Sangamon Sun

The Illinois College softball team has been projected to finish second in the Midwest Conference (MWC) according to the preseason poll conducted among the league's nine head coaches. Grinnell College emerged as the favorite, receiving eight first-place votes and a total of 64 points.

Grinnell College, which shared last season's MWC regular-season title with Illinois College, made significant strides by winning its first MWC tournament title and securing a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Lady Blues were placed second in the poll with 54 points, narrowly ahead of Lake Forest College, which received one first-place vote and 52 points.

Illinois College is coming off a strong season with a record of 25-16-1 overall and an impressive 15-1 in conference play. The team returns four players who received all-conference honors last year under new head coach Leslie Messina.

Among these returnees is Julia Drake, named MWC Pitcher of the Year. Drake tied a school record with a 1.01 ERA and recorded 162 strikeouts, leading the conference in both categories as well as innings pitched at 124.2.

Cheyenne Anderson, a senior infielder, led her team with a .374 batting average and contributed significantly with her slugging percentage and on-base percentage. Junior infielder Kayla Serpa ended last season with a .309 batting average while being instrumental defensively. Claudia Adam, a senior outfielder, also had notable contributions throughout the previous season.

Cornell College was ranked fourth in the poll followed by Monmouth College, Ripon College, Knox College, Beloit College, and Lawrence University rounding out the predicted order of finish.

The upcoming season kicks off on February 23rd with non-conference games involving four teams from the league. Conference play will begin on April 6th. The MWC Softball Tournament is scheduled for May 10th to May 11th featuring a double-elimination format for the top four teams based on their conference winning percentages. The tournament champion will earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.