Briar Cliff Softball picked to finish 10th in GPAC

Briar Cliff Softball picked to finish 10th in GPAC
January 26th, 2023 | bcuchargers.com

The Great Plains Athletics Conference announced the 2023 Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll Thursday morning. The Chargers were selected 10th in the poll with 37 total points.

Briar Cliff finished ninth in the conference standings a season ago after posting a 9-13 conference record. The Chargers held an overall record of 19-22.

Kylee Lukes highlights the returners from last year’s squad, as she was named to the all-GPAC second team. Lukes posted a .357 batting average with two home runs, 10 doubles, 32 runs and 19 RBIs. Aubrey Chichurka had a team high 28 RBIs to go with her .323 batting average.

Briar Cliff graduated their top hitter from last season, Josie Chronic who hit .408, but return their next eight hitters with six posting a .300 or higher batting average. Karina Cupples was successful on 13-of-15 stolen base attempts and hit .353.

The Cliff will look to returners Morgan JonesMackenna Raby and Georgia Krohn along with some new faces to control the pitching circle. Jones and Raby posted 5-4 and 2-1 records, respectively and worked primarily in relief. Krohn led the squad with 60 strikeouts.  

Midland is the favorite to win the conference and received 10 of the 12 first place votes. The Warriors were the GPAC Champions last season after holding a 19-3 conference record. Northwestern was picked second with 102 points and two first place votes, while Morningside was third with 93 points. Jamestown and Mount Marty rounded out the top five with 80 and 78 points respectively.

The GPAC Postseason Tournament will feature two four-team tournaments (Seeds 1,4,5,8 and Seeds 2,3,6,7) (double elimination) on May 3-4 at the sites of the top two seeds. Then the two tournament winners will play on Saturday, May 6, in the GPAC Championship (three game series) at the highest remaining seed.

Points were awarded on an 11-1 basis and coaches could not vote for their own team. The full release from the GPAC can be found HERE.

Here is the complete 2023 GPAC Softball Preseason Coaches’ Poll:

1.           Midland (119), 10 first place votes

2.           Northwestern (102), 2 first place votes

3.           Morningside (93)

4.           Jamestown (80)

5.           Mount Marty (78)

6.           Dordt (73)

7.           Doane (58)

8.           Concordia (53)

9.           College of Saint Mary (48)

10.         Briar Cliff (37)

11.         Hastings (32)

12.         Dakota Wesleyan (19)

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