BREVARD, N.C. - The 2017 Brevard College softball season is set to begin on Feb. 19, as the Tornados travel to Converse for opening day.
Brevard will have a chip on their shoulder, as they were picked to finish 12th in the conference in the preseason polls. At the top of the rankings this preseason is Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears finished last season conference runner-up to Catawba, and earned a trip to the first round of the Southeast Regionals last season. Carson-Newman received 117 votes for second place in the preseason polls, and rounding out the top-three is Wingate who totaled 109 votes. Last year's conference champions, Catawba is fourth in the polls.
Head coach Bob Lowe returns for his second year at the helm of program, after leading Brevard to a 19-35 overall record last season and a 6-16 conference mark. Lowe has added Karavin Dew to his staff this year. Dew was a 2013 graduate of Western Kentucky, where she earned two first team All-Sun Belt Conference selections.
Coach Lowe is optimistic, even though the numbers are lower this season. The team has focused heavily on conditioning throughout the fall and spring to increase their stamina with a small roster to stay healthy both physically and mentally to reach its goal of making it to the postseason.
"We need a little luck on our side to stay healthy as our numbers are very limited," said coach Lowe. "Our goal is to make postseason play, and with a good number of the starters returning from last season, we have a good mindset in knowing what it takes to get to the conference tournament."
The Tornados will rely on some new faces this season, after losing two key players from last year in Jamie Hrobak and Kinsey Parrish, who were named to the All-South Atlantic Conference second team at the end of last season.
Sophomore Ricki Kuhn (Newton, N.C.) will be called upon in the circle to lead Brevard's defense. As a freshman Kuhn appeared in thirteen games and recorded 36 strikeouts, giving up 126 hits in 88 innings of work.
Lauren Parker (Charlotte, N.C.) finished with the highest batting average last season, ripping off a .368 mark. The senior started in all 54 games, recorded 63 hits, and had a 100 percent fielding record, anchoring the Tornados' outfield. Paige Atkinson (Georgetown, Del.) drove in 35 runs last season in the cleanup spot. The junior finished the season with a .529 slugging percentage, and led the team with seven homeruns.
The Tornados will rely on two other seniors in Kinny Davis (Greenville, S.C.) and Ashleigh Ivey (Concord, N.C.), who also started in every game last season. Davis finished with the second highest batting average at .342, and tied Parker with 63 hits. Ivey finished with .965 fielding percentage on the season, while Brittan Miller (James Island, S.C.) enters her junior year after making 51 starts a season ago.
"Our seniors are our leaders, and we will need them to make the necessary adjustments and provide the leadership every game for us to be successful," said coach Lowe.
Brevard adds several new faces to the team this year, including four freshmen and one transfer. Amber Hong (Graniteville, S.C.) joins the Tornados after two years playing for USC Salkehatchie, where she was named to the All-Tournament team. Three freshmen will also be called upon this season to make an impact.
"The girls work hard and are focused in every practice," said coach Lowe. "Last year we had a strong defense and good pitching. We see signs of the same this year, but will need to increase our offense to be competitive. The small numbers allow us to fine tune our individual skills."
Brevard opens up on Feb. 19 with a doubleheader at Converse, before hosting their first home series on the newly added turf on Feb. 21, against Bluefield College at 4 and 6 p.m. Conference play is set to begin on March 18, as Brevard hosts Catawba.
2017 SAC Softball Preseason All-Conference
1st Team:
OF - Erin Boone, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - Christina Walker, Lenoir-Rhyne
OF - Kristen Stinnard, Catawba
1B - Sydney Landreth, Lenoir-Rhyne
2B - Madison Poe, Lenoir-Rhyne
SS - Madison Carter, Lenoir-Rhyne
3B - Misty Doran, Wingate
DP - Taylor Lail, Mars Hill
UTL - Katie McLaurin, Wingate
C - Sarah Kenley, Lenoir-Rhyne
P - Allison Webster, Carson-Newman
P - Augie Pena, Anderson
2nd Team
OF - Christina Linton, Newberry
OF - Naomi Sapp, Wingate
OF - Riley Morris, Coker
1B - Ashton Whitaker, Queens
2B - Taylor Barcomb, Coker
SS - Kristen Toppel, Carson-Newman
3B - Casey Stanek, Mars Hill
DP - Katherine Shumaker, Catawba
UTL - Mackenzie Cates, Lenoir-Rhyne
C - Cailah Niles, Anderson
P - Rachel Weidner, Wingate
P - Lauren Rudesheim, Anderson
Preseason Poll
- Lenoir-Rhyne - 130
- Carson-Newman - 117
- Wingate - 109
- Catawba - 93
- Anderson - 91
- Lincoln Memorial - 90
- Newberry - 68
- Queens - 66
- Mars Hill - 52
- Coker - 47
- Tusculum - 43
- Brevard - 19