DC Softball Picked Fourth in Preseason Poll

GREENWOOD, IND. -- The Defiance College softball team has been projected to finish in the fourth position in the coming Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference softball season by coaches around the conference.

Team 37 finished with 66 points in the poll, just three points behind Franklin. Transylvania earned eight of the nine first place votes and were picked as the favorite, followed by Anderson.

Hanover and Mount St. Joseph are picked to be in a fifth place tie, followed by Bluffton, Manchester, and Rose-Hulman.

The Yellow Jackets will look to build on the success from last season returning 12 letter winners from a squad that went 25-17 overall, 10-5 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference and earned the three-seed in the HCAC Tournament.

Under the guidance of HCAC Coach of the Year Jodie Holava, the Purple and Gold will look to compete among the top again this season welcoming back top returners junior Jordan Osborne, senior Sarah Kaya, junior Michaela Bauer, senior Haley Patty, junior Jackie Hartman and HCAC Freshman of the Year, sophomore Brooke Gostomsky. 

As a unit the Yellow Jackets plated 187 runs, recorded 329 hits, 47 doubles and 17 home runs. Hartman paced the way for DC with a team-leading 41 RBI, nine home runs and a .278 batting average. Gostomsky also found success at the dish tallying 34 RBI and a team-best 53 hits.

Defiance will start the 2018 season at the Sunkissed Games in Kissimmee, Fla. on Sunday, March 4 as they play a doubleheader with Illinois College at 3:45 p.m. and Bridgewater (Va.) at 6pm. DC will make their Sal Hench Field debut on Tuesday, March 20 with a pair of contests against Heidelberg.

HCAC Softball Preseason Poll

1. Transylvania - 89 (8)
2. Anderson - 73
3. Franklin - 69 (1)
4. Defiance - 66
t5. Hanover - 49
t5. Mount St. Joseph - 49
7. Bluffton - 42
8. Manchester - 29
9. Rose-Hulman - 20