| TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | LIVE STATS | LIVE VIDEO (vs. FIU on 2/14) |
MIAMI - The LIU Brooklyn softball team was picked to finish atop the Northeast Conference standings in 2016, according to the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll released on Thursday. The Blackbirds, who received seven first-place votes, open its 2016 campaign this weekend at the Juiceblendz FIU Invitational in Miami. The Blackbirds will play five contests over three days, including games against St. John's and No. 10 Florida State, both of whom advanced to the NCAA Regionals last spring.
LIU returns seven starters and 12 letterwinners from last season's team that went 23-30 and advanced to the championship round of the Northeast Conference Tournament before falling to Central Connecticut. The championship round appearance was the 14th in the last 17 seasons for the Blackbirds, who will be vying for their 14th NEC title this spring.
Senior Whitney West leads the returning offensive players for LIU Brooklyn. A three-year starter and two-time All-NEC Second Team selection, West hit a team-high .348 last season and stole 13 bases. The speedy outfielder finished the season with a flourish, going 8-for-13 in the NEC Tournament to give her 171 hits in her career. She is 24 hits shy of the LIU Brooklyn career hits record of 195, currently held by Randi Gillespie (2005-07) and Vanessa Mejia (2005-08).
Last season's NEC Rookie of the Year and Second Team All-NEC catcher Victoria Zamora is another returning starter for the Blackbirds. Zamora hit six of LIU's 43 home runs, with the team total tying the program and conference record for home runs in a season (2006). The Orange, Calif. product hit .415 in conference play and registered a .556 on-base percentage against league foes.
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Illinois finished the 2015 season one game under .500 at 26-27, but did go 14-9 in the Big Ten. The Fighting Illini returns three of its primary offensive weapons from last season - Allie Bauch, Alyssa Gunther and Nicole Evans. Bauch finished the year with a .399 batting average and totaled 30 extra-base hits, including 12 home runs and 18 doubles. Gunther finished second on the squad with a .376 batting average while Evans blasted 19 home runs to lead the team.
Jade Vecvanags also returns in the circle after compiling a 19-12 record last season. The Blackbirds are 0-8 all-time against Illinois, with the last meeting coming in Sacramento in 2006 (L, 11-8).
An NCAA Tournament participant for the first time in program history, St. John's enters the season unanimous favorites to repeat as BIG EAST champions. BIG EAST Pitcher of the Year in Tori Free returns for after putting together an impressive showing in conference play last season (7-1 with a 0.90 ERA in 54.2 innings of work).
All-BIG EAST First Team selections Brittany Garcia, Krystal Puga and Lauren Zick and second team honorees Yvonne Rericha and Monique Landini also return to a lineup that helped St. John's set single-season program-records in batting average (.317), runs (243), RBI (224) and walks (152). LIU Brooklyn leads the all-time series 23-18 but the Blackbirds have dropped the last three meetings between the two teams, including a 9-1 loss last season.
On Saturday, the Blackbirds will take on Valparaiso for the third time in school history and for the first time since the 1998 season, when the two teams split a pair. The Crusaders went 16-35 last season but do return senior outfield Kaitlyn Ranieri. Ranieri hit a team-high .407 with 11 home runs and 39 runs batted in while another returning starter, sophomore Taylor Nadler, had a .349 batting average on the year.
Nationally-ranked Florida State begins the season ranked 10th in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Poll and is the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic Coast Conference. Junior pitcher Jessica Burroughs, who posted a 19-6 record in 2015 with a 2.08 ERA and 219 strikeouts in 185.0 innings, was named to the USA Softball Player of the Year Preseason Watch List earlier this month. The Seminoles went 49-14 last season and advanced to the NCAA Super Regionals before falling to Tennessee.
LIU Brooklyn has dropped all three contests in the program's history against Florida State, with the last meeting coming in 2013. In 2004, the Blackbirds traveled to Tallahassee for NCAA Regionals and dropped a 4-0 decision to the Seminoles.
The final opponent for LIU this coming weekend is the host school Florida International. Last season's preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference, the Panthers finished 30-24 and were led by a pair of returnees in Stephanie Teixera and Corinne Jenkins. Teixera put up All-American numbers, hitting .444 with eight home runs and 51 runs batted in, while Jenkins led the pitching staff with 18 victories and tossed 19 complete games.
FIU and LIU Brooklyn have squared off seven times previously, with the Panthers coming away with six wins. The two teams met twice last season, as Florida International took home 12-4 and 2-1 decisions. The only victory for the Blackbirds in the series came in 2003 at the Florida Atlantic Tournament in Boca Raton, Fla.
2016 Northeast Conference Softball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. LIU Brooklyn (7)
2. Robert Morris
3. Bryant (1)
4. Central Connecticut (1)
5. Saint Francis U
6. Fairleigh Dickinson
7. Sacred Heart
8. Mount St. Mary's
9. Wagner