IRVINE, Calif. – Two-time PacWest defending champion Concordia was voted by the conference’s head coaches as the unanimous preseason favorite for the 2020 PacWest softball season. Defending Player of the Year
Kayla Neff from Biola and defending Pitcher of the Year
Callie Nunes from Concordia received the preseason version of those awards.
Concordia reached the NCAA West Region finals last year and has returned all but one player from last year’s team for the 2020 season. Nunes was a consensus All-American last year after recording a 33-6 record with a 1.34 ERA and 266 strikeouts in 219.1 innings pitched. She also pitched three no-hitters last year as she helped the Eagles defend their PacWest title.
There are four other Eagles that were named to the Preseason All-PacWest team.
Sydney Sprinkle is the reigning PacWest Freshman of the Year and was named to the NFCA All-American third team as a first baseman.
Amanda Gjertsen is a three-time All-PacWest honoree and had a team-best 44 RBIs last season for the Eagles while playing third base.
Megan Massa is back for her sophomore year as an outfielder for Concordia. She was named to the All-West Region second team last year.
Hawai`i Hilo edged Azusa Pacific for the second spot in the preseason poll, matching where the teams finished in the standings last year. The Vulcans are led by a pair of Preseason All-PacWest selections in
Ryala Jacobs-Kea and
Brinell Kaleikini. They were both named to the third-team All-PacWest last year and are among a group of seven returning starters for Hawai`i Hilo.
Azusa Pacific landed two players on the Preseason All-PacWest team.
Amanda Woods is a repeat selection at second base as a two-time All-PacWest honoree.
Kat Ung led the Cougars’ pitching staff last year and was named to the All-West Region team, and she is also a preseason All-PacWest player.
Biola’s battery made the preseason All-PacWest team, including Neff being named Preseason Player of the Year, while
Paige Austin is back on an All-PacWest roster. Neff had an impressive .423 batting average last season with eight home runs and 34 RBIs. Her OPS of 1.199 helped her earn last year’s highest honor. Austin is going into her third year as the ace of Biola’s pitching staff with 29 career wins. Last year, she had a 1.34 ERA and pitched seven shutouts.
Hawai`i Pacific is picked fifth in the preseason poll ahead of Academy of Art, which is followed by Dominican and Chaminade. Holy Names and Notre Dame de Namur round out the preseason poll. The Urban Knights are under the leadership of first-year head coach
Steve Rianda, while Holy Names also has a new leader in
Jessica Rodgers. At Notre Dame de Namur,
Katlin Olesky has taken over the helm of the softball program.
The 2020 season will start on Friday with a pair of tournaments going on. Academy of Art and Dominican will be at the Desert Stinger in Las Vegas, while Concordia is hosting a new tournament at Great Park, which will feature four PacWest teams. Hawai`i Pacific will be among those teams and while the Sharks are still in Southern California, they will also play a pair of games against the reigning West Region champion UC San Diego on Tuesday, February 4.
The conference season will begin later in February when Academy of Art plays a four-game series at Biola on February 21-22. On February 27-28, Azusa Pacific will play a series at Hawai`i Hilo, while Concordia visits the Vulcans on March 5-6 for their own four-game series. The regular-season finale is on April 25 as Biola plays at Azusa Pacific, and Hawai`i Hilo visits Chaminade.
| 2020 PACWEST SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL |
|
TEAM |
POINTS |
2019 RECORD |
| 1. |
Concordia (10) |
100 |
47-8 (30-3) |
| 2. |
Hawai`i Hilo |
81 |
31-17 (24-11) |
| 3. |
Azusa Pacific |
78 |
31-17 (22-11) |
| 4. |
Biola |
70 |
24-16 (19-11) |
| 5. |
Hawai`i Pacific |
62 |
31-24 (22-14) |
| 6. |
Academy of Art |
51 |
20-19 (16-11) |
| 7. |
Dominican |
37 |
12-35 (9-26) |
| 8. |
Chaminade |
29 |
13-34 (10-25) |
| 9. |
Holy Names |
27 |
13-32 (12-22) |
| 10. |
Notre Dame de Namur |
14 |
3-44 (3-33) |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
| 2020 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST SOFTBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Class |
B/T |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Kayla Neff * |
Biola |
C |
Sr. |
R/R |
Huntington Beach, Calif. / Edison |
| Sydney Sprinkle |
Concordia |
1B |
So. |
R/R |
Palm Desert, Calif./Palm Desert |
| Amanda Woods |
Azusa Pacific |
2B |
Jr. |
R/R |
Glendora, Calif. / Glendora |
| Amanda Gjertsen |
Concordia |
3B |
Sr. |
R/R |
Mission Viejo, Calif. / Capistrano Valley |
| Sarah Kretschmar |
Concordia |
SS |
Sr. |
R/R |
Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Ranch |
| Rayla Jacobs-Kea |
Hawai`i Hilo |
OF |
Jr. |
L/R |
Waianae, Hawai`i/Midland College |
| Megan Massa |
Concordia |
OF |
So. |
L/R |
Fairfield, Calif./Rodriguez |
| McKenzie Schumacher |
Dominican |
OF |
Jr. |
L/R |
Merced, Calif. / El Capitan |
| Brinell Kaleikini |
Hawai`i Hilo |
UT |
Jr. |
R/R |
Honolulu / Moanalua |
| Callie Nunes ^ |
Concordia |
P |
Jr. |
R/R |
Modesto, Calif. / Ceres |
| Paige Austin |
Biola |
P |
Jr. |
R/R |
Los Alamitos, Calif. / Los Alamitos |
| Kat Ung |
Azusa Pacific |
P |
Jr. |
L/L |
Redondo Beach, Calif. / Redondo Union |
* - Preseason Player of the Year
^ - Preseason Pitcher of the Year