College Softball News

2019 Conference Previews: Atlantic 10

TEAMCONFERENCE OVERALLREGULAR SEASON
UMass21-035-14
Fordham18-433-23
Dayton15-831-25
George Mason12-1022-28
Saint Louis11-1028-29
George Washington12-1133-21
Saint Joseph's11-1224-25
Rhode Island3-1712-35
St. Bonaventure3-1810-32
La Salle3-1912-34

Catch up on all of our conference previews here: Big West, Big Ten, CUSA, Atlantic 10Big SkyCAASummit LeagueAmerican, ACC.

TEAMS TO WATCH:

FORDHAM
The Rams have dominated the Atlantic 10 for as long as recent memory serves however head coach, Bridget Orchard, departed the program for Viillanova following 17th years at the helm. The Rams also lost stud pitcher and position player, Paige Rauch, to transfer after garnering all-conference honors as a freshman in 2018. Despite these key changes, Fordham returns a decent core of its offense and may have the arms in the circle to carry on where it left off in 2018. It could be an up and down year for Fordham but the pieces are there for another successful season.

UMASS
Coming off a highly successful season posting a perfect conference record of 21-0, fans of UMass should be excited for the 2019 season. The Minutewomen have gotten better and better under head coach, Kristi Stefanoni, and after being upset in the conference tournament and losing it’s bid to the NCAA Tournament expect UMass to be hungry for more.

GEORGE WASHINGTON
Shane Winkler was named head coach of the program August 8th of this past summer and outside of losing senior ace, Sarah Costlow, the Colonials return the majority of its starting lineup. With a new leader at the helm and a more experienced team (who posted some impressive offensive numbers) we’ll be watching for improvement from George Washington.

BIGGEST QUESTIONS:

CHANGE IS HARD
With the head coaching change at Fordham after so many years, how will Fordham respond?

BACK HER UP
St. Louis’ Sadie Wise is a stud. The now sophomore hit .347, with 16 home runs, 47 RBIs, and 12 doubles. Allie MacFarlane and Kat Lane are also .300+ hitters for St. Louis but the rest of the lineup needs to step up. Can the Billikens improve across the board to not only better them as a program but also help Sadie Wise continue to shine and post similar numbers in 2019? There is potential within that roster but the pieces need to come together.

HOLES TO FILL
UMass said goodbye to two major members of its squad: seniors Meg Colleran (P) and Jena Cozza (SS). Both graduated following dazzling careers at UMass and leave large holes for the Minutewomen to fill. Cozza hit an unbelievable .482 with 17 home runs while Colleran threw 112.1 innings with a 2.99 ERA. How will UMass solve this puzzle? And if they can’t, will they be able to defend 2018’s conference championship. Keep an eye on freshman pitcher, Kenadee Rausch, as she could be the answer UMass needs in the circle while the rest of the lineup has to work together to replace Cozza’s offensive production which also included 57 RBIs.

NEW LEADERSHIP, NEW YEAR
As mentioned above, George Washington has a new staff and returns a large portion of its roster. The team returns four of the Atlantic 10’s top six hitters in 2019! Can the Colonials piece all aspects of the game together – especially in the circle – and improve as a team to better on-field performance and result in 2019? If they can, they could make some noise.

PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Marta Fuentes, George Washington
Fuentes, now a senior, lead her team offensively batting .382 with five doubles, three triples, and 32 stolen bases. If she can replicate, Fuentes will be in the conversation for player of the year honors.

Jayme Cone, George Washington 
Hitting .378 with 16 doubles, 12 home runs, 61 RBIs, and *only* five strikeouts. She is considered our front runner for Player of the Year conference honors.

Elena Shelepak, George Washington 
Yet another big bat for the Colonials, Shelepak hit an impressive .370 with 15 doubles, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI. She should be consider another member of George Washington who could be in contention for POY honors.

Molly Kapala, Saint Joseph’s
The offensive leader for Saint Joseph’s, Kapala was one of the conference’s highest hitters. With a .351 average, 11 doubles, and 27 RBIs we are excited to see how she will produce again this season.

Sadie Wise, Saint Louis
The conference’s co-home run leader with 16, Sadie Wise boosted a high flying slugging percentage of .700 on top of her .347 batting average and 47 RBIs. If she can replicate a similar season she should easily be considered a top-3 contender for POY conference honors.

Kiara Oliver, UMass
The Minutewomen’s ace in 2018, pitching a lot of innings is nothing new to Oliver but with the loss of Colleran she may need to step up for even more. Oliver boosts the lowest ERA of any returning Atlantic 10 pitcher (1.76) but she must continue to limit the number of walks she allows (52) especially if she begins throwing even more innings. She is a veteran and we’re excited to watch her step into this new role.

Madie Aughinbaugh, Fordham
The battle between the arms of Fordham and UMass should be fun to watch! Aughinbaugh will need to lead the Rams in the circle following the departure of Rauch. Posting an 2.99 ERA over 157.0 innings of work, keep an eye on this potential new ace for Fordham.

Bekah Ansbro, George Mason
Posting a 2.74 ERA over 140.1 innings with a low threshold of walks (37), Ansboro is a work horse for George Mason who helps give her team a shot to compete.

PROJECTIONS:

PROJECTED CONFERENCE CHAMPION (REG. SEASON): UMass
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jayme Cone, George Washington 
PITCHER OF THE YEAR:
 Kiara Oliver, UMASS
COACH OF THE YEAR:
Kristi Stefanoni, Massachusetts

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