Montana Favored to Win 2018 #BigSkySB Championship
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OGDEN, Utah (February 1, 2018) – After capturing its first Big Sky Softball Tournament title and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history, Montana has been selected to finish atop the Big Sky Conference in 2018 by the league’s eight head coaches in the preseason poll. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their team on the preseason ballot.
The Grizzlies, who received five first-place votes and tallied 47 points in the poll, are coming off a 35-24 season where they finished second in the Big Sky race with a 15-6 record before defeating regular season champion Weber State in the tournament championship. This is the first time Montana has been selected as the preseason favorite entering the league’s sixth year of softball.
Montana returns five All-Big Sky selections among its seven returning starters from a season ago including sophomore Michaela Hood (First Team All-Big Sky) who led the league in strikeouts (178) and ranked second in earned run average (2.31). Head coach Melanie Meuchel takes over the reins of the Montana program in 2018 following four years as the team’s first assistant coach.
Weber State was tabbed second in the preseason poll after collecting three first-place votes and 45 points. The two-point difference between the top two teams is the closest in Big Sky preseason poll history.
The Wildcats posted their third-straight 30-win season in 2017 with a 37-22-1 record, capturing their second Big Sky regular season title (15-5) while finishing as runners-up in the conference tournament. After advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2015 and 2016, and a National Invitational Softball Championship (NISC) in 2017, Weber State looks set to make another postseason run.
The Wildcats return seven starters, all of whom were All-Big Sky honorees in 2017. Highlighting WSU’s returners are sophomore outfielder Takesha Saltern (First Team) and senior pitcher Kirtlyn Bohling (First Team). Saltern topped the league in hits (92), runs (53) and triples (9), and ranked second in batting average (.451) and stolen bases (24) to earn Big Sky Freshman of the Year honors. Bohling was a force in the circle with a league-best 22 wins while ranking third in earned run average (2.72).
Sacramento State came in third in the poll with 37 points following a 10-10 slate in the Big Sky last season. The Hornets return three All-Big Sky players in senior infielder Zamari Hinton (First Team), sophomore utility Suzy Brookshire (First Team) and sophomore infielder Mo Spieth (Honorable Mention).
Idaho State was picked fourth in the poll with 27 points following a sixth-place finish in the league last season. Coming in a tie for fifth were North Dakota and Southern Utah, each receiving 24 points. Northern Colorado and Portland State rounded out the poll, tying for seventh with 10 points apiece.
The 2018 Big Sky Softball Championship will take place May 10-12 at Weber State’s Wildcat Softball Field in Ogden, Utah. The winner of the conference championship will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
2018 Big Sky Conference Softball Preseason Poll
|
| Team |
Points |
| 1. Montana (5) |
47 |
| 2. Weber State (3) |
45 |
| 3. Sacramento State |
37 |
| 4. Idaho State |
27 |
| T5. North Dakota |
24 |
| T5. Southern Utah |
24 |
| T7. Northern Colorado |
10 |
| T7. Portland State |
10 |
| First place votes in parenthesis |
|