Concord Voted Third in MEC South Preseason Poll

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team has been tabbed to finish third in the Mountain East Conference South Division according to the MEC Preseason Coaches' Poll that was released Thursday afternoon.

THE POLL

Place	Team	Points (First-Place Votes)
1.	Charleston	58 (5)
2.	West Virginia State	51 (3)
3.	Concord	47 (2)
4.	West Virginia Wesleyan	44 (2)
5.	Glenville State	26
6.	Davis & Elkins	20

2020 REVIEW
CU played 15 games in 2020 before the Coronavirus pandemic ended the season in mid-March. The Mountain Lions ended the season with an 8-6-1 record with the campaign ending at the Florida PFX Tournament.

2021 SCHEDULE
Concord is slated for 44 games this spring with 32 against MEC foes and another 12 in non-conference play. CU plays all 12 non-conference first, then jumps into MEC play March 20 against Charleston. The season for the Maroon and Gray opens in just over a week as Concord takes on Newberry and Mount Olive February 13 in Newberry, South Carolina.

THE RETURNERS
The Mountain Lions return virtually everyone from last year's team, and have only lost four players to graduation over the last two years—a roster that won a single-season program record 38 games in 2019. 2018 All-American and 2019 MEC Player of the Year utility Jenna Witt is back as a fifth-year senior after batting .408 with seven home runs and 15 RBI in 2020. Juniors Laura Thompson and Sarah Thompson both batted over .325 in 15 games last season. L. Thompson was the 2019 MEC Freshman of the Year, and started the 2020 season by recording a 1.38 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 25 innings to go with a .333 batting average. Sophomore catcher/outfielder Jolie Privett hit .324 with six RBI in her first 13 career games. Fifth-year senior outfielder/pitcher Darby Fitzpatrick has played in 138 career games, notching a career average of .273 with 26 extra-base hits while posting a 24-18 pitching mark in 327 innings. Senior outfielder Dani Bloomingdale has also played in over 100 career games—103—and batted a career-best .340 in 2019.

Along with Thompson in the circle, senior pitcher/outfielder Cartney Schoolcraft highlights the rotation for Concord. Schoolcraft was an All-MEC Second Team performer in 2019, and has 211 strikeouts in 183 career innings at Concord. During her freshman season, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Josie Brewer posted a 2.15 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 29 innings.

Also returning to the Concord lineup is senior catcher/third baseman Lauren Richardson (33 career games), senior catcher/utility Kaitlyn Stewart (99 career games), junior outfielder Hanna Hylton, who redshirted last season after transferring from Patrick Henry CC and junior pitcher Tori Hanes who has tossed 15 career innings.

THE NEWCOMERS
Head coach Alisa Tasler and assistant coach Ali Carlan brought in nine new players to the program with the group being both freshmen and transfers. The transfers are junior first baseman Tiara Peters from USC-Salkehatchie and former Patrick Henry Community College catcher Mikayah Pulliam.

As for the freshmen class, it is made up of utility Alyssa Bernardini (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee), outfielder Kassidy Bowden (Union, W.Va./James Monroe), Bethany Burks (Princeton, W.Va./Princeton), outfielder Imani Campbell (Walkersville, Md./Walkersville), catcher/utility Emme Morris (Terre Haute, Ind./Northview), pitcher/outfielder Zoe Rodgers (Parrish, Fla./Braden River) and utility Madeline Shore (Walnut Cove, N.C./South Stokes).