WESTON, Mass. – The calendar turns to March at the right time for the Regis College softball team, as the Pride will open their 2020 season in Florida with their annual Spring Break trip before resuming the schedule with four straight home doubleheaders later in the month.
Head coach Tara Petrocelli-McGloin enters her third season at the helm of the softball program, with Megan Cook back for her second year as the assistant coach. Eight players return from the 2019 season, while a strong group of seven newcomers join the program ready to make an immediate impact.
Offensively, Ellery Rasmussen (Kingston, N.H.) led the way for the Pride last year, batting .414 (41-for-99) with 10 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 16 runs scored, and 13 runs batted in. She received First Team All-GNAC recognition in 2019 as she led the team with 10 multiple-hit games and a 12-game hitting streak along the way.
Sophomore Sarah Fawcett (Londonderry, N.H.) collected 20 hits last season, including six doubles, plus she led the Pride with 15 runs batted in and 13 walks. Half of Erin Murphy's (Bedford, N.H.) hits in 2019 went for extra bases, as she earned eight doubles and one triple among her 18 hits.
In the pitching circle, Madi McLellan (Fremont, N.H.) returned from injury midway through the 2019 season, throwing a four-hit shutout against Elms March 30 and striking out 10 batters in a victory over Rivier April 12. Alyssa Ward (Webster, Mass.) is also back in the pitching rotation after appearing in 21 games totaling a team-high 61 2/3 innings pitched for the Pride.
The Pride will play eight games in five days (March 1-5) in Florida against Division III schools from across the country. All of the games will be streamed through FloSports (www.flosoftball.com), but there will be a subscription charge to access the contests.
Starting March 21, Regis will resume its competition schedule with non-conference home doubleheaders against Fisher (March 21), Fitchburg State (March 22), Massachusetts Maritime (March 25), and Lesley (March 28). The Pride will then hit the road for doubleheaders at Elms College March 29 and at future GNAC member Dean College April 1.
The Pride's GNAC slate begins Saturday, April 4, at Albertus Magnus. Regis is slotted into the South Division of the GNAC and play doubleheaders against division foes Johnson & Wales (April 18), Lasell (April 9), Saint Joseph (April 19), and Simmons (April 5) as well as the Falcons. In addition, doubleheaders against North Division schools Emmanuel (April 11), Norwich (April 23), and Rivier (April 25) will count in the league standings for the Pride.
In the GNAC preseason poll, Regis finished fifth in the South Division with 22 points. The coaches expect a tight race at the top of each division, as Johnson & Wales finished first in the South with 61 points, including four first place votes, followed by Simmons with 59 points featuring three first place votes and Saint Joseph with 55 points including five first place votes. In the North, Emmanuel topped the poll with five first place votes and 62 total points, just ahead of Suffolk with 60 points including five first place votes and Saint Joseph's College with 57 points featuring the other two first place votes.
For the GNAC Tournament, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 28, teams will be seeded 1-4 by division with the #3 and #4 seeds playing a single-elimination contest for the two remaining spots in the six-team double-elimination portion of the tournament. The No. 1 seed from the North Division will host the Saturday-Sunday portion of the playoffs in 2020.