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Central Islip, N.Y. - The Pioneers of LIU/C.W.
Post have been chosen as the preseason favorites in the East Coast
Conference softball poll as voted upon by the conference coaches.
The Pioneers, coached by Jamie Apicella, posted a 45-17 overall mark last season including a 17-3 mark in ECC play, placing second in the regular season. After finishing as the ECC tournament runner up, the Pioneers caught fire in the NCAA Northeast regional tournament, posting four straight victories on the way to qualifying for the NCAA Division II Softball World Series.
C.W. Post earned 117 points including seven first place votes edging second place Adelphi - last year's regular season champion - which garnered 112 points including the remaining four first place votes.
The remainder of the field included Dowling College (99 points), the University of New Haven (84), NYIT (84), Queens College (68), Molloy College (55), the University of Bridgeport (41), St. Thomas Aquinas College (36), Mercy College (23) and Concordia College (19).
Dowling senior outfielder Taras Wallace was the coaches' pick as preseason Player of the Year. Wallace hit .455 last year with six home runs and 38 RBI and slugged .727 on the way to earning ECC Player of the Year and First Team All Conference accolades. She went on to earn Daktronics Northeast Regional Player of the Year honors as well as a spot on the Louisville Slugger/NFCA Division II All-Northeast Region Team.
C.W. Post senior Samantha Yodowitz was tabbed as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Yodowitz posted a 31-9 mark last season with a 1.29 ERA with 177 strikeouts and just 45 walks on the way to earning Second Team All ECC honors as well as NFCA/Louisville Slugger Second Team All-American and All Region First Team accolades.
Joining Wallace and Yodowitz on the preseason all conference first team were Christine Robinson, Diana DiPiano, Samantha Johnson and Julia Schaper of Adelphi; Christy Softy, Holly Eringis, Katie Younes and Melissa Median of C.W. Post; Breanne Gleason of New Haven; and Karen Thorne of St. Thomas Aquinas.
A list of the team poll and all conference teams follow.
2008 ECC Softball Preseason Poll
(First place votes in parentheses)
|
School |
Points |
2007 Record (ECC) |
|
C.W. Post (7) |
117 |
45-17 (17-3) |
|
Adelphi (4) |
112 |
39-13 (18-2) |
|
Dowling |
99 |
38-18 (17-3) |
|
New Haven |
84 |
26-19 (10-10) |
|
NYIT |
72 |
20-20 (11-9) |
|
Queens |
68 |
20-25 (11-9) |
|
Molloy |
55 |
21-23 (9-11) |
|
Bridgeport |
41 |
12-30 (6-14) |
|
St. Thomas Aquinas |
36 |
12-26 (6-14) |
|
Mercy |
23 |
0-20 (0-20) |
|
Concordia |
19 |
11-17 (5-15) |
Preseason All Conference Team
|
Samantha Yodowitz (2) |
Sr. |
P |
C.W. Post |
Suffern, N.Y. |
|
Christine Robinson |
So. |
P |
Adelphi |
Oceanside, N.Y. |
|
Breanne Gleason (3) |
So. |
P |
New Haven |
Bristol, Conn. |
|
Christy Softy (1) (R) |
So. |
C |
C.W. Post |
Floral Park, N.Y. |
|
Holly Eringis |
Sr. |
1B |
C.W. Post |
Tewksbury, Mass. |
|
Katie Younes (1) |
Sr. |
2B |
C.W. Post |
Newbury, Mass. |
|
Karen Thorne (1) |
Sr. |
SS |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
Fishkill, N.Y. |
|
Diana DiPiano (1) |
Jr. |
3B |
Adelphi |
Valley Stream, N.Y. |
|
Taras Wallace (1) (P) |
Sr. |
OF |
Dowling |
Barnegat, N.J. |
|
Samantha Johnson (1) |
Jr. |
OF |
Adelphi |
Port Jervis, N.Y. |
|
Melissa Medina (1) |
So. |
OF |
C.W. Post |
Levittown, N.Y. |
|
Julia Schaper (1) |
Sr. |
UT |
Adelphi |
Warwick, N.Y. |
Preseason Player of the
Year: Taras Wallace,
Dowling
Preseason Pitcher of the Year:
Samantha Yodowitz, C.W. Post
(1) First Team 2007
(2) Second Team 2007
(3) Third Team 2007
(P) Player of the Year, 2007
(R) Rookie of the Year, 2007
