DC Softball Picked Second in HCAC Preseason Poll

GREENWOOD, Ind. – The Defiance College softball team was pegged to finish second in the 2009 HCAC Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released on Wednesday, January 28. DC grabbed two first-place votes, while placing five on the HCAC Preseason Players-to-Watch list.

DC received 68 points with two first-place votes, finishing just seven points behind 2008 HCAC regular season co-champion Rose-Hulman. Bluffton, who was selected third, tallied two-first place votes and 66 points, while Transylvania and Anderson rounded out the top five.

Expectations are once again high for Defiance, after coming off one the most successful seasons in program history. DC returns eight starters and 15 letterwinners from last year's squad that went 24-18, while claiming a HCAC Tournament title and securing DC's first NCAA Regional Final Four appearance.  The Jackets have racked up 76 victories in the past three seasons, including a 33-12 mark in the HCAC and will be looking for their sixth consecutive 20-win campaign.

Leading Defiance will be HCAC Preseason Player-to-Watch honorees Justine Johnston, Melanie Bushman, Marah Robinson, Malory Faling and Aarika Davis. The team will also be bolstered by returning starters Amanda Auzins, Kayla Crager, Stephanie Lieto and Tasha Stucke. Allison Ramsay, Kelly Schnipke and Katie Bowman headline a talented group of reserves, who will be helped by a ten-player freshman class.

Johnston, one of six seniors on the squad, was named to the HCAC Watch List for the fourth time in as many years. The senior hurler had banner year in 2008, earning All-HCAC honors for the third-straight season to go along with NCAA All-Regional honors. The Wauseon, Ohio native set a DC single-season record with 25 complete games, while posting a record-tying 18 victories and a career-best 1.69 earned run average. A three-time HCAC Player of the Week, Johnston was also named to the NFCA Academic All-America list as well as the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team.

Bushman, who missed last season due to injury, gives Defiance a dependable hitter at first base. The senior has a career .333 batting average with four homeruns and 40 runs batted in her two seasons at DC. Bushman, an All-HCAC selection in 2006, hit a career-best .339 as sophomore in 2007, driving in 17 runs and tallying seven doubles.

Robinson, the reigning HCAC Freshman of the Year, made an immediate impact for DC in her rookie campaign and will be counted on once again to lead the DC offense. The sophomore outfielder started all 42 games and led the Jackets with a .375 batting average, 45 hits, 18 bases on balls, seven homeruns, 74 total bases, a .617 slugging percentage and a .453 on-base clip. Robinson put together three six-game hitting streaks over the course of the season, while recording 12 multi-hit games.

Faling established herself as one of the HCAC's top catchers last season, filling the gap left by three-time All-HCAC performer Kelsey Sugg. The sophomore hit .296 with five long balls and a team-best 29 runs batted in on her way to All-HCAC honors.  Faling was also a force behind the plate, where she threw out nearly 50 percent of runners attempting to steal. The Clark Lake, Mich. native topped Defiance with nine doubles, while recording eight multi-RBI games on the season.

Davis, an All-HCAC performer in 2007, earned HCAC Preseason Player-to-Watch honors for the second consecutive season. The junior, who started all 42 games at third base in 2008, gives DC a reliable defensive stopper, after recording 100 assists and 31 putouts a year ago. Davis finished third on the team with 15 runs batted in, while tallying four doubles and 11 runs.

Defiance kicks off the 2009 season on March 6, when they travel to Danville, Ky. to face Centre College before heading further south to compete in the Rebel Spring Games in Orlando, Fla. DC is scheduled to open up its home slate on March 21, when they host Heidelberg for a doubleheader at Sal Hench Field.