2017 UMAC Softball Season Preview (Feb. 15, 2017)

After a third-place finish in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference regular season during 2016, the University of Wisconsin Superior secured the UMAC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament a season ago. This year, UMAC coaches predicted the Yellowjackets to be among the favorites, tagging UWS as second in the UMAC Softball Coaches Preseason Poll released on Wednesday. The Yellowjackets finished with 56 points in the poll, securing one first-place vote while preseason favorite the College of St. Scholastica had 64 points and the remaining eight first place votes. The University of Northwestern had 51 points in third place and Crown College 38 points in fourth.

UW-Superior ended its season 27-15 a season ago, 13-3 in league play and third overall as stated, while having its most success at home, where the Yellowjackets were 5-1 at Liebart Field a season ago. UWS will begin its season on the road later this month at the Finlandia Dome tournament. The Yellowjackets were 1-3 last year at the Superior Dome in Marquette, competing in three extra-inning games in the process. UWS will face four regional foes this season on Feb. 24-26, including former Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Next month, UW-Superior will hit Florida for the Gene Cusic Classic. The Yellowjackets were 10-4 in Fort Myers a season ago. Key match-ups this season are against regional foe Marian University and two against conference rival Crown.

After returning to the northland, UW-Superior will open UMAC play at Martin Luther College on Saturday, April 1 - no fools. The Knights finished sixth, just outside the playoff field, a season ago, and the Yellowjackets had success, posting a 2-0 record against Martin Luther a season ago. UWS will open its home season on Wednesday, April 5 hosting Northland College. The LumberJills were just 3-13 in the UMAC last season, finishing seventh, and the Yellowjackets out-scored Northland 23-6 in a doubleheader sweep last year. UW-Superior will meet up with last season's UMAC regular season champion and top rival the College of St. Scholastica on Tuesday, April 11 across the bridge in Duluth.

After Northland, the Yellowjackets will host Crown (Apr. 13), Northwestern (Apr. 19), and North Central University (Apr. 29) in conference doubleheaders. The UMAC season concludes with a five-team double-elimination tournament on May 4-6 hosted by the number one seed.

UW-Superior returns five starters from last year's team including their staff ace, senior right-handed pitcher Sarah Hendrickson (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld H.S.). An All-UMAC First Team selection last year, Hendrickson posted a 2.38 ERA and 20-9 record in 167.1 innings during 2016. In the field, the Yellowjackets will be led by junior outfielder Ciarra Taipale (Duluth, Minn./Denfeld H.S.), another All-UMAC First Teamer, and junior infielder Katie White (Pequot Lakes, Minn./Pequot Lakes H.S.), a 2016 All-UMAC Honorable Mention. Taipale had eight home runs and 45 runs batted in a season ago while posting a .361/.419/.664 line. White batted .326/.374/.481 with 11 doubles and 25 runs. The duo accounted for 86 of the Yellowjackets' 131 combined hits returning from last season. UW-Superior bid farewell to a pair of All-UMAC players after last season in outfielder Katie Wilke (Baraboo, Wis./Baraboo) and infielder Shelly Misco (Appleton, Wis./Appleton North). The two combined for 48 runs a season ago.

Ten new players will join the Yellowjackets on the field in 2017. Infielders Bailey Kinnunen (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids H.S.), Emma Koski (Barnum, Minn./Barnum H.S.), Bobbi Jean Miller (Oak Grove, Minn./St. Francis H.S.) and Damara Theis (Shakopee, Minn./Shakopee H.S.) all cross the border from the state of Minnesota. A pair of first-year players - outfielder Maria Linder and right-handed pitcher Megan Pehrson (Grand Rapids, Minn./Grand Rapids H.S.) hail from Grand Rapids, Minnesota. In addition to these six newcomers, three current UW-Superior athletes join the Yellowjackets on the diamond: women's hockey senior forward Hailey Adair (Brooklyn Park, Minn./Champlin Park H.S.) as a right-handed pitcher; women's golfer and hockey defender Maggie Cragg (Champlin, Minn./Champlin Park H.S.) as an infielder; and women's soccer and hockey forward Sarah Fjeran (Duluth, Minn./Marshall School) as a utility player.

ON DECK
The season gets underway on Friday, Feb. 24 as the Yellowjackets take on UW-Stevens Point in the lid-lifter at the Finlandia Dome Tournament. First pitch is set for 8:00 p.m. ET in Marquette, Michigan.