Griffins Picked To Finish Sixth In The SLIAC Preseason Poll

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) announced today the 2018 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll and the Griffins come in at No. 6.

Greenville, the reigning back-to-back champions, hold the top spot with four first place votes and 76 points. Right behind them is Westminster as they totaled five first place votes and 75 points. Webster (59), Spalding (54) and Eureka (53) rounded out the top-five.

The Griffins, are coming off a 13-23 (11-7 SLIAC) 2017 campaign where they earned the No. 4 seed in the SLIAC Tournament. The team, though saw its season come to an end with consecutive losses against Westminster (7-0) and Webster (4-3, 8 innings).

This season, the Griffins look to take big strides under first year head coach Casey Cromwell. She'll have plenty of firepower on the 2018 roster that returns the likes of Emelia Modglin, Courtney Kedroski, Diamond Thomas and Maddie Cooksey. 

Modglin, a Waterloo, Illinois, native, batted a team-high .404 last season, totaling 44 hits, six doubles, three triples, two home runs and 19 RBI. Those type of numbers got her named to the SLIAC All-Conference First Team.

Kedroski, meanwhile, joined Modglin on the First Team after posting a .379 clip, 44 hits, eight doubles, three doubles, three triples and 23 RBI.

Thomas went on to earn All-SLIAC Third Team as a Utility Player as she batted .298 at the dish, while on the rubber, she accumulated a 3.08 ERA to go along with her 33 strikeouts. Cooksey, an Arnold, Missouri, native, picked up All-SLIAC Second Team as she batted .282, while totaling 33 hits, 25 runs scored, three homers and 15 RBI.

Inside the circle, Maddy Strickland, returns and looks to surpass last year's numbers that included, seven wins, 12 complete games, 118.0 innings pitched and 57 strikeouts, all of which were team-highs.

To view the entire SLIAC Preseason Poll visit HERE.

The Griffins get its 2018 campaign underway on February 21^st for a doubleheader at Lindenwood University. First-pitch at 3 p.m.

Fans make sure to stay updated on fontbonnegriffins.com throughout the year for full updates and recaps on the Griffin softball team.

Softball 

Greenville (4) 76

Westminster (5) 75

Webster 59

Spalding 54

Eureka 53

Fontbonne 48

Iowa Wesleyan 31

Blackburn 28

Principia 16

MacMurray 10