Preseason Information / Roster Breakdown
USA Today / NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll
2010 BIG EAST Preseason Poll Points 1. Louisville (6) 2. DePaul (4) 3. Notre Dame (2) 4. USF (1) 5. Syracuse 6. St. John's 7. Connecticut 8. Pittsburgh 9. Providence 10. Georgetown t11. Seton Hall Villanova 13. Rutgers
137 131 125 112 101 78 71 64 44 42 38 38 33
2009 2009 Overall Record BIG EAST Record 48-11 39-14 43-17 34-22 30-21 25-26 29-22 25-24 17-34 17-20 24-31 23-26 23-33
19-5 18-3 19-4 12-10 12-10 11-13 11-12 9-15 9-14 8-14 10-14 6-18 6-18
2009 BIG EAST Regular Season Finish 3rd 1st 2nd 5th 4th 7th 6th 10th 9th 11th 8th 12th 13th
(x) indicates first place votes The BIG EAST Conference -- Louisville was named the favorite to win the BIG EAST softball championship this season in the annual Preseason Coaches' Poll. Melissa Roth, 2009 BIG EAST Player of the Year, leads a group six returning players for the Cardinals who were all-BIG EAST selections a year ago. Four squads received first-place votes and topped 110 points in this year's poll. Louisville garnered six first-place votes and 137 total points to earn top billing in 2010. DePaul came in second in this year's poll, only six points behind Louisville. The Blue Demons received four firstplace votes and 131 points. Notre Dame, last year's BIG EAST Tournament champion, was third in the poll with two first-place votes. The final first-place vote in 2010's coaches' poll was awarded to USF.
Final 2009 ank R Team Record 1. Washington (30) 51-12 2. Alabama 54-11 3. Florida 63-5 4. Michigan 47-12 5. Arizona St. 47-19 6. Arizona 46-17 7. Georgia 47-12 8. UCLA 45-11 9. Missouri 50-12 10. Stanford 48-11 11. Oklahoma 41-16 12. California 38-20 13. Georgia Tech 46-15 14. Ohio St. 47-11 15. Northwestern 31-15 16. Tennessee 40-18-1 17. Baylor 40-22 18. LSU 34-18-1 19. North Carolina 47-13 20. Massachusetts 41-10 21. DePaul 39-14 22. Louisville 48-11 23. Florida St. 44-16 45-13 24. Louisiana-Lafayette 25. Fresno St. 38-20
Final 2009 Rank 1 3 2 6 5 7 4 9 8 10 16 11 13 12 18 20 15 19 17 14 23 RV 22 25 RV
RV: North Dakota St. 44, Jacksonville St. 38, Cal Poly 37, Nevada 31, Nebraska 28, Texas 23, Notre Dame 21, Cal St. Fullerton 17, San Diego St. 15, Iowa 11, Kentucky 11, Purdue 10, Hawaii 8, Mississippi St. 7, Southern Illinois 7, Cal St. Northridge 6, Texas A&M 6, Tulsa 6, Creighton 4, BYU 3, Houston 3, Oklahoma St. 3 The USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll is voted on by NCAA Division I head coaches representing each conference.
This season's BIG EAST Championship returns to Louisville, Ky., for the third straight season. The three-day tournament begins on May 13 with four quarterfinal games. The semifinals on May 14 and the championship game on May 15 will be aired live on CBS College Sports.
Top Returnees Jody Valdivia / P / Jr. (19-5, 2.28 ERA, 26 GS, 18 CG, 3 SHO, 159.1 IP, 165 K) Christine Lux / IF / Sr. (.329 avg., 54 H, 40 R, 11 2B, 15 HR, 51 RBI, .695 slg.) Dani Miller / OF / So. (.324 avg., 44 H, 22 R, 13 2B, 11 HR, 46 RBI, .662 slg.) Heather Johnson / IF / Sr. (.356 avg., 63 H, 21 R, 14 2B, 3 HR, 39 RBI) Erin Marrone / OF / Jr. (.355 avg., 33 H, 24 R, 6 2B, 5 HR, 14 RBI)
Key Losses Brittney Bargar / P (24-12, 1.72 ERA, 34 GS, 28 CG, 10 SHO, 236.2 IP, 175 K) Linda Kohan / IF (.310 avg., 53 H, 29 R, 13 2B, 11 HR, 36 RBI, 12 SH) Beth Northway / DP (.356 avg., 47 H, 35 R, 13 2B, 5 HR, 16 RBI)
Newcomers Jackie Bowe / P (Galesburg, Mich. / Galesburg-Augusta) Amy Buntin / UT (Franklin,Tenn. / Brentwood) Kathryn Lux / IF (Glendale Heights, Ill. / Glenbard West) Brittany O’Donnell / P (Howell, N.J. / Red Bank Catholic) Kelsey Thornton / OF (Sugar Land,Texas / Elkins)
Roster Breakdown by ... Class Seniors (3) Clay, Johnson, C. Lux Juniors (6) Fleury, Jorgensborg, Kelly, Marrone, Pitzenberger, Valdivia Sophomores (4) Maldonado, Miller, O’Connor, Wright Freshmen (5) Bowe, Buntin, K. Lux, O’Donnell, Thornton Position Pitcher (4) Bowe, Kelly, O’Donnell, Valdivia Catcher (3) Buntin, Clay, Wright Infield (8) Fleury, Johnson, C. Lux, K. Lux, Marrone, Miller, O’Connor Outfield (5) Jorgensborg, Maldonado, Marrone, Pitzenberger, Thornton Utility (2) Buntin, Kelly
State California (6) Fleury, Johnson, Jorgensborg, Miller, Valdivia, Wright Florida (1) Kelly Illinois (2) C. Lux, K. Lux Indiana (1) Clay Michigan (1) Bowe New Jersey (2) Maldonado, O’Donnell New York (1) O’Connor Tennessee (1) Buntin Texas (2) Pitzenberger, Thornton Virginia (1) Marrone
2010 SOFTBALL
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