Thursday, February 2, 2017

UMC Picked to Finish 16th in NSIC Preseason Softball Poll



CROOKSTON, Minn. – The University of Minnesota Crookston softball team was picked to finish 16th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Thurs., Feb. 2 by the league office. The Golden Eagles will look to continue to climb up in the standings this year as they enter their third season under Head Coach Don Stopa.

Minnesota Crookston made strides last season as they won seven more games than the previous season. UMC would finish with an 11-39 (5-25 NSIC) mark on the 2016 slate. The Golden Eagles will be led in 2017 by their Player to Watch Gabriel Antolak (Jr., C, Zimmerman, Minn.) and Pitcher to Watch Bailey Braatz (Sr., RHP, Buffalo, Minn.). Antolak hit .331 as a sophomore with three home runs, 21 RBI’s and 24 runs scored. She has the leading batting average of all returnees. Braatz led the Golden Eagles in wins (five) and innings pitched (118.1) on her junior season. She also led the team with 49 strikeouts.

In addition to Antolak and Braatz, UMC returns five starters overall in the field and two starters in the circle. Victoria Bayliss (Jr., OF, West Bloomfield, Mich.) hit .307 as a sophomore with 29 runs scored. Mikayla Jones notched three wins on the year in the circle with 84.0 innings pitched and 35 strikeouts.

Minnesota State University, Mankato, was the unanimous pick to win the league after going 45-17 last season on their way to an appearance in the NCAA Central Region Tournament. University of Minnesota Duluth was slotted second with 194 points, while Winona State University was picked third with 191 points.

Maggie Kadrlik of Augustana University, a 2016 D2CCA All-Central Region First Team pick, was named as NSIC Preseason Player of the Year. Coley Ries of Minnesota State was picked as NSIC Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Ries was a D2CCA Second Team All-American last season.

The Golden Eagles will open up the 2017 season Feb. 11 at the Presentation College Indoor with games against Valley City State University and Northern State University. 

2017 NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll
Rk
Team
Points
1
Minnesota State (15)
225
2
Minnesota Duluth (1)
194
3
Winona State
191
4
Augustana
187
5
Sioux Falls
163
6
Wayne State
143
7
Upper Iowa
138
8
Bemidji State
131
9
Northern State
119
10
Southwest Minnesota State
104
11
St. Cloud State
94
12
Concordia-St. Paul
67
13
University of Mary
63
14
Minot State
47
15
MSU Moorhead
37
16
Minnesota Crookston
17
First place votes in ( )

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