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| Jan. 24, 2005 | |||
| NKU FAVORED IN GLVC SOFTBALL POLL | |||
Norse
to feature veteran lineup, talented pitching staff |
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HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Northern Kentucky University softball team has been selected as the favorite in the Great Lakes Valley Conference preseason poll, the league announced Monday. NKU, which captured the 2004 GLVC regular-season title with a 19-1 record, received 10 first-place votes and 100 total points in the ballot. Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (35-19 overall, 15-5 GLVC) is picked second in the poll with 85 points, followed by defending GLVC Tournament champion Lewis (45-13 overall, 18-2 GLVC) in third place with 82 points. NKU, which posted a 54-7 overall record last season, returns all nine starters and its entire pitching staff in 2005. The Norse will feature junior pitcher Krystal Lewallen, who finished No. 1 nationally in earned run average last season with a 0.27 ERA. Lewallen also won a school-record 31 games and led NKU to the NCAA Division II World Series for the first time in the program’s history. NKU also returns senior first baseman Angie Lindeman, senior center fielder Stephanie Leimbach, senior pitcher Emily Breitholle and junior second baseman Ricki Rothbauer. Leimbach led NKU in hitting last season with a .375 batting average. She also had an NKU single-season record 75 hits. Lindeman knocked in a Norse single-season record 50 runs last spring, while Breitholle posted a 16-2 record with a 1.10 ERA. Rothbauer batted .343 with a team-leading eight triples last season. She also scored a school-record 46 runs. NKU will open the season Feb. 11 against Southern Arkansas in a two-day tournament at Florence, Ala. 2005 GLVC softball
preseason poll |
