(MWC) - Cornell aims for back-to-back Midwest Conference (MWC) championships as they are tabbed as one of the favorites in the 2014 MWC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll. The Rams are predicted to take the South Division title while Beloit is picked to finish atop the North Division.
Beloit picked up three of the five first place votes and finished with 13 points. Carroll (one first place vote) and Lawrence both picked up 11 points and are tied for the second spot in the North while St. Norbert picked up the final first place vote and had nine points. Cornell took home the MWC Championship in 2013 and had five first place votes and 25 points to headline the South. Lake Forest is picked to join the Rams in the MWC Tournament with the other first place vote and 21 points. Illinois Col. (16 points) and Monmouth (14 points) are tabbed for third and fourth while Knox (nine points) and Grinnell (five points) round out the field.
The conference will look familiar this season as 18 All-MWC selections return (six from the North Division, 12 from the South Division) led by all three of the All-South Division Player and Pitchers of the Year. Whitney Leiderman (Lake Forest) was the 2013 South Division Player of the Year while both Jackie Sernek (Cornell) and Jessi Werner (Lake Forest) shared the South Division Pitcher of the Year award.
--2014 MWC Preseason Coaches Poll--
North Division
1. Beloit (3) 13
t2. Carroll (1) 11
t2. Lawrence 11
4. St. Norbert (1) 9
5. Ripon 6
South Division
1. Cornell (5) 25
2. Lake Forest (1) 21
3. Illinois Col. 16
4. Monmouth 14
5. Knox 9
6. Grinnell 5
NORTH DIVISION PREVIEW
Beloit Buccaneers – 7-29 (5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Kim Zarling, 7th season, 50-152 (22-47 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/1
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/1
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/0
Returning All-MWC: Emily Dorjath, catcher (First Team), Jen Zucker, pitcher (First Team)
Beloit Head Coach Kim Zarling returns nearly her entire team from 2013 with eight starters returning and 12 letterwinners returning…All-MWC catcher Emily Dorjath hit .264/364/.516 with 11 doubles and four home runs to top the large group of returning hitters…Tala Cornell led the team and finished fifth in the conference with six home runs while also stealing seven bases…Mikayla Martin led the team with 20 walks in only 104 plate appearances…All-MWC pitcher Jen Zucker set a new Beloit record with 164 strikeouts in a season and also threw a no-hitter against Grinnell which was the fourth in school history…Zucker picked up all seven wins for the Bucs and posted a 2.84 ERA, holding hitters to a .286 average…
Carroll Pioneers – 12-22 (8-6 MWC)
Head Coach: Amy Gradecki, 5th season, 59-70 (24-24 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/9
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 4/4
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 0/2
Returning All-MWC: Hannah Sanidas, catcher (First Team)
In her fifth season at Carroll Amy Gradecki looks to get the Pioneers back to the MWC Tournament for the second time in the past three years after missing the tournament last season…All-MWC catcher Hannah Sanidas finished second in the MWC both in batting average (.462) and on base percentage (.505)…Sanidas also led the league with 33 runs batted in and collected five doubles and two home runs while not committing an error defensively…Rebecca Menelle leads the infield group after hitting .288/.333/.308 with a pair of doubles… The Pioneers return only one pitcher who threw innings last season and only 11.2 innings of the 216.1 that were thrown by the Carroll staff…Amanda Desotell is the lone returnee after posting a 3.60 ERA in six appearances which included one start…
Lawrence Vikings – 21-15 (7-7 MWC)
Head Coach: Kim Tatro, 21st season, 321-296-1
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/2
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/1
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/1
Returning All-MWC: Anna Wawiorka, third base (First Team)
2013 MWC North Division Co-Coach of the Year Kim Tatro is leading the Vikings for her 21st season and is in search of the school's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since the 1999 season…Tatro welcomes back All-MWC third baseman Anna Wawiorka who hit .319/.345/.425 with 10 doubles and a triple in her freshman season…Alex Chiodo compliments Wawiorka after hitting .333/.444/.444 last season with five doubles and two triples…Taylor Dodson hit .303/.425/.379 in 83 plate appearances with five doubles…Lawrence has to deal with the loss of MWC North Division Pitcher of the Year Shannon Murray who threw 148 innings last season…Kara Vance threw 64.1 innings that included 12 starts and a 3.16 ERA…
Ripon Red Hawks – 11-17 (5-9 MWC)
Head Coach: Jen Mueller, 6th season, 88-74 (39-22 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 7/8
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/4
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 1/2
Returning All-MWC: Ashley Gnacinski, pitcher/outfield (First Team)
Ripon Head Coach Jen Mueller needs 12 wins to reach 100 for her career and is second in program history for career wins…Ripon missed the MWC Tournament in 2013 for consecutive seasons and is only the second time missing the tournament since 2005…Cassie Bilotto is the top returning hitter after a 2013 season where she hit .361/.400/.578 with six doubles and four home runs…Ashley Gnacinski compliments Bilotto after hitting .325/.337/.458 with nine doubles and a triple…Gnacinski also is the only player back who pitch an inning last season as she posted a 4.90 ERA in 55.2 innings with seven complete games in nine starts…The Red Hawks have to overcome the loss of Stephanie Rieuwpassa both offensively and defensively after she hit .435/.479/.775 and threw 103.1 innings with 137 strikeouts and a 1.83 ERA.
