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Gators Picked as Top Team by Coaches
February 25, 2008
CLEVELAND – The Allegheny College Gators, defending North Coast Athletic Conference tournament champions, have been picked to repeat their performance by the coaches of the conference in the league’s annual preseason poll.
The Gators took four of the eight first-place votes, earning 59 points with Wittenberg and Denison each picking up the other two first-place votes with 54 and 49 points, respectively. Hiram (45), Kenyon (30), Ohio Wesleyan (24), Wooster (19) and Oberlin (8) were picked to round out the field in the league this season.
Allegheny’s difficult non-conference schedule made the Gators’ final 19-19 record look deceiving, as the team advanced to the NCAA Regionals in New Concord, Ohio, going 1-2 with losses to eventual regional champion DePauw and host Muskingum, while picking up a 4-0 win over Maryville (Tenn.).
Returning for the squad is the middle infield duo of second baseman Abby Bodenlos (Pittsburgh, Pa./Shady Side Academy) and shortstop Rachel Ryan (West Salem, Ohio/Northwestern). Last year Bodenlos was named the league’s Player of the Year, while Ryan earned conference tournament Most Valuable Player honors. Each was named All-Region, Bodenlos’ a first-team selection and Ryan’s honorable mention. Bodenlos set the school- and conference-records for stolen bases in a season, swiping 31 bases in 34 attempts, while batting .411 on the season. Ryan led the team and finished third in the conference with a .419 batting average, knocking in a team-high 32 runs with six doubles, six triples and five home runs, all team-highs and the latter two leading the conference. Second-team All-league selection Katie Wills (McKees Rocks, Pa./Montour) returns in the outfield, as does honorable mention selection Elizabeth Burr (Farmdale, Ohio/Badger), while sophomore Allison Korotkin (Birmingham, Mich./Detroit Country Day) returns in the pitchers circle.
The Gators open the 2008 season at the Sea Gull Invitational in Salisbury, Maryland, where they will face off against Christopher Newport and Salisbury on March 7, before taking the diamond against Virginia Wesleyan and Kings on the 8th.