BIDDEFORD, Maine – The Roger Williams University Softball team has been selected fourth in the Commonwealth Coast Conference Preseason Poll, as it was announced Tuesday.
Roger Williams softball looks to improve upon last season's finish and claim the program's first Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship since 2013. RWU finished the 2021 campaign with a 17-15 overall record while going 9-7 in the conference. Unfortunately for the Hawks, due to the pod format for playoff selection, the Hawks finished just a half game outside of qualifying for the CCC Tournament. It would mark the first time since 2018 that the Hawks did not earn a berth to the conference tournament.
Despite last year's setback, this season the Hawks come in with high expectations as a veteran-laden squad. Roger Williams returns 16 players including three graduate students while bringing in three first-year players. The Hawks will be bringing back four of their five pitchers from the circle as well as five players from the starting lineup. Included among those starters are graduate student outfielder
Sydney Provencal (Cumberland, R.I.), a 2021 All-CCC First Team selection.
Two-time defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Softball Tournament Champion Endicott is looking to continue its reign as Conference Champion in 2022 and comes into the year as the preseason favorite. The Gulls earned the top spot in the CCC Softball Coaches Preseason Poll this year with 99 points and nine of the 10 first place votes. The voting was conducted by the league's 10 softball head coaches last week.
Ranking second in this year's poll is the CCC Tournament runner-up, Western New England. The Golden Bears earned 90 points and the final first place vote in this year's polling. The Golden Bears went 11-5 in CCC play (16-8 overall) and earned the top seed in Pod A in 2021. They swept Nichols to earn their spot in the CCC Championship Series before falling to the Gulls.
The University of New England and Roger Williams landed in the No. 3 and No. 4 spots, respectively, in this year's poll. The Nor'easters earned 67 points, while the Hawks received 60. Salve Regina closed out the top half of the table with 57 points for fifth place.
Closing out the poll were Nichols (54 points), Suffolk (50), Gordon (37), Wentworth (22), and Curry (14) in that order.
CCC Softball teams hit the diamond for the first time on Saturday, March 5 for non-conference action. These early games will set the stage for conference play which begins on Friday, April 1. The top eight teams as the end of the regular-season will qualify for the 2022 CCC Softball Championship Tournament, which is set to begin on Thursday, May 5 and conclude with the championship round on Saturday, May 7. The winner of the CCC Championship game will be named the 2022 CCC Softball Tournament Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2022 NCAA Division III Softball Championship.
2022 CCC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| |
Team |
Points (First Place Votes) |
| 1. |
Endicott |
99 (9) |
| 2. |
Western New England |
90 (1) |
| 3. |
U. of New England |
67 |
| 4. |
Roger Williams |
60 |
| 5. |
Salve Regina |
57 |
| 6. |
Nichols |
54 |
| 7. |
Suffolk |
50 |
| 8. |
Gordon |
37 |
| 9. |
Wentworth |
22 |
| 10. |
Curry |
14 |
- Release courtesy of the Commonwealth Coast Conference
