FOREST, Va. – For a second year in a row, the Emory & Henry College Softball Team has been picked to finish third during the Old Dominion Athletic Conference regular season, ODAC officials announced Wednesday. The poll was voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.
RELATED – ODAC Coaches' Poll | ODAC Season Preview
E&H, which finished as the runner-up in the ODAC Tournament for the second year in a row to two-time defending national champion Virginia Wesleyan University, sets its sights on a league title and a second trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament in three seasons.
The Wasps' roster of 22 is ripe with veteran talent, as 18 letterwinners return and the team welcomes a Division I transfer and a trio of freshmen to the fold. Headlining the returners are senior outfielders Erin Anderson (Aylett, Va.) and Madison McClanahan (Abingdon, Va.), senior catcher Amanda Whitlow (Riner, Va.) and junior infielder Lyndsay Boyd (Abingdon, Va.), all of whom were named to the All-ODAC Teams last year.
Two-time defending Division III Champion Virginia Wesleyan is once again the favorite to win the league with 10 first-place votes while Randolph-Macon College is second with the final top nod. Following third-place E&H is the University of Lynchburg (fourth) and Guilford College (fifth).
Emory & Henry will open the season on Sunday with a doubleheader at No. 6 Christopher Newport University. Please note that this game has been moved from Saturday to Sunday due to weather concerns.
The Wasps' first home games will be an exhibition against Bluefield College on Saturday, February 23 at 1:00 p.m.
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2019 ODAC SOFTBALL
PRESEASON POLL
| School (FPV) | Votes |
| 1. Virginia Wesleyan (10) | 100 pts. |
| 2. Randolph-Macon (1) | 90 pts. |
| 3. Emory & Henry | 78 pts. |
| 4. Lynchburg | 77 pts. |
| 5. Guilford | 58 pts. |
| 6. Roanoke | 56 pts. |
| 7. Ferrum | 42 pts. |
| 8. Eastern Mennonite | 38 pts. |
| 9. Bridgewater | 27 pts. |
| 10. Randolph | 23 pts. |
| 11. Shenandoah | 16 pts. |