For the third consecutive year, the Ithaca College softball team has been selected as the top team in the Liberty League preseason poll in a vote by the league’s head softball coaches. In just their second year with the league in 2019, the Bombers won back-to-back conference titles and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional.
Ithaca was recognized as the preseason favorite with 46 points and five first-place votes (coaches cannot vote for their own teams). Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) was not far behind the Bombers in second with two first-place votes and 43 points while the University of Rochester was third with a first-place vote and 40 points. Clarkson University rounds out the top-four with 31 points. The Golden Knights are followed by Union College (22), Skidmore College (19), St. Lawrence University (16) and the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT, 7).
Ithaca (28-9-1, 11-1 Liberty League) will look to replicate its recent success with the Liberty League in 2020, but it won’t be an easy task with the return of only six starters (three position players, three pitchers) from last season. The Bombers also have a new head coach in the dugout for the first time in 30 years with the retirement of long-time head coach Deb Pallozzi and the hiring of Hannah Quintana. Quintana is no stranger to Ithaca or the Liberty League as she was a catcher at Ithaca from 2004 through 2007 and she coached at league opponent Skidmore (2013-2019. Quintana will rely on ace pitcher Beth Fleming and outfielder Gabby Laccona (All-Liberty League First Team) to lead this year’s team.
Last season, the Bombers dominated from the pitching circle with a league-low 1.67 earned run average. Fleming, the 2019 Liberty League Pitcher of the Year will lead Ithaca’s pitching corps this season. In 18 starts, she went 12-3 with a 1.16 earned run average and 12 complete games. She struck out 116 in 108.1 innings and held opponents to a .194 batting average. She will be joined by Emily Holden (0.66 ERA) and Shannon Grage (3.13 ERA) in the bullpen. Holden (All-Liberty League First Team) went 9-2 in 22 appearances last season and recorded two saves. Ithaca was also one of the league’s best offensive teams with a .306 batting average. Laccona, an All-Liberty League first-team selection is the team’s top returning batter after ranking third on the team with a.333 batting average in 37 games last season. She produced 38 hits, 21 runs, eight extra-base hits and 16 runs batted. She struck out only three times last season and stole eight bases. Utility player Abby Shields, an All-Liberty League second team pick, also returns after hitting .308 last season. In 37 games, she had 32 hits, 16 runs, four doubles, two home runs and 26 runs batted in.
RPI wrapped up 2019 with the team’s tenth consecutive appearance in the Liberty League tournament to go with a 26-11 overall and 9-5 league record. The Engineers paced the conference in hitting last year with a .339 batting average and they will have a potent offense this year as they did not lose any players from the 2019 squad. Veronica DeStefano, an All-Liberty League first-team selection headlines the returning players after hitting a league-best .449 last year. In 38 games, she was tops on the team in hits (62), at-bats (138), doubles (10) and runs (40). She also had a triple, two home runs, 26 runs batted in and 21 stolen bases in 22 attempts. Other key players include All-Liberty League second-team selections Jessica Torch (.388) and Allie Hunt (.366). Torch stole a school-record 36 bases in 39 attempts and Hunt led the team in runs batted in with 34. Pitching should also be in good shape for RPI with All-Liberty League second-team pick Jaime Cleasby back in the pitching circle. Cleasby led the team in earned run average (2.56), complete games (11) and opponent batting average (.246) last season. In 19 appearances (14 starts), she went 9-4 allowing 89 hits in 93.0 innings.
Rochester posted a 25-19 overall record and a 9-5 mark in league play last season, which included a 10-2 mark at home, and reached the finals of the Liberty League championship. The Yellowjackets also open 2020 with the majority of their lineup intact from last season’s squad with the graduation of only four. Alizah Ayon hit the ground running in her first year with Rochester in 2019, starting all 40 games. She paced the team in batting average (.409), hits (52), home runs (13), slugging percentage (.748), on base percentage (.479) and fielding percentage (.990). Her 13 home runs was ranked 11th in Division III and she closed out her rookie campaign with 2019 Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Year honors. Samantha Re (.314) and Jessica Conforti (.319) are also back and will be a boost to the Yellowjacket batting order. In 29 games, Re (All-Liberty League Second Team) had 13 runs, three doubles, one triple and ten runs batted in. She was one of the team’s best fielders, making only one error in 56 chances last season (.982). Conforti played in 37 games for Rochester last season and in 91 at-bats she had 12 runs, 29 hits, five doubles and eight home-runs. She struck out only five times and walked six times. Rochester also welcomes back pitcher Hannah Leahy for her junior campaign. Leahy went 8-6 in 18 appearances (14 starts) last season. In 73.2 innings, she posted a 3.90 earned run average and held opponents to a .287 batting average.
