MELBOURNE, Fla. – Set to kick off its 2018 season on Feb. 1, the Nova Southeastern softball team has been picked to finish seventh in the Sunshine State Conference, as released by the league office on Friday morning.
The Sharks, who finished 21-29 overall and 10-20 in conference play in 2018, are ready to kickstart their season in two weeks, welcoming 11 new faces to the squad.
"I think we are definitely in a situation where we have gained the talent to be able to increase in a lot of things," explained head coach
Julie LeMaire. "For starters, pitching is definitely our strength coming out of last year and we've even added depth to that. In addition, we've also added a lot of strength in offense, we should be able to hit a lot better with some power."
Along with the 11 newcomers, NSU retained nine players from last year's team, including starting pitcher
Lexie Storrer and key returners
Kayla Kight and Keely Mayers, who are anticipated to have breakout senior seasons. One of six Sharks to start in all 50 games played, Storrer posted a 2.33 ERA in 2018 to go along with 102 strikeouts, and is also the leading returning player in RBIs.
Nova Southeastern's newcomers are sure to make a difference from the start, with
Miriam Schmoll offsetting Storrer in the circle and
Suka Van Gurp adding some power behind the bat and strength in the middle infield.
Sunshine State Conference coaches selected Saint Leo as the preseason number one for the fourth consecutive year, earning 94 points and six first-place votes in the poll. Defending SSC champions, Palm Beach Atlantic narrowly finished second in the poll with 91 points and the remaining five first-place votes. The University of Tampa followed in third place with 81 points, while Embry-Riddle holds fourth place with 71 points and Florida Tech sits in fifth with 66 points. Rounding out the SSC preseason poll are Rollins (54 points), Nova Southeastern (45 points), Florida Southern (37 points), Lynn (28 points), Eckerd (23 points), and Barry (15 points).
The 2019 season will begin on Feb. 1 at the DII Gulf Shores Invitational in Gulf Shores, Ala. with the first game scheduled against Montevallo.
As always, keep up with the Sharks on Twitter @NSU_Softball and @NSUSharks.
