Ithaca Headlines 2014 Empire 8 Softball Poll

[jonriv]

Heading into the 2014 season, the Empire 8 coaches agree that Ithaca is the team to beat, as the Bomber's received four first place votes on the way to 33 points to headline the Softball preseason poll. Last year's tournament runner-up, Utica, received two first place votes and 29 points as Elmira College capped the top three with 28 points and one first place vote.

The 2013 season saw St. John Fisher win the Empire 8 Championship as the No. 3 seed, knocking off No.1 Utica College on its home field. The Championship win earned the Cardinals an automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championship, where they were named the No. 1 seed in the Ithaca Regional. Utica joined Fisher on the national stage, receiving its first ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.

With 25 all-conference players from the 2013 season back in the fold and incoming talent to fill key positions around the diamond, even more success could be on the horizon for the Empire 8 softball teams.

Returning Talent
The Bombers wrapped the 2013 season with a 25-15 overall record and 7-5 conference mark. As a team, Ithaca batted .317 with 63 doubles and 31 homeruns. Ithaca returns All-Region all-stars shortstop Francesca Busa and first baseman Syndey Folk. Busa started in all 40 of the Bombers' games, recording 51 hits and scoring 38 runs as she batted .349. Folk batted .390 on the year and led Ithaca in hits (53), doubles (13), triples (3), home runs (10) and RBIs (37).

Reigning E8 Coach-of-the-Year Pat Mineo has many reasons to be optimistic about his Pioneers (34-14, 9-3), who are coming off their best season in program history. The 2013 edition of the Pioneers broke 17 different team records and return Empire 8 Rookie of the Year Alysa Russell and Player of the Year Chelsea Monroe. Russell totaled 61 hits last season, the second most on the College's single season list. Monroe finished the year with a .362 batting average, 38 RBI, and tied the school's single season record with ten home runs.

Elmira (25-14, 8-4) is coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history, tying the most wins in a single season in EC history. Expectations are high for the Soaring Eagles as the entire starting infield from a season ago returns, led by one of the best pitchers in the conference Alex Puglisi. Puglisi threw 197 innings last season, stuck out 196 batters, and posted a 1.39 earned run average. She matched a single-season record with 17 victories while also setting an EC single-season record with 10 shutouts in 2013.

Fisher (35-14, 8-4) will have plenty of shoes to fill due to graduation. All-Region player Jessie Smryski returns for the Cardinals after making big plays both at the plate and in the outfield for Fisher in her rookie campaign. In 42 appearances, Smryski finished with a batting average of .332 with 46 hits and eight doubles. She also helped push runners into scoring position, as she was second on the team with nine sacrifice bunts.

Seven starters from a season ago return as the Saxons seek to improve on a 24-19 record, which included a 7-5 mark in conference play that sent AU to the Empire 8 championship tournament. The Saxons have return several offensive weapons, including Dana Torchia who hit .333 with 17 RBIs and a team-high 30 runs and Jasmine Picini who hit .333 with 12 doubles, 11 runs and 24 RBIs.

Gavriella Risman-Jones returns to lead the Ducks (7-33, 0-12) after being named second-team all-conference in her rookie season. Risman-Jones led the team with a .325 batting average and 10 stolen bases. She also legged out a team-high three triples while ranking third on the squad with 16 runs, fourth with a .407 slugging percentage and fifth with a .346 on-base percentage.

Carly Pike was tabbed a first-team utility player as she split time between first base, third base and the pitcher's mound for Nazareth (7-24, 3-9). Pike finished second on the Golden Flyers' team with a .308 batting average with 28 hits in 91 at bats. She also hit two home runs and had 18 RBIs. She also hit .333 in 12 conference games with one homer and 10 runs batted in.

The Highlanders begin their second year as an NCAA provisional member and will complete a full league schedule. However, games against the Highlanders will not impact conference records/standings. Samantha Patoff and Jessica Hayner are two of the top returners for Houghton. Patoff led the team in hitting (.327) and assists (53). She also had a .909 fielding percentage from shortstop and was a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts. Hayner, a utility player, hit .241 at the plate and registered 39 putouts and 19 assists in the field.

Coaching Changes
The Empire 8 welcomes two new coaches to the league as Fisher promoted long time assistant Bari Mance and Houghton hired Nora Duffy-Reece.

In the 10 seasons that Mance has been on staff, Fisher holds a 299-157-1 (.654) record. During the past three seasons, the Cardinals have recorded 30 or more wins, making for the most wins in a three-year span in program history.

As an assistant, Mance has also overseen the Cardinals capturing all four of the program's Empire 8 Championships, winning four of the last six Conference crowns. The team also has made an appearance in the NCAA Championship in each of those years after earning the E8's automatic bid along with a 2012 at-large selection after finishing the season 33-12.

Duffy-Reece takes over as head coach of the Houghton Highlanders after playing and coaching for two of the most successful programs in the NAIA and NCCAA. A 2011 graduate of Olivet Nazarene University (Ill.), Duffy-Reece recently completed a two-year stint as an assistant coach at Shorter University in Rome, Ga. While at Shorter, Duffy was part of a program that won 101 games, while capturing an NAIA National Championship in 2012 and finishing as the NCCAA National Championship runner-up in 2013.

Dates to remember
Though temperatures have routinely been around freezing and snow continues to fall, the first softball games of the 2014 season are took place over weekend. Elmira opened with games in Georgia, however 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 28, and the league's nine teams will engage in conference play throughout the month of April. The final regular-season E8 doubleheaders are scheduled for April 19.

The four-team, double-elimination playoff will be played on Friday, May 2 and Saturday, May 3. Depending on how the double-elimination format plays out the tournament may be extended to Sunday, May 4. The postseason champ will receive the E8's automatic bid to the 2014 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.


2014 Empire 8 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
Ithaca (4 first place votes) 33 points
Utica (2) 29
Elmira (1) 28
St. John FIsher 19
Alfred 18
Stevens 12
Nazareth 8