Saxons Nationally-Ranked in Preseason Poll 2/11/2015 6:52:45 PM The Alfred University softball team is ranked 31st in the country in the Division III National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll. The Saxons received three votes in the preseason NFCA Top 25 poll, tied for 31st with SUNY Oneonta. Two-time defending national champion Tufts is ranked first. AU returns eight starters from a team that went 29-12 last season and finished third in the Empire 8 Conference with a 7-5 league mark. The Saxons took top-seeded Ithaca to an elimination game of the Empire 8 Conference championship tournament before losing, but earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III championships. AU won twice in the NCAA regional hosted by the University of Rochester, falling in an elimination game to the top-seeded Yellowjackets. The Saxons batted .349 as a team in 2014, outscoring opponents 258-146 while holding them to a .265 batting average. AU pitcher had a combined 2.71 earned run average. mong the returning starters for the Saxons this year are senior pitcher/first baseman Alison Wickwire (Towanda, PA/Towanda), junior shortstop Nicole Maher (Newark, DE/Caravel Academy) and junior second baseman Dana Torchia (Pompton Plains, NJ/Pequannock Township.). Wickwire batted .367 with 36 hits (team-high 20 for extra bases, including four homeruns, tied for the team lead), 13 runs and 28 RBIs and made 25 pitching appearances (22 starts), going 14-7 with a 2.35 ERA, four shutouts and 118 strikeouts. She was a First Team Empire 8 all-star, First Team ECAC Upstate all-star and First Team NFCA Northwest Region pick. Maher batted .382 with 50 hits (team best) to go with 24 runs and 28 RBIs. She was a First Team Empire 8 all-star and Second team ECAC Upstate selection. Torchia hit .383 with 49 hits, led the team with 34 RBIs and shared the lead in runs with 31. She earned honorable mention from the Empire 8. Other returning starters include: junior outfielder Samantha Jauregui (Lindsay, CA/Lindsay), .437, 38 hits, 18 runs; senior outfielder Alyson Hampton (Oxnard, CA/Oxnard), .404, 20 runs, 12-for-12 in stolen bases; junior catcher Jasmine Picini (Alexandria, VA/West Potomac), .315, 29 hits, 25 runs, Second Team Empire 8; sophomore third baseman Liz Thompson (Horseheads, NY/Horseheads), .328, 40 hits (including four homeruns, tied for the team lead), 25 RBIs 31 runs (tied for the team lead) and eight stolen bases, honorable mention Empire 8; and sophomore pitcher/first baseman Sophia Chiavatti (Austin, CA/Foothills), .371, 4-2 pitching record (12 games, five starts), 3.68 ERA). Other top returnees include: junior pitcher Katelyn Jakobsen (Elmwood Park, IL/Elmwood Park), 7-2 in 19 appearances (12 starts) with a team-best three saves and 2.33 ERA, Second Team Empire 8; and junior catcher Nora Passuite (Lockport, NY/Lockport), .250, 15 runs, 10 RBIs. Four freshmen will join the Saxons when they open the season with a 12-game Spring Break trip to Tuscon, AZ, March 9-14.