2019 Conference Previews: Big Sky
It was a successful season for the teams of the Big Sky Conference. In a release from the conference’s website, “The 2018 Big Sky Conference softball season saw a league-record three teams qualify for the postseason. Sacramento State earned the conference’s automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament field after claiming its first regular season and tournament titles. Northern Colorado and Weber State represented the league in the National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) with Weber State making its second-straight appearance in the tournament.” Sacramento State and Weber State shared the 2018 regular season conference title and Sacramento State claimed the tournament title.
| TEAM | CONFERENCE RECORD | OVERALL RECORD |
|---|---|---|
| Sacramento State | 14-7 | 31-20 |
| Weber State | 14-7 | 28-26 |
| North Dakota | 10-8 | 26-27 |
| Portland State | 10-10 | 18-34 |
| Montana | 10-11 | 25-30 |
| Northern Colorado | 8-9 | 28-28 |
| Idaho State | 8-13 | 13-34 |
| Southern Utah | 6-15 | 9-38 |
*North Dakota leaves the Big Sky and joins the Summit League in 2019.
Catch up on all of our conference previews here: Big West, Big Ten, CUSA, Atlantic 10, Big Sky, CAA, Summit League, American, ACC.
TEAMS TO WATCH:
SACRAMENTO STATE
One of the conference’s “main stay” programs, Sacramento State will look to defend its regular season and tournament titles in 2019. The Hornets do lose its top hitter and ace pitcher so the question will be “who can step up” for Sacramento State to fill those holes and lead the Hornets to another conference title?
PORTLAND STATE
Portland State could be one to watch in the Big Sky this season. The Vikings return its top ten hitters and all four pitchers. Portland State is a heavily loaded upperclassmen team who can swing the bat a bit but needs to strengthen its presence in the circle.
WEBER STATE
Another team that often sits atop the conference, Weber State returns a good core of its offensive line up but are losing its ace pitcher, Kirtlyn Bohling, who heavily anchored the Wildcats in 2018.
NORTHERN COLORADO
Tying a school record for wins in 2018, Northern Colorado has quietly but noticeably been improving over the past couple seasons and are worth checking in on.
BIGGEST QUESTIONS:
TIME TO RELOAD
Montana graduated 11 seniors in 2018, including its four top hitters. Luckily for the Grizz, four of the five members of arguably the strongest pitching staff from top to bottom in the conference will return. Last season, Montana finished sixth in conference batting average (.249) and second in team ERA (3.08). Can Montana’s replace the offense it graduated while also improving on its .249 batting average? If so, they could be in the mix.
TO IMPROVE ON ALL FRONTS
Idaho State had some promising outcomes during the 2018 season but are losing its two top hitters and one was also the team’s ace (graduation and transfer). However, the Bengals welcome two new freshmen arms (Mailee Newman and Autumn Pease) and have seven juniors who enter the upperclassmen phase of their careers which can often be big breakout years for those players. Can Idaho State find a way to improve across all facets of the game and make 2019 a season of improvement and success?
GOTTA PITCH IT
Southern Utah is an interesting program. The Thunderbirds can swing it a fair amount and finished third in the conference with a team batting average of .272. In 2019, Southern Utah will return the majority of its offensive lineup and have added junior transfer, Mikelle Magalogo. Magalogo comes from Southern Idaho and hit .271 in 144 at bats with seven doubles, seven home runs, 22 RBIs, and posted an on-base percentage of .390 and should help the Thunderbirds immediately. Pitching is this program’s biggest weakness. Can Southern Utah develop its staff in 2019 and lower the team ERA of 7.58? There are two freshmen arms on the roster who can hopefully provide some fresh blood and stability in the circle for the Thunderbirds; if this piece of the puzzle can be solved, it will be fun to see how much Southern Utah can improve in the “win” column.
DON’T SLEEP ON THE BEARS
Northern Colorado finished in the middle of the Big Sky in both pitching and hitting but as mentioned above the Bears are getting better and better each year. UNC welcomes seven new freshmen, including two pitchers, and brings back a good core of its offensive line up. Unfortunately UNC does lose most of its pitching staff so the biggest question for the Bears becomes: can this team maintain the trajectory of improvement being made while filling the new holes left in its pitching staff? If UNC can answer these questions they could cause some problems in the conference for its opponents and make it things a bit more interesting in the race for the title.
PLAYERS TO WATCH:
Suzy Brookshire, Sacramento State
Batting .371 with 51 RBIs, 13 doubles, 27 walks, and 18 home runs in 2018 Brookshire is our front runner for the Big Sky Player of the Year if she can replicate or better last season’s performance.
Kalei Watkins, Southern Utah
Watkins is a two-way player for Southern Utah! Last season she hit .360 with 30 RBIs, ten doubles, and nine home runs. She also pitched 68.2 innings and appeared in 19 games. While her pitching statistics weren’t great, if Watkins can have a breakout season on the mound while also continuing her success at the plate she will have a strong case for both of the Big Sky’s Player/Pitcher awards.
Ashlyn Visser, Weber State
Weber State will look to Visser to lead the offense in 2019 after a very successful 2018 campaign: .358 batting average, 58 RBIs, ten doubles, and twelve home runs. Visser should be considered a strong candidate for the conference’s Player of the Year honors.
Kaela Morrow, Portland State
Another one of the conference’s biggest bats, Morrow hit .348 with 31 RBIs, ten doubles, two triples, and seven home runs.
Colleen Driscoll, Montana
One of the front runners for Pitcher of the Year, Driscoll boasts the lowest ERA of anyone returning to the Big Sky in 2019. She will need to be good, if not better, this year to help anchor her team that is losing a lot of its offensive power to graduation. She will also probably need to be prepared to take on more innings from the 104.1 she threw in 2018.
Jordyn Wiatrack, Northern Colorado
Hitting .333, knocking in 29 RBIs, six doubles, a triple, and five home runs keep an eye on how this senior finishes off her career at UNC.
Valerie Vidal, Northern Colorado
Another pitcher we are excited to follow in 2019, Vidal could be another contender for “Pitcher of the Year” honors. Over 215.1 innings of work she posted a 2.86 ERA and an 18-12 record. If Vidal can lower the number of walks she issues even further and UNC can provide her better run support Vidal could be looking at a strong, break out season.
Savannah Corr, Sacramento State
In order for Sacramento State to hold its seat at the top of conference, Corr will need to be good in the circle. Through 106.2 innings of work she posted an ERA of 3.35 and a 7-8 record through 23 games. With the graduation of former ace, Celina Matthias, the Hornets will relay heavily on Corr to fill that role and provide stability in the circle.
PROJECTIONS:
PROJECTED CONFERENCE CHAMPION (REG. SEASON): Sacramento State
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Suzy Brookshire, Sacramento State
PITCHER OF THE YEAR: Colleen Driscoll, Montana
COACH OF THE YEAR: Lori Perez, Sacramento State
