ROCK HILL, S.C. - Defending champion Lenoir-Rhyne was a near unanimous pick to win the 2012 title by the league's coaches, while the Anderson University softball team has been tabbed to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference this season.
Head Coach Tommy Hewitt, who is entering his seventh season at the helm of the Trojan program, will be looking to replace departed second baseman Kinsley Durham and third baseman Emily Monteith, but sees six starters returning to the lineup in 2012, in addition to a wealth of newcomers expected to battle for playing time on the diamond. Offensively, AU has seven of its top nine hitters returning for the 2012 campaign.
The Trojans will be anchored by a pair of returners named to the Preseason All-SAC First Team, in addition to the reigning SAC Freshman of the Year.
Sophomore shortstop Abby Child and senior Amber Duncan earned all-conference accolades, with Child returning for her second season after started all 43 games last season. She finished the season with a .319 batting average and led the team with nine home runs and 28 walks. Child finished in the top 10 in the SAC with a .449 on-base percentage. Duncan appeared in every game last season, ranking second on the team with eight doubles and 20 walks, while recording 25 RBI.
First baseman Danielle Swygert was named the league's Freshman of the Year following a season that saw the rookie lead the team with a .380 batting average, while recording a team-best 52 hits, 13 doubles, nine home runs 33 RBI and committing just three errors in the field in 42 contests. She ranked among the top ten in the league in slugging percentage (.686), doubles, home runs and total bases (94) after beginning the season with a 23-game hitting streak.
Sophomore Laura Jansky returns behind the plate after a freshman campaign in which she started 32 contests and saw action in 39. She notched a .283 batting average and committed just two errors on the season, while throwing out eight runners who attempted a stolen base. Senior outfielder Brook Lucas batted .267 for the Trojans last season, while recording 16 RBI in 42 games. The native of Rock Hill, S.C., batted .424 with runners in scoring position.
Sophomore Charlotte Sieber also saw substantial playing time while roaming the outfield, appearing in every game a year ago. She posted a .310 batting average, 25 RBI and six doubles and ranked third among returning players with 35 hits, while recording a five- game hitting streak in March.
Hewitt will be looking for Duncan and a pair of newcomers to take over in the circle, as Larissa Ostapiak, a 5-foot-9 right-hander, joined the Trojans after a stellar prep career in Canada. She posted an impressive 1.14 ERA as a senior and batted .380 with nine home runs and earned Most Valuable Player at both the 2009 and 2010 Ontario Provincial Championships, where she sported a .125 ERA and a .416 batting average
Freshman Jessica Neidigh earned nine wins and struck out 66 batters during her high school career with Brookwood (Ga.) High School. Offensively, she ranked fourth in career games played (147) for the Lady Broncos, leading the team in hitting in both 2009 and 2010, finishing as the school's career hits leader with 173.
Lenoir-Rhyne went 45-10 overall and 16-2 in league play in 2011, winning both the SAC regular season and Food Lion Tournament championships. L-R received all but one of the preseason poll's first-place votes.
The Bears also led the way with five selections to the preseason All-SAC Team - four on the First Team and one on the Second Team. Pitcher Dawon Millwood returns for Lenoir-Rhyne after posting 1.43 ERA and leading the SAC with an opponent batting average of .186 last season, earning the conference's Pitcher of the Year Award. She is joined on the Preseason All-SAC First Team by teammates Jessica Fellmeth at first base, Carlee Carpenter at second base and Jody Mizelle in the outfield.
Carson-Newman was second in the preseason poll and will be led by three preseason first team all-conference selections in catcher Brianna Shoemake, outfielder Kim Whaley and 2011 SAC Player of the Year Mary Shealy, who led the league with 36 pitching wins while also hitting .299 with 12 home runs.
No. 3 in the preseason poll was Wingate, which returns two preseason All-SAC Second Team members after going 31-15 overall in 2011. WU was followed in the poll by Catawba, which will be led in 2012 by preseason All-SAC First Team selection Kayla Myers at the utility position.
Tusculum was No. 5 in the preseason poll, followed by Lincoln Memorial - which received the other first-place vote - and Anderson. Tusculum placed two student-athletes on the preseason All-SAC Team, while LMU has three spots.
Rounding out the poll was Mars Hill at No. 8, Newberry at No. 9 and Brevard at No. 10. Mars Hill had two players named preseason All-SAC, while Brevard had three.
"Last year we were picked 10th in the preseason poll and this year we are picked seventh," said Hewitt. "I'm not quite sure what the preseason polls mean but I know one thing for sure, it's not so much where we start but more importantly in what direction we move."
The 2012 softball season is scheduled to get underway on Feb. 2 with Carson-Newman taking on St. Andrews Presbyterian. The 2012 Food Lion SAC Championship will take place April 19-22 on the Tusculum campus in Greeneville, Tenn.
The Trojans open their 2012 schedule on Sunday, Feb. 5, at Peach Belt-foe Lander. First-pitch versus the Bearcats is slated for 2:30 p.m.
SAC 2012 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
Team Points (1st-Place)
1. Lenoir-Rhyne 99 (1)
2. Carson-Newman 84
3. Wingate 77
4. Catawba 71
5. Tusculum 57
6. Lincoln Memorial 48 (1)
7. Anderson 37
8. Mars Hill 34
9. Newberry 25
10. Brevard 18
Preseason All-SAC First Team
C - Brianna Shoemake, Carson-Newman
P - Mary Shealy, Carson-Newman
P - Dawon Millwood, Lenoir-Rhyne
1B - Jessica Fellmeth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B - Carlee Carpenter, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS - Abby Child, Anderson
3B - Natalie Haithcox, Mars Hill
OF - Brianna Mulkey, Lincoln Memorial
OF - Jody Mizelle, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - Kim Whaley, Carson-Newman
Utility - Kayla Myers, Catawba
DP - Amber Duncan, Anderson
Preseason All-SAC Second Team
C - Brittany Barrineau, Wingate
P - Emily Huneycutt, Catawba
P - Elizabeth Johnson, Tusculum
1B - Allison Justice, Catawba
2B - Ashley Roof, Wingate
SS - Bridget Eicher, Lincoln Memorial
3B - Haily Jarman, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - Ashley McCurry, Mars Hill
OF - Ashley Burke, Tusculum
OF - Brittany Fowler, Brevard
Utility - Chelsi Mallory, Brevard
DP - Emily Boykin, Brevard
