University of Southern Indiana Softball is the unanimous No. 1 ranked team in the nation according to the National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association Preseason Top 25 Poll, which was released Wednesday morning.
The Screaming Eagles received all 16 first-place votes after capturing their first-ever national championship in 2018. USI finished the year with a 41-23 overall record and a 15-13 mark in Great Lakes Valley Conference play a year ago. They went 14-1 in the post-season record en route to the school’s first-ever women’s team national title.
In addition to USI, the GLVC is represented by the University of Illinois Springfield (12), while the Midwest Region also is represented by Grand Valley State University (16).
Trailing USI in the top five was No. 2 Southern Arkansas University, No. 3 University of North Georgia, No. 4 Saint Anselm College and No. 5 St. Leo University. The Eagles are slated to play five teams that are in the NFCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, including Saint Anselm (March 6), No. 11 University of Alabama-Huntsville (February 9), Illinois Springfield (March 17), No. 13 Young Harris College (February 8) and Grand Valley State (March 5).
Head Coach Sue Kunkle, who earned her 500th career win during the GLVC Tournament last season, returns for her 18th year at the helm of the Eagles after her coaching staff was named the NFCA National Coaching Staff of the Year. Kunkle will look to a two-time All-American in junior pitcher Jennifer Leonhardt (Louisville, Kentucky) to lead her squad into 2019.
Leonhardt was named the NCAA II Softball Championship Most Outstanding Player after going 5-0 with a 1.44 ERA, a .091 opponent batting average and 40 strikeouts in 34 innings of work. That effort included a one-hit shutout of top-ranked University of North Georgia as well as USI’s first-ever post-season no-hitter in USI’s 3-0 win over Angelo State University.
In the post-season, Leonhardt posted a 12-1 overall record with a 1.35 ERA, .152 opponent batting average and 96 strikeouts.
Leonhardt, who was named preseason second-team All-America by Fastpitch News last week, is one of several returning players that made a major impact last year. Senior second baseman Claire Johnson (Pittsboro, Indiana) and senior outfielder/pitcher Caitlyn Bradley (Forest, Indiana) each earned NCAA II Softball Championship All-Tournament accolades a year ago. Johnson hit .313 with two home runs and four RBIs in the NCAA II Softball Championship; and posted a team-best .356 batting average with nine RBIs and 17 run scored throughout the postseason.
Bradley hit .375 with a double, home run and seven RBIs during the Eagles’ five-game championship run a year ago after posting a 7-4 record with three saves, a 1.87 ERA and a .241 opponent batting average in the circle as a sophomore in 2018.
Junior outfielder Allison Schubert (Nicholasville, Kentucky) also bolsters the Eagles’ offensive lineup after earning second-team All-Midwest Region and All-GLVC honors last season. She led USI with a .340 batting average, 14 doubles, 10 home runs and 51 RBIs in 2018.
USI, which has won two straight regional titles, opens the season February 8 when it takes on Young Harris at the UAH Charger Chillout in Huntsville, Alabama. The Eagles are slated to host the Midwest Region Crossover February 22-24 at Deaconess Sports Park before taking part in The Spring Games March 2-9 in Clermont, Florida.
The Eagles open their 2019 home and GLVC schedule March 16 when it hosts McKendree at the USI Softball Field. USI has eight home doubleheaders at the USI Softball Field, which will be decked out with new bleachers this year.
GLVC Tournament play returns to the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois, May 2-4, while the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament is May 9-12. The NCAA II Super Regional is May 16-17, while the 2019 NCAA II Softball Championship is May 23-27 in Denver, Colorado.
