WEST BABYLON, N.Y. – With 33 points and three first-place votes apiece, Molloy and St. Thomas Aquinas have tied for the top spot in the 2024 ECC Softball Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league’s six head coaches and announced on Thursday afternoon. Additionally, a pair of Molloy Lions earned individual preseason honors as Steph Conrade (Franklin Square, N.Y.) was selected the Preseason Player of the Year and Brianna Macias (Downey, Calif.) was tabbed the Preseason Pitcher of the Year.
Clinching a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the first time since 2017 last spring, Molloy has finished as the ECC Championship runner-up in each of the last two seasons. The Lions have made the conference postseason 13 times in the last 14 years with five ECC titles to their name, with the most recent coming in 2016. Molloy returns a roster filled with six All-Conference players in designated player Chrissie Huhn (1st), outfielders Conrade (1st) and Alex Burns (2nd), Macias (2nd), catcher Cheralyn Dusharme (2nd), and shortstop Emily McGurk (2nd).
A back-to-back All-Conference First Team outfielder, Conrade hit a team-leading .342 (.357 ECC) last spring with a .363 on base percentage (.372 ECC) to go with an ECC-leading 31 stolen bases in 34 attempts. The Molloy graduate student posted 18 multi-hit games and swiped a bag in 24 contests, averaging an ECC-leading 0.60 stolen bases per game. Patrolling the outfield, Conrade recorded 74 putouts and seven assists with just one error made in 52 games as the Lions’ starting centerfielder.
A 2023 All-Conference Second Team pick, Macias went 13-6 (7-1 ECC) with a 2.44 ERA (1.85 ECC) and 1.15 WHIP (0.93 ECC) last spring. The Molloy senior held her opposition to a .253 batting average (.215 ECC) with 72 strikeouts to her name. With just 24 walks allowed in a team-leading 149.1 innings of work, Macias led the conference in walks allowed per seven innings (1.13). She also ranked in the ECC’s top five in ERA (2.44), WHIP (1.15), strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.00), complete games by a pitcher (15), games started by a pitcher (24) and pitching appearances (31).
In the program’s second-ever ECC Championship appearance, St. Thomas Aquinas earned an 8-3 victory over Molloy to win its first-ever ECC Championship crown last spring. The Spartans also clinched a share of the ECC Regular Season Championship for the second year in a row and, despite losing the ECC Player of the Year/Pitcher of the Year duo of Abbie Landrum and Carissa Della Vecchia, return All-Conference First Team middle infielders Elyse Marcano (2B) and Adriana Coira (SS) as well as All-Conference Second Team outfielder Eliana Raposo.
Mercy earned 22 points to take the No. 3 spot in the preseason poll. The Mavericks were the No. 3 seed in last year’s ECC Championship and return three All-Conference First Team players in first baseman Samantha Franck, shortstop Victoria Seppala, and outfielder Shannon Sisco.
In their first year of postseason eligibility after finishing their three-year NCAA-mandated transition from Division III to Division II, the D’Youville Saints are expected to be the fourth team to make the ECC Championship this spring. The Saints return four All-Conference Second Team players in second baseman Gianna Adamo, outfielder Laura Beck, utility/pitcher Lauren Booth, and pitcher Sarah Parzych.
Queens (11 points) and Staten Island (9 points) rounded out the poll in the No. 5 and No. 6 spots, respectively.
2024 ECC Softball Preseason Poll
T-1. Molloy
33 points (3 first-place votes)
31-21 (15-5 ECC) in 2023
T-1. St. Thomas Aquinas
33 points (3 first-place votes)
32-18 (15-5 ECC) in 2023
3. Mercy
22 points
15-31 (10-10 ECC) in 2023
4. D'Youville
18 points
19-28 (10-10 ECC) in 2023
5. Queens
11 points
11-34 (7-13 ECC) in 2023
6. Staten Island
9 points
11-37 (3-17 ECC) in 2023
Preseason Player of the Year
Steph Conrade, Gr., OF, Molloy
Preseason Pitcher of the Year
Brianna Macias, Sr., Molloy
Season Openers
Friday, February 2
St. Thomas Aquinas at Valkyrie Classic Tournament (Spartanburg, SC)
Saturday, February 17
Molloy at Patriot Invitational (Florence, SC)
Friday, February 23
D'Youville vs. Malone (Salem, WV), 11:00 AM
Staten Island vs. Chestnut Hill, 12:00 PM
Tuesday, March 5
Mercy at New Haven, 2:00 PM
Wednesday, March 13
Queens at Adelphi, 2:30 PM