Last year’s runner-up, Fisher, received two first-place votes and 43 points and were picked to be Ithaca’s toughest test in 2013. Alfred University caps the top three with 35 points.
The 2012 season saw Ithaca win its Empire 8-best eighth conference title and make its 25th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Who’s Back?
Adding to the anticipation for the 2013 season is the return of four the league's top individual award winners from a year ago, as well as 28 of the 31 All-Conference selections.
The Bombers return four NFCA All-Northeast Region players to the 2013 roster, along with 10 players who earned All-Empire 8 recognition including 2012 Empire 8 Player of the Year Sydney Folk and Co-Rookie of the Year Francesca Busa.
Reigning E8 Coach-of-the-Year Deb Pallozzi has many reasons to be optimistic about her 2013 Bombers. Folk batted .414 to lead the team and also had team-leading totals in doubles (10), home runs (5), RBIs (41), total bases (82) and slugging percentage (.641). Busa batted .359 and played in all 46 games, and had a .958 fielding percentage at shortstop. She led Ithaca with 43 runs scored.
The Cardinals, who earned an at-large bid to NCAAs last year and finished the 2012 season with a 34-14 record, lost just four games in their first 22 meetings which was the best start in the program's 29-year history. Fisher has won three of the last five conference titles and feature a roster with eight seniors so 2013 may be the year the Cardinals return to the top of the standings. Danielle Leone, Empire 8 co-Pitcher of the Year, ended the season with nine shutouts and a 1.35 ERA, which were ranked 13th and 20th in the country, respectively. Leanne Merchant, one of the Cardinals' top sluggers, will also be back as her 11 home runs last year placed her 14th in the nation.
Alfred finished the 2012 season with a 27-14 record. The Saxons’ 27 wins tied for the second-most in a season in team history, behind only the 37 the team won in 2010. Maressa Mistretta and Stephanie Arguello are returning All-Region players. Mistretta batted .419 (31-for-74) with two doubles and one homerun, scored 21 runs and drove in 14. She tied for the team lead in assists (57) and posted a .951 fielding percentage. Arguello tied for the team lead in hitting (.463) with 50 hits (second on the team) in 108 at-bats. She led the team in triples (three), scored 32 runs and drove in 16 while stealing three bases.
Danielle DeFeo’s .458 batting average was among the Top-50 in the NCAA in 2012 as she was named First-Team All-Conference and Second-Team All-Region. She led Stevens Institute of Technology with a .481 on-base percentage, 31 runs scored and eight stolen bases. She also owned 71 total bass and started every game at shortstop.
Outfielder Meghan Matan and designated player Courtney Fitzgerald combined for 114 hits, 60 runs and 55 RBIs to pace the Pioneers to a 22-17 overall record in 2012. There were both named to the All-Region Second Team. Matan broke the College's single-season records for hits (68), stolen bases (18), total bases (85) and at bats (147). Fitzgerald led the team in home runs (six) and RBIs (34) in her freshman campaign.
Katie Dore, co-Rookie of the Year, put up impressive numbers in her first year in the Purple and Gold to led Elmira in 2012. She finished the season batting .380 from the right side of the plate in her 24 starts at shortstop. Dore notched team-highs in hits (30), runs (24), and RBI's (20), and was solid defensively with a fielding percentage of .938.
Nazareth will look to improve on its 12-26 record from a year ago. The Golden Flyer’s return Sarah Cippery who posted a .367 batting average with 36 hits against only nine strikeouts.
Fielding a New Team
The 2013 season marks the inclusion of Houghton College as a competing Empire 8 program. The Highlanders are an NCAA provisional member and will complete a full league schedule. However, games against the Highlanders will not impact conference records/standings.
Head Coach Jeremy Shephard, who in his second year at the helm is helping to re-establish a program after a long hiatus, will lead a young Houghton team.
What’s New?
Also new in 2013 will be the Harrington Park Softball Stadium and Practice Field on the campus of Alfred University. The Saxons’ new field will include spacious dugouts; a press box; bleachers and home and visitor bullpens.
Dates to remember
Though temperatures have routinely been around freezing and snow continues to fall, the first softball games of the 2013 season are set to take place this weekend. Elmira will open with games in Georgia, and the rest of the league takes the field when the calendar flips to March.
The first E8 contests of the season are set to start March 30, and the league's 12 teams will engage in conference play throughout the month of April. The final regular-season E8 doubleheaders are scheduled for April 21.
The four-team, double-elimination championship tournament will take place during the first weekend of May on the campus of the highest seed. The recommended tournament schedule will be as follows:
Friday, May 3
Game 1: No. 2 vs No. 3 - 10am
Game 2: No. 4 vs No. 1 - Noon
Game 3: Loser Game 1 vs Loser of Game 2 - 2pm
Game 4: Winner of Game 1 vs Winner of Game 2 - 4pm
Saturday, May 4
Game 5: Winner of Game 3 vs Loser of Game 4 – 11 a.m.
Game 6: Winner of Game 4 vs Winner of Game 5 - 1 p.m.
Sunday, May 5
Game 7: If necessary - TBA (to avoid a team having to play three games in one day)
Sunday will also be used as a rain date if necessary.
The postseason champ will receive the E8's automatic bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Softball Playoffs.
Follow Online
If you can’t make it out to the game be sure to check if Live Stats are available or better yet the game may be web streamed courtesy of EzStream. Be sure to check out the schedule of streamed events by visiting
empire8.tv.
A closer look
For more information, visit any of the participating schools' websites or go to the Empire 8 home on the Internet at
www.empire8.com. Don't forget to become a fan of the Empire 8 on
Facebook and follow
@Empire8 on Twitter.
With the first pitch of the 2013 season less than a week away, it will be interesting to see if recent history can repeat itself. Will Ithaca make it another year on top, or can St. John Fisher or another challenger rise up to take the title? Is there a Cinderella candidate lurking at the bottom of the standings ready to make a move into the postseason? Thankfully for E8 fans, all those questions will be answered on the field in the coming months.
2013 EMPIRE 8 SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL
|
Ithaca (6 first place votes) |
48 points |
|
St. John Fisher |
43 |
|
Alfred |
35 |
|
Stevens |
29 |
|
Utica |
28 |
|
Elmira |
19 |
|
Nazareth |
15 |
|
Houghton |
7 |