Softball Selected Third In 2020 Preseason Poll
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. — The University of Saint Joseph softball team was picked third in the south division of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced by the GNAC front office on Wednesday afternoon. The annual poll is voted upon by the conference's 12 head coaches. The Blue Jays enter the 2020 softball season as the defending GNAC Champions, having won just the second softball GNAC title in school history, and the first since 2000. Head coach Jim McKinnon returns for a 15th season, attempting to lead his squad to back-to-back championships for the second time in the history of USJ Athletics.
Emmanuel led the way with five first-place votes and 62 points in the North Division, while fellow Boston school Suffolk University also received five first-place nods for 60 points. Saint Joseph's College of Maine took the third spot in the North with the other two first-place votes and 57 points.
In the South Division, Johnson & Wales University had four of the 12 first-place votes for 61 points to set the pace, just ahead of Simmons University (59 points, three first-place votes), and defending GNAC champion University of Saint Joseph (55 points, five-firsts).
2020 GNAC Softball Preseason Poll
NORTH:
1. Emmanuel (5) - 62
2. Suffolk (5) - 60
3. Saint Joe's Maine (2) - 57
4. Rivier - 30
5. Norwich - 29
6. Anna Maria - 14
SOUTH:
1. JWU (4) - 61
2. Simmons (3) - 59
3. St. Joseph CT (5) - 55
4. Albertus - 40
5. Regis - 22
6. Lasell - 15
USJ starts the 2020 season with a fairly young 25 player roster once again (8 freshmen and 10 sophomores), having lost several seniors to graduation, including the MVP of the 2019 GNAC Tournament, junior pitcher Amaria Sharon (Tolland, Conn.). However, the Blue Jays do return several players who made contributions in the lineup during the championship run, including senior captains McKenna Driscoll (Bristol, Conn.) and Bianca Pappacoda (East Haven, Conn.). Junior tri-captain Alessandra Milardo (Plantsville, Conn.), who made key hits that led to two runs in the championship game last year, also returns for the Blue Jays.
The 2020 campaign will mark the second season the GNAC has shifted to divisional play. In conference play, teams compete in a doubleheader with all five in-division opponents, and also play a doubleheader with three of the six non-divisional opponents for a 16-game league slate.
The GNAC Tournament is scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 28. Teams will be seeded 1-4 by division with the #3 and #4 seeds playing a single-elimination contest for the two remaining spots in the six-team double-elimination portion of the tournament. The No. 1 seed from the North Division will host the Saturday-Sunday portion of the playoffs in 2020.
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