Clarkson returned to the conference postseason for the second time in three years in 2019, finishing the year at 25-15 (9-5 Liberty League). The Golden Knights’ 25 wins matched the single season-record for victories and more than tripled the number of wins the team had in 2018. With the return of eight starters, they will look to build upon the success of last season this year. The duo of pitcher/utility player Olivia Zoeller and catcher/infielder Michelle Winn highlight the team’s key returnees. Zoeller, the 2019 Liberty League Co-Rookie of the Year, made her first year with Clarkson count as the team’s ace. She appeared in 23 games and made 15 starts with a team-low 2.03 earned run average. In a league-high 124 innings, she struck out 107 and went 10-7. From the plate, Zoeller hit .213 with nine runs and ten hits. Winn, who earned All-Liberty second-team honors last year is back to lead the team offensively. She finished the year hitting at a .356 clip with 17 runs, 47 hits, 13 doubles and a team-high five home runs. She totaled 75 bases in 2019, which is the most any Clarkson player in program history has recorded. Winn also currently holds Clarkson’s career-record in home runs (15).
Union will look to improve upon a 17-18 record (7-7 Liberty League) as the Dutchwomen narrowly missed the league tournament last season. They will be seeking a return to the postseason for the first time since 2017 after more than doubling their win total from 2018 last year. The Dutchwomen welcome back juniors Kendall Rogoff and Makayla Koehler. Rogoff, who only appeared in 10 games last season due to injury, finished the year second on the team with a .406 batting average. She had 13 hits, two doubles, a home run and 15 runs batted in. Koehler played and started all 35 games last season. She hit .281 to go with eight runs, 18 hits and five runs batted in. Classmate Stuart Buxton also returns after earning All-Liberty League second team honors in 2019. She started 31 games for the Dutchwomen, batting .350 and was tops on the team in hits with 36, eight of which were for extra bases. She scored 34 runs and plated 10 runs.
Skidmore will look to improve upon a 17-21 mark in 2020 and with the departure of only two players, the pieces could be in place for the Thoroughbreds to make a run. Skidmore also start a new chapter this season with a new head coach, Rinae Olsen. Olsen comes from Ithaca College where she was an assistant coach for the last six years. Olsen will rely on sophomores Megan White and Hannah Davis as well as senior Emily Popp to anchor the team. White (All-Liberty League Second Team) and Davis both had breakout rookie campaigns in their first season with Skidmore. White was tops on the team in hits (41), doubles (11) and home runs (6). She was also first among league leaders in runs scored (43) and triples (3). White played in all 38 games last season and boasted a school-record 18-game hitting streak. Davis led the team in batting with a .374 average, 37 hits, 20 runs, seven doubles and six home runs. Popp was a dual threat for the Thoroughbreds from the plate (.303) and the pitching circle (4.00 ERA). She recorded 27 hits, 10 runs, four doubles and a triple. In 98 innings, she struck out 79 and had seven wins on the year.
St. Lawrence put together an 18-16 campaign last year, posting a record over .500 for the second time in three seasons. The Saints will be led by a pair of All-Liberty League first-team selections in 2020—utility player Skylar Hein and outfielder Taylor Armijo. Hein was second among league leaders in batting average at .441. She was also fourth in doubles (11) and fifth in slugging percentage (.637). Hein, who split time behind the plate and at first base, also paced the team in home runs (3) and runs batted in (29). She committed just one error for a .994 fielding percentage. Armijo was the team’s leadoff hitter last season, hitting .365 with eight doubles and one triple. She was tops on the team with 33 runs scored and broke the Saints’ program record for stolen bases with 29 in 30 attempts. She also was nearly perfect defensively, with only one error in 2019 (.982 fielding percentage) while starting every game in center field for St. Lawrence.
A year of experience should translate well for
RIT (10-24), as the Tigers were a young squad in 2019 and the graduation of only five should bode well. Shortstop Erin Guinan headlines the returning players. Guinan was recognized with All-Liberty League honorable mention honors following her junior season. She hit .340 with 10 extra-base hits (8 doubles, 1 tirple, 1 home run) to go along with a team-best 19 runs batted in. Classmate Torie Adler is back after making 23 starts and appearing in 33 of 34 games from the pitching circle for the Tigers last year. In 118.2 innings, she recorded seven wins and one save. She tossed five complete games and was part of two shutouts. Raquel Estrada and Hannah Trumble also return after strong campaigns in 2019. Estrada paced the team in hitting with a .379 batting average, 20 runs scored, nine doubles, one home run and 16 runs batted in. Trumble played in all 32 games for the Tigers last season and drove in nine runs.
The 2020 softball season begins on Saturday, February 15 and Sunday February 16 with the University of Rochester taking a trip to Maryland for a three-game series against Salisbury University and one game versus The College of New Jersey.
2020 Liberty League Softball Preseason Poll
Place. Team, Points
1. Ithaca, 46 (5)
2. RPI, 43 (2)
3. Rochester, 40 (1)
4. Clarkson, 31
5. Union, 22
6. Skidmore, 19
7. St. Lawrence, 16
8. RIT, 7
(First-place votes are in parentheses)