Softball Picked to Finish Third in 2020 NEC Preseason Coaches Poll
1/31/2020 12:00:00 AM | Softball
SOMERSET, N.J.- The Sacred Heart University softball team was projected to finish third at the conclusion of the 2020 season when the Northeast Conference released its Preseason Poll Friday afternoon. The league's head coaches ranked the teams one through eight and were prohibited from voting their own programs.
Last year's Pioneers playoff run was cut short, as SHU fell to Saint Francis U in the opening round of the NEC Tournament on May, 9 2019 before dropping the elimination game to Mount Saint Mary's the following day in a tight game resulting in a 4-3 loss. The Pioneers finished the season with a 28-27 overall record and a 11-5 record in Northeast Conference play.
LIU claimed the top spot in the poll with seven first place votes as they took second place in the tournament last year. Following right behind in second is the reining champion Saint Francis U who took two first place votes followed by SHU with one first place vote. Mount Saint Mary's, Bryant, Robert Morris, and Central Connecticut State take up the four to seven slots while Fairleigh Dickinson, Wagner and Merrimack round out the rest of the poll.
The Pirate Class Tournament hosted by Hampton University will test the 2020 SHU softball squad for the first games of season beginning, Friday, February 21 against Radford and Norfolk State.
2020 NEC Softball Coaches Preseason Poll
1. LIU (7)
2. Saint Francis U (2)
3. Sacred Heart (1)
4. Mount St. Mary's
5. Bryant
6. Robert Morris
7. CCSU
8. Fairleigh Dickinson
9. Wagner
10. Merrimack
