The Buffalo State softball team was picked to finish second overall in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coaches’ Preseason Poll released today by the conference’s office.
The Buffalo State softball team was picked to finish second overall in the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) Coaches’ Preseason Poll released today by the conference’s office.
The Bengals are coming off an impressive run in the 2016 SUNYAC Tournament, earning a spot in the championship game, before falling short to Cortland, the No. 1 team in the preseason rankings.
Buffalo State finished the year 21-20 overall and made the post season for the third-consecutive year under head coach Marie Curran.
The Bengals finished near the top of the SUNYAC in hitting last season, batting .322 as a team with 14 home runs, 190 RBIs and 38 stolen bases.
Senior Laura Crooks, a 2016 second team All-SUNYAC selection, returns to lead the Buffalo State attack after hitting a team-high .373 to go with 11 RBIs, 27 runs scored and 11 stolen bases.
Juniors Melissa Woods and Danielle Szymkowiak will help round out the Bengal offense. Woods batted .293 with 10 RBIs and 25 runs scored last season while Szymkowiak hit .304 to go with three home runs, 23 RBIs and 21 runs scored. Szymkowiak also got on-base at a clip of .411, the second-best mark on last year’s squad.
Cortland was selected first in the rankings, earning a unanimous 100 points. Buffalo State (81), Oneonta (70), Geneseo (68) and Plattsburgh (62) followed to round out the top five.
The Bengals kick off their season with the Virginia Wesleyan Beach Blast in Virginia Beach, Va., March 3-4. Buffalo State then heads for its spring trip in Clermont, Fla., where it will be competing in 12 games from March 18-25.
The Bengals get their northeast schedule underway with a doubleheader at Oswego on March 31 at 3 p.m.
from BuffaloStateAthletics.com via IFTTT
