We take a quick look at the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25 Poll – Preseason 2015 and provide a snap shot of each team.
No. 20 Auburn
Second year coach Clint Myers has a lot to look forward to in 2015 after an impressive first season that saw his squad win 42 games and break several team and individual records. The season ended with a hard fought battle with Minnesota at the Minneapolis regional. They return their best hitter in NFCA Co-Freshman of the Year Kasey Cooper who had an impressive freshman season posting a .418 BA with 18 HR and 77 RBI. Even better is that Myers returns all four of his top hitters. The Tigers return both of their main pitchers from last season in Lexi Davis (2.89 ERA) and Marcy Harper (3.74 ERA). They also add Radford transfer Rachael Walters who had a 2.92 ERA with 132 strikeouts over 151 innings. If their pitching holds up they will look to make a deep run into the WCWS in 2015. That gives them three solid starting pitchers to start the season. They will open the season on February 5, 2015 against Troy. Full Schedule: http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/w-softbl/sched/aub-w-softbl-sched.html
No. 19 LSU
The Tigers will return five everyday starters from 2014. Last year they won 38 games behind solid pitching and timely hitting. It never hurts when you return two All-Americans in senior outfielder A.J. Andrews and sophomore catcher/infielder Sahvanna Jaquish. Last season Andrews batted .329 and drove in 26 runs while Jaquish lead the team with a .341 BA and 17 homeruns. They also return junior infielder Bianka Bell who batted .337 with 14 homeruns. Baylee Corbello had a strong freshman season winning 19 games for the Tigers and posting a 3.16 ERA with 188 strikeouts. One big addition to the line-up is Carley Hoover who transfers in from Stanford. Hoover was one of the top players coming out of high school and in her brief stint at Stanford she went 2-0 with a 1.65 ERA and had 26 strikeouts. Corbello and Hoover should prove to be a great one, two punch for the Tigers. They open their season on February 6, 2015 against Memphis at home in the Tiger Classic. Full Schedule: http://www.lsusports.net/SportSelect.dbml?SPID=2174&SPSID=27871
No. 18 Nebraska
The Cornhuskers are coming off another strong season that saw them share the regular season Big Ten title with Michigan and win a NCAA regional title. They will return five All-Conference players and junior pitcher Emily Lockman who has earned first-team all-region honors the past two seasons. Last year Lockman went 20-5 with a 2.08 ERA and 110 strikeouts. The Nebraska line-up should get a solid boost from two key transfers in senior catcher Steph Pasquale and sophomore Cassie McClure. Pasquale was a third team All-American in 2013 for Temple while McClure was All-Big 12 and All-Region as a freshman in 2014 for Texas Tech. The Big Ten is deep this season and it will be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Nebraska will open their season at the Hotel Encanto Invitational in Las Cruces, NM on February 6, 2015 against Colorado State. Full Schedule: http://www.huskers.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=100&SPID=34&SPSID=112
No. 17 Missouri
Missouri may be one of the teams to watch in 2015 as they return all but one of their everyday position players. Last season the Tigers went 43-18 and placed third in the SEC. Leading hitter junior outfielder Taylor Gadbois returns after batting .421 and stealing 47 bases in 2014. On the mound they will be led by 2014 SEC Freshman of the Year Tori Finucane. Finucane was impressive going 21-6 with a 1.73 ERA and 168 strikeouts in her first college season. They also will get help from Omaha transfer sophomore Cheyenne Baxter and freshman Paige Lowary (Dallas Center-Grimes, IA). Lowary was a two-time Gatorade Player of the year in Iowa. The Tigers are known for their speed and with what looks to be a strong young pitching staff they could make a deep run in 2015. They open their season against Louisville on February 13, 2015. Full Schedule: http://www.mutigers.com/sports/w-softbl/sched/miss-w-softbl-sched.html
No. 16 Arizona State
Second year head coach Craig Nicholson has a lot to be excited for in 2015. He returns three All-Pac-12 players and 2013 Pac-12 Player of the Year senior catcher Amber Freeman. The Sun Devils won 46 games in 2014 and they also return their five top hitters from 2014 which includes National Freshman of the Year finalist sophomore short stop Chelsea Gonzales. Gonzales batted .333 with 45 RBI last season. The teams leading hitter in 2014 was Freeman who hit .406 with 11 home runs and 44 RBI. In the circle they will need to replace their Ace Dallas Escobedo who graduated. Alexis Cooper saw innings last year going 2-0 with a 3.65 ERA. Most likely they may look to two freshman who were high school standouts in Breanna Macha and Dale Ryndak. The Sun Devils will kick things off at home in the Kajikawa Classic on February 5, 2015 against Creighton. Full Schedule: http://www.thesundevils.com/SportSelect.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=30300&SPID=126719&SPSID=749657
