College Softball News – Guilford Tabbed Ninth in Preseason ODAC Poll

FOREST, Va. – Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) coaches picked Guilford College’s softball team ninth in their annual preseason poll, released Wednesday.

Virginia Wesleyan College beat out defending league champion Roanoke College for the top spot by two points with seven first-place votes and 96 tallies. Roanoke earned the remaining four top nods and 94 total points. Bridgewater College (82 points) came in third for the second year in a row.

Seventh-year head coach Dennis Shores returns 17 letter winners and seven starters from last year’s 17-23 team. The Quakers are looking for leadership in returning Second Team All-ODAC performers Sarah Cutright and Cynthia Hayes. Cutright (.304, 2 HR, 17 RBI) hit a team-high .389 in 18 ODAC games, which ranked 14th in the league. Hayes hit .339 for the year and ranked 12th in the ODAC among batting leaders, finishing with six doubles among her 38 hits. Ashley Boteler (4-7, 5.09 ERA, 77.0 IP, 38 K) is the top arm returning to the circle for the Quakers.

Guilford opens the season Feb. 16 at Methodist University at 1:00 p.m.

2013 ODAC SOFTBALL PRESEASON POLL (#) denotes first-place votes
1. Virginia Wesleyan (7) 96
2. Roanoke (4) 94
3. Bridgewater 82
4. Randolph-Macon 65
5. Shenandoah 61
6. Lynchburg 58
7. Eastern Mennonite 54
8. Randolph 33
9. Guilford 31
10. Emory & Henry 21
11. Sweet Briar 10