Ithaca Selected to Capture Empire 8 Softball Title
February 24, 2009
ROCHESTER, NY – Ithaca College, which had its six-year reign as conference champions snapped last season, was chosen to regain the title in the Empire 8 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Bombers, who won their seventh regional title in 10 years and finished fourth in the NCAA Division III Softball World Series, were the unanimous selection to win this year’s conference championship.
Ithaca is ranked 21st in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association preseason poll. Sophomores Kerry Barger and Allison Greaney earned first-team all-conference honors as rookies. Barger led all hitters with a .571 average in regular season conference play, while Greaney batted .405 with 14 runs scored and 11 runs batted in during regular season conference play. Junior first baseman Cait Ryan and sophomore infielder/outfielder Kait Dolan each garnered second-team accolades in 2008.
Alfred University, which earned the second seed in last year’s conference tournament and was eliminated by a pair of one-run losses, is the coaches’ choice to finish second this year. The Saxons won a school-record 24 games a year ago, setting school marks for team batting average (.335) and team slugging percentage (.465). Sophomore first baseman Ashley Passaro and junior second baseman Karen Folts earned first-team all-conference honors last season. Passaro led the team with a .457 batting average and set single-season school records for hits (48) and RBI (34). Folts, who will move from shortstop to second base to make room for junior college transfer Samantha Rollins, hit .367 with 26 runs scored and 26 RBI.
St. John Fisher College, which posted back-to-back one-run victories over Ithaca to capture last year’s conference championship and won two games in NCAA regional play, is picked third in the coaches’ preseason poll. Junior outfielder Samantha Vara and sophomore pitcher Melissa Blakeney were named to the all-conference second team in 2008. Vara hit .338 with 50 hits and 33 runs scored, and Blakeney went 4-2 with a 2.22 earned run average in regular season conference play. Senior pitcher Amanda Shevchuk finished 16-14 with a 3.03 earned run average and was named Most Valuable Player of the Empire 8 Softball Championship.
Nazareth College advanced to the conference tournament in just its second varsity season and is the choice of the coaches to place fourth again this season. Senior shortstop Laura Persico and junior hurler Lisa Nazarenko were named to the all-conference first team last season. Persico hit .404 for the season and led the Golden Flyers in runs, hits, doubles, home runs, and RBI. Nazarenko posted a 4-3 record in conference play with a league-high 58 strikeouts.
Rochester Institute of Technology is chosen to finish fifth in the preseason coaches’ poll. The Tigers are led by sophomore shortstop Emily McPherson, the 2008 Empire 8 Rookie of the year, who batted .439 with 50 hits and recorded a .920 fielding percentage with only 14 errors in 161 chances. RIT will feature a slew of newcomers, including eight first-year players, two sophomores, and junior college transfer Jessica French, who played for two-time reigning NJCAA national champions Monroe Community College.
Elmira College and Utica College share the sixth spot in this year’s preseason poll.
Junior Cassandra Bishop led the Soaring Eagles last season with a .429 batting average. Elmira finished 14-0 in non-conference play a year ago.
Sophomore outfielder Kim Martin returns for the Pioneers after earning first-team all-conference honors last season. She paced the team in batting average, hits, runs scored, and stolen bases.
2009 Empire 8 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Ithaca College 36 points
2. Alfred University 29
3. St. John Fisher College 26
4. Nazareth College 23
5. RIT 13
6. Elmira College 10
Utica College 10