Softball Predicted to Win Second NEC Championship
The Central Connecticut softball team has been selected to win the 2015 Northeast Conference Softball Championship in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Central Connecticut softball team has been selected to win the 2015 Northeast Conference Softball Championship in the annual NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, the league office announced Thursday. The Blue Devils are looking for their second NEC Championship in three years. They are coming off a 29-16 season a year ago where they were eliminated from the NEC Tournament in the semifinal game against LIU Brooklyn after winning the championship in 2013 for the first time in program history.
Central just barely edged the 2014 champion Bryant Bulldogs in the poll. The Blue Devils and Bulldogs both received four first-place votes from the league's nine softball coaches, but CCSU averaged a higher respective finish overall to earn the top spot. This is the second-consecutive year the Blue Devils have been picked to finish first in the preseason rankings.
LIU Brooklyn and Robert Morris ranked third and fourth, respectively, with the Blackbirds picking up the remaining first-place vote.
Fairleigh Dickinson edged out Saint Francis U for the fifth spot on the list. The Red Flash were sixth followed by Wagner, Mount St. Mary's and Sacred Heart to round out the nine team poll.
The Blue Devils return 17 players from last years roster, including the NEC Pitcher of the Year in standout senior Laura Messina.
Messina has already raked in the preseason accolades as she readies for her senior year in the circle. Messina was named to the 2015 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List and was ranked as the eighth-best pitcher in the nation by Fast Pitch News.
Messina recorded 14 shutouts last season for CCSU, which tied for the national lead. The senior hurler and three-time All-NEC honoree led the conference in innings pitched (238.2), strikeouts (266), strikeouts looking (62) and games started (37). Messina will look to further obliterate the CCSU record books, as she already owns the school's career records for wins, games, games started, complete games, innings pitched, and strikeouts. She also holds the single season records for appearances, innings pitched, complete games, wins and strikeouts.
Classmate Kat Malcolm will also return for CCSU and will look to pace the Blue Devil offense. Malcolm led the Blue Devils with a .511 slugging percentage and was second on the team with a .311 average a year ago.
Junior infielder Eileen Purcell provided consistent production for the Blue Devils last year and started in all 45 games for the CCSU, leading the team with 24 RBI.
The Blue Devils are set to open their season on Friday, February 27 at the Elon Softball Tournament in Elon, NC. Central is scheduled to play a double-header, starting with Brown at 12 noon, followed by Elon at 2:15 p.m.
2015 Northeast Conference Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Central Connecticut (4)
2. Bryant (4)
3. LIU Brooklyn (1)
4. Robert Morris
5. Fairleigh Dickinson
6. Saint Francis U
7. Wagner
8. Mount St. Mary's
9. Sacred Heart
First place votes in parentheses.
