The Fort Lewis College softball season will begin in one week when the Skyhawks will travel to Albuquerque for three games against Oklahoma Baptist University and Eastern New Mexico.
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference released the preseason coaches poll Thursday, and FLC was picked 11th out of 13 teams in the conference. The Skyhawks received 40 points in the poll. Dixie State, a newcomer to the RMAC, received seven first-place votes and 138 points to edge perennial RMAC favorite Colorado Mesa by three points. The Mavericks earned the other six first-place votes. Colorado Christian came in third with 113 points, while Regis was fourth with 110 and Metro State University-Denver was fifth with 102.
FLC was one point behind Black Hills State and one point in front of Chadron State. New Mexico Highlands was picked last with 17 points. The Skyhawks didn’t receive a preseason All-RMAC selection for any of its players.
Clara Larson of Colorado School of Mines was named the preseason player of the year. The All-American hit for a .425 average as a sophomore last season. She had 15 home runs and 21 doubles, while she drove in 64 runs and scored 59 times.
Kimbri Herring of Colorado Mesa was named the preseason pitcher of the year. The all-region talent was one of four Mavericks to make the preseason all-conference team. Last year as a junior, Herring helped the team to a 48-5 overall record and 33-3 mark in RMAC play with a sweep of the regular season and conference tournament championships. She was named the RMAC tournament MVP after pitching to a 4-0 record. Herring finished the year with a 22-3 record and 2.25 earned-run average while she held hitters to a .213 average. She had 168 strikeouts in 130 2/3 innings.
Last season, FLC finished with a 16-38 record and 10-30 mark in conference play. The team has played only four true home games the last two seasons while Aspen Field underwent renovations that took longer than expected. The team went 2-2 that weekend against CSU-Pueblo. Last year’s finish was an improvement from the team’s 6-43 record in 2017 that included 5-35 in RMAC play.
FLC hasn’t reached the RMAC tournament since 2014, when it went 26-29 and 19-19 in conference play. The team hasn’t finished a regular season with a winning record since 2012, when it went 30-26 and 24-16 in conference.
The Skyhawks are led by third-year head coach Elle Fracker. The young FLC team from recent years returned plenty of experience now with senior slugger Angelique Elemen along with nine juniors. Elemen has 40 career home runs at FLC after she belted 11 last season. Her numbers declined her junior year with a dip from a .408 batting average her sophomore season to .370 a year ago, while her slugging percentage dropped to .671 after it was at .852 a year earlier.
Sophomore Pilar Gutierrez also returned after she hit .313 last season, while speedy junior Allison Young will look to once again lead the Skyhawks on the base paths.
Many Lorenson, who won 10 games a year ago, will return to the pitching circle for FLC. She boasted a 3.60 ERA last season in 17 starts. In 107 innings, she had 116 strikeouts. She will be backed by Kendra Keahbone, Kelly Decker and Kassidy Trumbo. After trips to Albuquerque, St. George, Utah, and Tucson, Arizona, FLC will open RMAC play at home Feb. 23 against Colorado Mesa.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