St. Norbert Green Knights – 20-15 (10-4 MWC)
Head Coach: JoAnn Krueger, 17th season, 294-250-1 (123-61 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/6
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 1/1
Returning All-MWC: Jessica DeMeuse, outfield (First Team)
Under the watch of JoAnn Krueger the Green Knights have played in the MWC Tournament each of the past seven seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times in that span…St. Norbert was one of only three teams to hit at least .300 last season (.302) and finished fourth in both hits (281) and runs scored (168) while stealing a league-best 43 bases…Samantha Gross is the top returning hitter after hitting .318/.336/.374 with three doubles and a home run…All-MWC outfielder Jessica DeMeuse hit three home runs last season and hit .282/.362/.417 while stealing six bases…Morgan Rusch headlines the pitching staff after throwing 115.2 innings that included 12 complete games in 17 starts…
SOUTH DIVISION PREVIEW
Cornell Rams – 23-16 (9-6 MWC)
Head Coach: Shanda Ness, 8th season, 134-124-1 (9-6 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/7
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 1/1
Returning All-MWC: Jackie Sernek, pitcher (First Team), Kari Martin, first base (First Team), Abby Haubold, catcher (First Team)
2013 MWC South Division Co-Coach of the Year Shanda Ness guided her Rams team to MWC Tournament championship in Cornell's first year back in the MWC and returns eight total starters including three All-MWC players…Offensively Cornell led the league in runs scored (218), hits (340), RBI (195), doubles (67), total bases (485), ERA (2.29), batters struck out (216), and batters struck out looking (62)…All-MWC first baseman Kari Martin finished fifth in the league with a .417 average, fourth in slugging percentage (.650), and sixth in on base percentage (.462)…All-MWC catcher Abby Haubold hit .385/.432/.446 with four doubles in 27 games played…Shortstop Renata Rankin slugged .591 with eight doubles and six home runs while hitting .355…All-MWC pitcher Jackie Sernek started 19 games and posted a school-record seven shutouts with a 1.70 ERA…Sernek was also named 2013 MWC South Division Co-Pitcher of the Year…
Grinnell Pioneers – 1-28 (1-14 MWC)
Head Coach: Amanda Reckamp, 4th season, 3-87 (1-34 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/6
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 5/4
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 3/0
Returning All-MWC: None
Amanda Reckamp and the Pioneers are in search of the school's first trip to the MWC Tournament since 2006 and the first trip to the NCAA Tournament in school history…Grinnell brings back all 160.2 innings pitched from last season led by Jennifer Fulton and Summer Wilke…Fulton started 11 games, appearing in 15, which included eight complete games and picked up the only win for Grinnell in a2013…Wilke tossed 52.1 innings in 11 starts and had five complete games…Alyssa Bean hi for a .284/.392/.388 line last season that included four doubles and a home run…Kristina Weber is back after missing most of 2013 with an injury…In nine starts last season Weber hit .320/.370/.480 with a double and a home run…
Illinois Col. Lady Blues – 20-14 (10-5 MWC)
Head Coach: Meghan Roman, 2nd season, 20-14 (10-5 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/3
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 8/1
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 3/0
Returning All-MWC: Paige Cullison, outfield (First Team), Courtney Kwasnitza, catcher (First Team), Brittany Fanella, outfield (First Team), Amanda Price, pitcher (First Team)
