PENN ST. ALTOONA EXPECTED TO THREE-PEAT IN SOFTBALL

Two-time defending AMCC tournament champion, Penn State Altoona, is expected to once again defend their title in 2015, according to the AMCC coaches.

March 1, 2015

Two-time defending AMCC tournament champion, Penn State Altoona, is expected to once again defend their title in 2015, according to the AMCC coaches. The Lions received four of ten first place votes. Mount Aloysius College and Penn St. Behrend tied for a second place finish and D'Youville College likely to take fourth.

Penn St. Altoona senior first baseman Kelly Chambers and Penn St. Behrend junior outfielder/pitcher Kelly Hedderick were selected as Co-Preseason Players of the Year. Chambers was a 2014 Second Team All-Conference selection and was named to the All-Tournament Team for the Ithaca Region of the NCAA Division III Tournament. She finished second in the AMCC in total bases (84), on-base percentage (.511), and slugging percentage (.757), was third in walks (18), and fourth in both runs (34) and home runs (7).

Hedderick was named to the 2014 ECAC Division III South Softball All-Star Second Team and is a two-time All-Conference selection. She hit .393 and smacked a conference-leading nine home runs last year. She also tallied 48 hits, 47 RBIs and 32 runs and posted a .721 slugging percentage.

D'Youville College junior Kalie McHenry was named the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. In 2014, she pitched in 22 games and finished with an 11-9 record. She pitched 140.2 innings and had 19 complete games, a 1.49 ERA and 120 strikeouts, all of which led the team. McHenry was the 2014 AMCC Pitcher of the Year and a two-time First Team All-Conference selection.

The AMCC tournament will be held May 1-3 at the site of the #1 seed, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Click here for the complete Preseason Poll and Players to Watch