Softball Predicted To Finish Seventh In 2016 ECC Race

Central Islip, N.Y.-The University of Bridgeport softball team has been predicted to finish seventh in this year's East Coast Conference standings in a vote of league coaches released on Friday.  Last season, the Purple Knights posted a 15-33 overall record and a 7-21 ECC mark.  UB is scheduled to open its 2016 season in Florida versus the Collee of St. Rose on March 10.

Complete ECC Preseason Softball Release Follows:

The softball coaches of the East Coast Conference have selected LIU Post Pioneers as the preseason favorite to capture the conference title in 2016. Reigning ECC major award winners, Tracey Balinskas (Edison, N.J.) of Molloy College, and junior Ashley Martin (Long Beach, N.Y.) of LIU Post have been selected as ECC Preseason Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.

LIU Post received five of eight first place votes to top the poll with 58 points. The Pioneers, return six of nine position player starters and two of their three primary pitchers from last season's roster that finished with a 32-17-1 record, were ECC runner-up and made a 14th straight appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament

Molloy College and New York Institute of Technology, both ECC Championship participants in 2015, are the next two teams in the poll. Molloy narrowly outpace NYIT in the poll, finishing with 50 points to the Bears' 49. NYIT earned two of the remaining first place votes. Defending ECC Champion, Queens College, comes in at No. 4 in the poll. Despite coming in No. 8 in the poll, St. Thomas Aquinas earned the final first place vote.

Balinskas earns the Preseason Player of the Year honor after being named the conference's Player of the Year in 2015. In her junior season, Balinskas put up gaudy statistics in the middle of the Lions' lineup. In 51 games, she posted a.416 batting average, good for second in the ECC. She also ranked second in the league with 69 hits, 12 homeruns, and a .484 on-base percentage, while leading the conference with 49 runs scored, 17 doubles, 128 total bases, and a .771 slugging percentage. Balinskas also contributed in the circle, finishing with a 12-11 record and a 3.58 earned run average over 154.2 innings. In addition to the ECC Player of the Year honor, Balinskas was named to the Daktronics and NFCA All-Region teams and was a Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention selection.

Martin wins the Preseason Pitcher of the Year honor for the second straight season. Martin followed through on the preseason selection in 2015, by winning the postseason Pitcher of the Year honor, as well. In an ECC-high 169.2 innings, she finished with an 18-6 record, 20 complete games, eight shutouts, and 120 strikeouts. Her win, complete game, and shutout totals led the conference, while her strikeout total ranked second. In addition, Martin ranked third in the conference with a .211 batting average against and a 1.61 earned run average. Martin's season earned her a spot alongside Balinskas on the Daktronics All-Region First Team.

2016 ECC Softball Preseason Poll

( ) - first place votes

Preseason Player of the Year: Tracey Balinskas, Sr., 3B/P, Molloy
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Ashley Martin, Jr., LIU Post