WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. - After earning the No. 5 seed in their first season in the MAC Freedom, the Lycoming College softball team was selected to finish sixth in the MAC Freedom Softball Coaches' Preseason Poll, the conference office in Annville, Pa., announced Monday, Jan. 24.
 
The Warriors, with 26 votes, tied with Wilkes in the poll. Stevens topped the poll, receiving 59 votes and five first place votes. Arcadia (56) with two first place votes, Misericordia (55) with two first place votes, King's (43), and DeSales (33) rounded out the top five. FDU-Florham (18) and Delaware Valley (8) close out the poll.
 
The Warriors fell to King's in the MAC Freedom Championship quarterfinals in 2021, as King's won two games in a best of three series to continue to the next round. The Warriors finished with a 10-16 record under eight-year head coach Melissa Montoro after finishing fifth in the conference with a 9-9 record in conference play, the team's best conference record since 2011.
 
Junior outfielder Morgan Wetzel (Mill Hall, Pa./Central Mountain) returns, having led the Warriors with a .423 batting average. Wetzel, a second-team All-MAC Freedom outfielder, also led the team with 33 hits, one triple, four home runs, and 17 RBI in 2021. Two other returning Warriors, senior designated hitter Morgan Klosko (Kingston, Pa./Wyoming Valley West), and sophomore pitcher/outfielder Kylie Russell (Jersey Shore, Pa./Jersey Shore Area) were honorable mention all-conference selections. The team also produced seven NFCA Scholar Athlete honors and 12 MAC Academic Honor Roll honors.
 
The Warriors open their season at the Fast Pitch Spring Dreams Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. on Monday, March 14, taking on St. Joseph's College (Long Island) at 1:30 p.m. and St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) at 3:30 p.m.