Aces chosen to finish in 6th place
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- LOUIS – On Wednesday, the Missouri Valley Conference released its 2017 Preseason Softball Poll. With a solid nucleus of players returning from last year’s 24-win squad, the University of Evansville was picked to finish sixth in the league.
“Honestly, preseason polls and rankings are fun but do not mean much. We know as a team what we have to do and where we want to be,†Purple Aces head coach Mat Mundell said. “Now that the season is here, it is time to go to work. When it comes to polls and rankings, our focus is more on where we are at the end of the season.â€
The MVC also released its preseason first team, which featured UE sophomore Morgan Florey. Florey, who is the defending MVC Freshman of the Year, finished third in the MVC with a 1.95 ERA and went 16-11 in the circle. She was also the top power hitter on the team, leading UE with 8 home runs and 26 RBI.
Also coming back for the Aces is 2-time All-MVC First Teamer Chandra Parr. The senior was a strong hitter in 2016, batting .306 with 23 RBIs.
With six first-place votes, Drake was picked to win the league, just ahead of Wichita State, who received three of the top votes. Southern Illinois was chosen third with UNI and Illinois State rounding out the top five. The full poll and preseason squad is below.
Rank     Team (1st-place votes)  Points
1Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Drake (6)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 92
2Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Wichita State (3)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 88
3             Southern Illinois               82
4Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â UNI (1)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 68
5             Illinois State                      54
6             Evansville                           53
T7          Missouri State                  34
Bradley                                34
9             Indiana State                    28
10          Loyola                                  14
Player, Team                                         Pos.    Yr.
Shaye Harre, Southern Illinois            1B      Sr.
Kassie Brown, Indiana State                2B      Sr.
Taryn Pena, Drake                                  3B   Soph.
Mackenzie Wright, Wichita State      3B      Jr.
Riley Strandgard, Illinois State            SS       Jr.
Jordan de los Reyes, Illinois State      C       Sr.
Morgan Florey, Evansville                 UT/P Soph.
Macklin Hitz, Wichita State         DP/UT-NP Sr.
Kennedy Frank, Drake                          OF   Soph.
Erica Nagel, Loyola                                OF      Sr.
Kelly Kapp, Bradley                               OF      Sr.
Nicole Newman, Drake                          P        Jr.
Brianna Jones, Southern Illinois        P      Soph.
