Fontbonne picked as SLIAC Pre-Season Softball Favorite

Defending St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) regular season and tournament champion Fontbonne University has been chosen as the pre-season favorite in the SLIAC Softball Pre-Season Coaches' Poll. The Griffins received seven first place votes and had a total of 56 points.

Fontbonne went 27-11 in 2012 and captured their eighth regular season and sixth SLIAC Tournament Championship overall. They finished the season 13-1 in conference play. Head coach Bill Rosner has a core group of juniors returning to this year's squad that he will look to as the Griffins try to capture their fourth consecutive tournament championship in 2013. Junior infielder Cara Hargate returns after hitting .327 at the plate with 37 hits, eight doubles, two triples, one home run and 25 RBI. She was also 18-for-20 in stolen base attempts and was named the 2012 SLIAC Softball Tournament MVP.

Junior Sarah Cerutti, an outfielder, led the Griffins with 10 home runs last season and finished with a .331 batting average, 41 hits, seven doubles, four triples and 38 RBI. Cerutti was also a First Team All-SLIAC At-Large selection last season. Junior pitcher Rachel McCarthy was named to both the All-SLIAC Second Team and All-Tournament Team last season. She posted a 13-7 record on the mound with 13 complete games, two shutouts, 87 strikeouts and a 3.03 earned run average in 124.2 innings pitched. Junior Marissa Simon, another infielder, rounds out the group of juniors returning. Simon was an Honorable Mention All-SLIAC At-Large selection last season after hitting .260 with three doubles, one home run and 10 RBI.

Fontbonne opens their season next weekend in Columbus, Georgia in the NFCA Leadoff Classic. Below is the entire SLIAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll:

SLIAC Softball Pre-Season Poll
1 Fontbonne (7)
2 Spalding (1)
3 Webster
4 Westminster
5 Greenville
6 Blackburn
7 Eureka
8 MacMurray
9 Principia