Posted: Mar 01, 2018

CCC Pre-season Coaches' Poll: Softball No. 1

Reigning player of the year Francesca Galeazzi and her Seahawk teammates picked to three-peat in Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball.

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball tournament champion Salve Regina University was picked as the preseason favorite to claim the title again in 2018. The Seahawks earned 93 points and eight first place votes in the CCC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which is voted on by the league's 10 softball head coaches.

Last year, first-year head coach Jannelle Iaquinto took a preseason No. 3 pick to the top seed in the CCC postseason. With the CCC Pitcher of the Year, Kelsey Boarman, and CCC Player of the Year, Francesca Galeazzi (Lynn, Mass.), the Seahawks swept through the conference championships allowing just one run. Boarman graduates with three softball classmates and that opens the door for five freshmen to compete for pitching duties. Holly Kathios (Pelham, N.H.) and Elizabeth Lombardo (Thomaston, Conn.) will serve in dual roles, sharing catching duties and helping out at middle infield and the hot corner respectively. Senior Kristen Hickey (New Hyde Park, N.Y.) and junior Amanda Riley (Barinton, N.H.) have been tabbed as captains and will counted on for offensive production, in addition to handling first base and shortstop roles. Iaquinto's outfield still features plenty of speed with Lindsey Florent (New Bedford, Mass.), Megan Guest (Meridan, Conn.), and Lindsay DelGrego (Wallingford, Conn.) all returning.

Salve Regina was the top seed in the CCC championship tournament last year after putting together a 16-2 CCC (26-13 overall) record. The Seahawks continued to play well in the postseason as they progressed all the way through the tournament in the winner's bracket and earned the conference's automatic qualifier into the 2017 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.

The CCC champions were selected to participate in the Springfield Regional where they went 1-2 in the double-elimination tournament.

The softball season starts for CCC teams this week as a handful of teams head down south to get some games in. The conference schedule begins the weekend of March 23 with the first set of league doubleheaders. At the end of the regular season, the top eight teams in the standings will advance to participate in the CCC Championship Tournament. The tournament begins with the Play-In Phase on Friday, April 27. The six teams remaining after the play-ins will compete in double-elimination tournament to determine the CCC Tournament Champion. The Champion will be crowned on the final day of the tournament, which is scheduled for Saturday, May 5. The CCC Tournament Champion will earn the conference's automatic qualifier in to the 2018 NCAA Softball Championship.

Click HERE to view the whole 2018 CCC softball schedule.