Softball Preview
Wil Lawson
Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Sports
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For the second season in a row, North Georgia is the preseason favorite to win the Peach Belt Conference championship. In addition, North Georgia has six players named to the preseason All-American team.
The pressure for North Georgia is its biggest challenge going into the new season. Only one senior left the squad and now there are four seniors starters returning this season.
Head coach Mike Davenport feels the team is ready to go this season.
"We left everything out on the field and there's no doubt we had some kids hurting but we came back in August ready to go," Davenport said.
If the No. 1 pre-season ranking was not enough, North Georgia also earned the number two ranking in all of NCAA Division II. Beyond that, top-ranked Alabama-Huntsville will travel to Dahlonega for two games March 10 and North Georgia will repay the visit March 30.
The PBC teams after North Georgia in the preseason rankings are separated by four points and each will play North Georgia at their home, adding pressure to the Lady Saints' season.
The strength on this squad is senior Sarah Phillips, who returns after a 39-3 season in which she gained five separate honors including All-American status.
On the offensive side, North Georgia hopes to follow last season's statistical rankings in which they lead in categories such as batting average, runs batted in and home runs.
The expectations are higher than they have ever been and it will be a blast this season watching these ladies duke it out for a shot at a national championship.
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