UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University softball team received one first-place vote and tallied 30 points to fall second on the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Association (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Cardinals finished 2022 with a 36-20 record overall and a 17-10 mark in league play. SVSU won the conference tournament with wins over Wayne State, Ferris State, and Grand Valley State to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional.

Saginaw Valley State returns 13 players from last year's championship team including seniors Sarah Gersch, Jaclyn Groves, and Jackie Popko. Gersch compiled 54 hits, five doubles, five triples, and two home runs last season. Popko tallied 45 hits, eight doubles, and a home run in her junior campaign. Groves was 6-1 with 45.1 innings pitched in the circle with a 2.63 ERA.

"Our preseason ranking is a reflection of a great finish to last year's season and having some key returners that should set us up for a strong run in GLIAC play," said SVSU head softball coach Ryan Schalk. "More than anything, our coaching staff is excited to build off the success of last year and get out on the field to see what we can do with this team. Preseason polls are great, but all that really matters is what we do on the field moving forward."

The preseason poll is voted on by the coaches in the league who rank each team in the GLIAC from 1-7. Seven points are given to the team at the top of the list, six to the second-place team, and so on to determine the order of the poll.

Grand Valley State tops the poll with 36 points. The Lakers topped the GLIAC standings at the end of the regular season and received six of the seven first-place votes in this year's preseason poll. The Cardinals fell six points back from GVSU with one first-place vote given. Purdue Northwest jumped up two spots to finish in third with 24 points in the poll. Davenport dropped to fourth with 23 points and Wayne State tallied 14 points for fifth. Ferris State totaled 13 points for sixth and Parkside rounded out the poll with seven points.

Click here for the GLIAC release of the 2023 Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll.