Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Picked Third In West Division
February 05, 2004 | Softball
Feb. 5, 2004
CLEVELAND, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference softball coaches have made their predictions for the 2004 season, and the Bowling Green State University Falcons have been picked to finish third in the West Division. The poll, released late Wednesday (Feb. 4), is a result of voting by the league's 13 head coaches.
The Falcons of head coach Leigh Ross-Shaw return 11 letterwinners, including seven starters, from last year's 26-26-1 squad. BGSU placed fourth in the West Division with a 15-9 league slate and advanced to the conference tournament for the fifth time in six years.
The 2004 edition of the Brown and Orange will open the season on Feb. 27, heading to Macon, Ga., for five games in the Comfort Inn Mercer Classic. BGSU will play in three other tournaments, hosted by Texas-A&M Corpus Christi, the College of Charleston and Georgia Tech, before the MAC schedule commences on March 27.
Marshall and Central Michigan will lead their respective conferences, according to the league's coaches. Marshall, the 2003 East Division and regular-season champions, has been voted to take East Division top honors again. The Herd is led by three first-team All-MAC honorees: 2003 Freshman of the Year outfielder Amanda Williams, 2003 Pitcher of the Year Randi Nielson and designated player Allison Webb. Second baseman Courtney Kacenga, shortstop Jessica Williams and at-large player Sierra Davenport, all second-team honorees, will provide additional strength to Marshall's 2004 campaign. Marshall, the No. 1 seed in the 2003 MAC Tournament, went 41-17 overall and 20-4 in the MAC last spring.
Miami has been selected to finish second in the East Division. The 2003 East Division second-place finisher and tournament runner-up, the RedHawks return four second-team All-MAC players: catcher Becca Garcia, outfielder Jamie Carey, pitcher Courtney Salmon and pitcher Jackie Poggendorf. Miami finished the 2003 season 27-22 overall and 15-9 in the MAC, and the RedHawks advanced to the championship game of the MAC Tournament.
Tabbed to finish third in the East Division during the regular season is Kent State, led by first-team All-MAC catcher Carrie Eneix. The Golden Flashes finished 2003 with an overall mark of 27-19 and a conference tally of 14-10. KSU did not qualify for the conference tournament last season.
In the West Division, Central Michigan was predicted to take divisional honors. With the loss of 2003 Player of the Year Michelle Brander, CMU will look to second-team All-MAC third baseman Aimee Smith to lead the team to a division title. The Chippewas finished 2003 second in the division and posted records of 26-18 overall and 14-7 in the MAC.
Picked to place second in the West Division is defending divisional and MAC Tournament champion Western Michigan. The Broncos return two All-MAC players in outfielder Jaymie Voss and pitcher Laura Stewart. As last season's conference champion, the Broncos received the league's automatic NCAA berth and advanced to Ann Arbor, Mich., for the NCAA Regionals. WMU posted 2003 marks of 30-24 overall and 17-7 in the MAC.
The Falcons round out the projected top-three in the West. Ross-Shaw and her staff have a five-member senior class in Candace Fenton, Jody Johnson, Jenifer Kernahan, Marla Murphy and Valerie Tipton. BGSU also returns a pair of sophomores who earned All-MAC honors last year in third baseman Gina Rango (a first-team All-MAC and All-Great Lakes Region pick) and pitcher Liz Vrabel (all-league second team). BG, as mentioned, finished fourth in the West last spring. In the 2003 tournament, BGSU topped Northern Illinois before falling to Marshall and Central Michigan.
The MAC softball season kicks off Friday (Feb. 6) when Marshall heads to St. Augustine, Fla., to participate in the Triple Crown Invitational. Conference play begins Saturday, March 27, with, among other matchups, the Falcons making the short trip north to take on Toledo. The 2004 MAC Tournament will be held May 13-15 at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
Due to a change in polling procedures implemented at the Directors of Athletics' meeting in July of 2003, the MAC announces only the top three selections in each division.
2004 MAC PRESEASON POLL
West Division 1. Central Michigan 2. Western Michigan 3. Bowling Green(Portions of this release courtesy MAC office)East Division 1. Marshall 2. Miami 3. Kent State
Projected tournament winner: Marshall
