Tennessee Tech has been been picked to repeat as Ohio Valley Conference softball champions as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Golden Eagles, who picked up their fourth OVC regular-season title last year, received 79 points and eight first-place votes. Eastern Kentucky claimed a first-place nod and 72 points for a second-place pick while Jacksonville State took the remaining first-place vote and 65 points for a third-place predicted finish. Southeast Missouri and UT Martin complete the top five with 51 and 48 points, respectively. Rounding out the six through 10 spots are Eastern Illinois (47), Austin Peay (30), Samford (30), Tennessee State (15) and Morehead State (13).
Tennessee Tech finished 2006 with an OVC record 50 victories while going 22-3 in the league to win its fourth regular-season title. The 2006 OVC Coach of the Year Tory Acheson returns seven starters among 15 letterwinners from last year’s tournament champions. Among the top returnees are the 2006 OVC Pitcher of the Year Bonnie Bynum (Fayetteville, Ga.) and the 2006 OVC Freshman of the Year Danielle Wallace (Huntsville, Ala.). Bynum, a senior pitcher, set a new Tech and OVC single-season record with 308 strikeouts last year. Bynum also led the league in wins (31), innings pitched (267.1), saves (4), shutouts (14), appearances (48), games started (40) and complete games (29) in 2006. Wallace, a sophomore catcher, finished the season with a .320 batting average to go with 58 hits, 30 RBI and three home runs.
Eastern Kentucky went 33-29 overall and 13-13 in the OVC to finish sixth in 2006. Jane Worthington enters her 15th year at the helm of the Lady Colonels and will have seven starters along with four pitchers returning from a year ago. Among the top returning players are senior pitcher Kelsey Anderson (Lakewood, Calif.) and junior infielder Chanze Patterson (Kent, Wash.). Anderson ranked in the league’s top 10 in wins (19), strikeouts (208), shutouts (10), innings pitched (210.2), appearances (39), games started (36) and complete games (20). In addition, Anderson led the Conference with 50 RBI last year. Patterson, a 2006 All-OVC second team selection, stole an OVC-best 31 bases while also ranking among league leaders in hits (62) and runs scored (35) last season.
Jacksonville State concluded the 2006 season with a 43-15 overall record and a 21-5 OVC mark to finish in second place. Jana McGinnis, who is in her 14th year at Jacksonville State, welcomes back five position starters and two pitchers from last year. Among the top returning players is the 2006 OVC Player of the Year Daniela Pappano (Bolton, Ontario). Pappano, a senior outfielder, led the league in batting average (.392), hits (74), doubles (21), on-base percentage (.475), slugging percentage (.698), walks (29) and total bases (132) in 2006. Also returning to the Gamcocks this season is All-OVC junior infielder Lauren Horwath (Lake Mary, Fla.). Horwath ranked among Conference leaders in batting average (.353), hits (67), home runs (11), doubles (15), RBI (44) and total bases (115) last year.
The 2007 softball season gets underway on Feb. 9 with Conference play starting on March 17.
2007 OVC SOFTBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
(as voted on by the OVC’s head softball coaches)
School Points
1. Tennessee Tech (8 first-place votes) 79
2. Eastern Kentucky (1 first-place vote) 72
3. Jacksonville State (1 first-place vote) 65
4. Southeast Missouri 51
5. UT Martin 48
6. Eastern Illinois 47
t7. Austin Peay 30
t7. Samford 30
9. Tennessee State 15
10. Morehead State 13
(Teams awarded 9 points for a first-place vote, 8 for second, etc.)