The Wayne State College softball team was picked 16th in the 2020 NSIC Preseason Softball Coaches Poll.
]The Wildcats returns four starters in the field along with two starting pitchers from last year’s team that was 15-32 overall and placed 15th in the NSIC with a 6-24 league mark.]
Augustana, the defending NCAA Division II National Champion, was listed as the team to beat in the NSIC this season, receiving 223 points and 13 first place votes. Winona State followed in second place at 213 points and the remaining three first place votes. Rounding out the top five teams are Minnesota State (186), Minnesota Duluth (180) and St. Cloud State (180).
Junior third baseman Ashley Hernandez and sophomore pitcher Makenna Adkison were selected as Wildcat Players to Watch in the NSIC this season.
Hernandez, a 5-foot-4 junior third baseman from Omaha, was selected as the Wildcat Position Player to Watch this season. Hernandez is the top returning hitter from last season with a .283 average while posting a team high 13 doubles. She also had two homers with 20 RBIs and tied for second on the team with 10 multi-hit games.
Adkison, a 5-foot-4 sophomore right hander from Gilbert, Ariz., was tabbed the Wildcat Pitcher to Watch this season after throwing a team high 116 innings last season. She recorded a 5-14 record with seven complete games, two shutouts and two saves in the circle with a 5.55 ERA and a team high 51 strikeouts.
Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2020 season on Friday, Feb. 14 at the Arkansas Monticello/8-State Classic in Bentonville, Ark., playing Henderson State (Ark.) and Southwest Baptist.
