UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team collected three first-place votes to finish second in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) preseason coaches poll.
"Preseason polls are a good starting point, but our success comes down to the hard work we do every day in practice," said SVSU head softball coach Ryan Schalk. "We are just excited to get going and start the 2024 season as strong as we can. We have the potential to be a dangerous team when you mix in our experience with the talent that our newcomers have. Ultimately, we just want to compete day in and day out and the rest will take care of itself."
The Cardinals' season came to an end at the NCAA Division II Regionals after SVSU made it to the finals of the regional for the second-straight season. The Cardinals also won back-to-back GLIAC Tournament Championships last season after finishing the year with a 37-16 overall record and a 14-7 mark in the conference.
Eleven freshmen were added to the roster for the 2024 season, adding depth to the team which is led by a solid core of returners.
Second-team All-GLIAC selection Katelyn Pnacek, and All-GLIAC Honorable Mention members Olivia Sabin, and Paige Kolinski lead the returning bats for the Cardinals. Pnacek finished 2023 with the fifth-best batting average last season at .313. She totaled 41 hits, 21 runs, 10 doubles, two triples, and two home runs along with 28 RBI. Sabin finished with a .282 average and had a stat line of 13 runs, 20 hits, two doubles, a triple, a home run, and 10 RBI. Kolinski held a .265 average and recorded 16 runs, 31 hits, eight doubles, and a team-leading six home runs. Seniors Sydney Herioux and Maddie Campagna also return. Herioux had a .243 average a season ago. The second-team All-GLAC recipient recorded 17 runs, 26 hits, four doubles, and 19 RBI. Campagna hit .221 with 21 hits, 18 runs, four doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI.
The Cardinals return two senior pitchers in Emily DePew and Alyssa Muench. DePew was named first-team All-GLIAC while Muench earned All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. DePew led the team with 180.2 innings pitched, 146 strikeouts, and a 1.82 ERA. The Lowell, Michigan product finished the year with a 19-7 record in the circle. She is top ten in the career record books in almost every category, highlighted by being tied for fourth in career appearances with 90, fourth in victories with 51, fourth in strikeouts with 474, and tied for fifth in starts with 72. Muench pitched in 78.1 innings and tallied 53 strikeouts, one save, and a 3.22 ERA. Muench is fifth in the record book with five saves in her career.
Ryan Schalk enters his second season as the head coach of the Cardinal softball team. He is assisted by Steve Bohn and volunteer assistant Sarah Gersch.
The 2024 season begins on Friday, February 23 with a doubleheader against Lincoln Memorial before a trip to Tennessee the following day has the Cardinals facing Clarion, Bloomsburg, and Lincoln Memorial. The Florida Spring Break trip starts March 2 with eight games taking place during that trip. The GLIAC season starts on Saturday, March 23 at Ferris State before the conference, and the season home opener happens on Friday, March 29 against Parkside.