D'YOUVILLE SELECTED TO CLAIM CONFERENCE TITLE

D’Youville College, 2015 AMCC regular season softball champion, is expected to regain the top spot in the conference as the Spartans look to claim their first AMCC conference title since 2011.

February 26, 2016

D’Youville College, 2015 AMCC regular season softball champion, is expected to regain the top spot in the conference as the Spartans look to claim their first AMCC conference title since 2011. League coaches selected Penn St. Behrend, 2015 AMCC tournament champion, to finish second, and Penn St. Altoona to round out the top three.

Penn St. Behrend junior C/INF Shannon McDonnell has been named the AMCC Preseason Player of the Year. McDonnell was an AMCC all-conference second team selection in 2015. She ranked second in the conference in home runs (9) and hits (52). Her .371 batting average ranked her first on the team and 10th in the AMCC. McDonnell had 11 games with multiple RBI to finish with a team-leading 41. She had a pair of home runs on March 29 to record a career single-game high seven RBI.

Reigning AMCC Pitcher of the year, D’Youville College senior Kalie McHenry, has been tabbed as the 2016 Preseason Pitcher of the Year. She enters her senior campaign coming off her junior season where she was AMCC Preseason Pitcher of the Year, AMCC Pitcher of the Year, AMCC First Team All-Conference, five-time AMCC Pitcher of the Week, and was named to the AMCC all-tournament team. McHenry led the AMCC in wins (21), innings pitched (180.1), complete games (23), and ERA (1.01) and was second in strikeouts (164). Down the stretch last season, McHenry won 15 of 16 games, including 11 in a row. Her outstanding performances helped lead the Spartans to an AMCC regular season championship and a trip to the AMCC Championship game.

The AMCC tournament will be held May 6-8 at the site of the #1 seed, with the winner earning the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Click here for the complete preseason rankings and players to watch.