BEHREND SOFTBALL EXPECTED TO FINISH AT TOP OF STANDINGS
Penn State Behrend, back-to-back AMCC champions, are once again expected to defend their conference title, according to league coaches.
Penn State Behrend, back-to-back AMCC champions, are once again expected to defend their conference title, according to league coaches. Penn State Altoona was selected to finish second, with D'Youville College expected to round out the top three.
Penn State Behrend senior catcher Shannon McDonnell has been voted for the second year in a row as the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year. In 2016, she was a first team all-conference selection and ranked second in AMCC play with 21 RBIs. She hit .431 to rank her fourth on the team, while registering 25 hits, 15 runs, four doubles and three triples. McDonnell also went 5-for-5 in stolen bases and led with a .981 fielding percentage. She led the team with eight multiple-hit and eight multiple-RBI games. Overall, she recorded 43 hits, 31 RBIs, 12 extra-base hits, including a pair of home runs.
Penn State Altoona senior Kate Burge and Behrend sophomore A.J. Nichols were chosen as AMCC Preseason Co-Pitchers of the Year. In 2016, Burge led the AMCC in shutouts (6) while ranking second in appearances (34), starts (31), wins (22), complete games (25), innings pitched (209 1/3), and strikeouts (167), fourth in opponent batting average (.216) and earned run average (1.61), and sixth in strikeouts per game (5.58). During the season, she was awarded the AMCC's Pitcher of the Week honor three times, and at the conclusion of the spring, she was voted first team All-AMCC and to the first team of the Eastern College Athletic Conference's Division III South Region All-Star squad. Prior to the start of the 2017 season, Kate has been named to the second team of the Fastpitch News NCAA Division III Preseason All-American Team.
Nichols was named the 2016 AMCC Newcomer of the Year, while earning a pair of spots on the all-conference second team as a pitcher and a catcher. She played in every conference game, tallying 17 RBIs on 21 hits. Nichols smacked five doubles, two triples and only struck out twice. As a pitcher, she went 5-1 in the circle and threw five complete games, only allowing two earned runs for a 0.36 ERA. She struck out 39 batters, tying her for eighth in AMCC.
The AMCC tournament will be held May 5-7 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 rankings and players to watch.