In her first season at the helm Meghan Roman nearly led her team to a MWC Tournament berth and returns nearly her entire team for 2014…The Lady Blues led the league in all three slash categories with a .319 batting average, .373 on base percentage, and a .452 slugging percentage…Paige Cullison was named to the All-MWC South Division team after leading the league with a .491 batting average and a .545 on base percentage while finishing second with a .709 slugging percentage…All-MWC catcher Courtney Kwasnitza hit .392/.424/.520 with six doubles, two triples, and two home runs while striking out only six times in 133 plate appearances…All-MWC outfielder Brittany Fanella led the team with seven home runs while hitting for a .347/.441/.653 line…All-MWC pitcher Amanda Price leads the pitching staff in 2014 after posting a 2.85 ERA in 71.1 innings pitched with six complete games…
Knox Prairie Fire – 6-25 (5-10 MWC)
Head Coach: Ashley Sims, 5th season, 29-89 (9-39 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/5
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/3
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/1
Returning All-MWC: Amber Eisha, pitcher (First Team)
Ashley Sims is back for her fifth season and hopes to get the Prairie Fire to the MWC Tournament for the first time in school history…All-MWC pitcher Amber Eisha is back and is looked upon to lead the Prairie Fire offensively and in the circle…Last season Eisha led Knox with a .381/.419/.608 line with eight doubles, a triple, and four home runs while also throwing 103 innings that included 10 complete games…Karli Shields will provide a solid one-two punch after throwing 61.2 innings in 12 starts (four complete games)…Kayla Behrens led the team with five home runs last season and also had four doubles…Rhiiannon Neuville batted .263 with three doubles and a triple and will compliment both Eisha and Behrens on the offensive side…
Lake Forest Foresters – 17-18 (12-3 MWC)
Head Coach: Joe Kinsella, 8th season, 130-116-1 (69-13 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 9/6
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 7/2
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 2/2
Returning All-MWC: Whitney Leiderman, outfield (First Team), Jessi Werner, pitcher (First Team), Kayla Borgra, outfield (First Team)
Lake Forest has made the MWC Tournament each of the last 13 seasons and aims to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2006 under Joe Kinsella…The Foresters led the MWC with 26 home runs as well as finishing second with a 2.49 team ERA…South Division Player of the Year Whitney Leiderman is back after hitting .339/.389/.626 with seven doubles, a triple, and eight home runs…Leiderman led the league in home runs and stolen bases (15) while finishing fourth in total bases (72) and runs scored (29)…Kayla Borgra tied for fifth in the conference in average (.417) with eight doubles and two home runs while finishing fifth with a .477 on base percentage…Kaleigh Ambrose led the league with a 1.64 ERA in 38.1 innings with a 1.07 WHIP…Jessi Werner started 16 games that included nine complete games and held opposing hitters to a .271 average…Werner also finished fifth in the MWC with 90 strikeouts in only 99.2 innings pitched…
Monmouth Fighting Scots – 15-19 (8-7 MWC)
Head Coach: John Goddard, 7th season, 99-107 (46-23 MWC)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 14/5
Starting Position Players Returning/Lost: 6/3
Pitcher with Starting Experience Returning/Lost: 3/1
Returning All-MWC: Emily Watkins, outfield (First Team)
Led by John Goddard the Fighting Scots look to get back to the MWC Tournament this season after missing it for the first time since the 2007 season…All-MWC outfielder Emily Watkins is the top offensive returnee after hitting .353/.416/.637 with six doubles, a triple, and seven home runs…Watkins ranked fifth in the league in 2013 in slugging percentage…Sommer Foster hit seven home runs to co-lead the team with Watkins and also batted .330 with a .598 slugging percentage…Third baseman Caitlin Lingle hit .279/.321/.510 with five doubles, two triples, and five home runs to add to a strong returning offensive roster…Taylor Smith finished fourth in the league with a 1.96 ERA in 39.1 innings…Alyssa Edler was sixth in the MWC with a 2.09 ERA and also posted eight wins while striking out 51 batters…
