SOFTBALL PICKED TO FINISH NINTH IN NEC PRESEASON POLL

SMITHFIELD, R.I. - After posting an 11-31 record and going 5-5 against league opponents in its first season of Division I play in 2009, the Bryant University softball team was picked to finish ninth among the 11 teams in the Northeast Conference, as voted by league coaches. The poll was released by conference officials on Wednesday afternoon.

After years of success at the Division II level, the Bryant softball team began the transition to Division I in 2009, compiling 11 wins in its inaugural season, including five against future Northeast Conference opponents. Sophomore starting pitcher Samantha Houseal (Mount Joy, PA/Donegal) stepped up for the Bulldogs last season, winning all 11 games while setting the BU single-season record for strikeouts (180) and innings pitched (249.2). Houseal and the rest of the Bulldog contingent are led by 10^th-year head coach Lisa Ann Wallace, who welcomes seven freshmen and returns just three seniors. One such senior is shortstop Ali Chouinard (Swansea, MA/Joseph Case), who finished last season second on the team in runs (14), hits (28) and doubles (7), and bested the field in walks with 16. Behind the shortstop is classmate Ashley Coon (Levittown, PA/Conwell Egan Catholic), who finished the season first in doubles (8) and second in RBI (14). Bryant will play a full conference schedule in 2010, including seven home games in its second year of transition to the DI level.

The NEC coaches selected Long Island for the top spot in the league's preseason poll, as LIU seeks to reclaim the league crown in 2010. Sacred Heart, Robert Morris, Monmouth, and Quinnipiac round out the top five followed by Wagner, Mount St. Mary's, Saint Francis (PA), Bryant, Fairleigh Dickinson and Central Connecticut State University who closes out the preseason field.

The Bulldogs open up the second year of their Division I transition in the 24th annual Louisiana Classic. Bryant will play five games in three days, starting with host Louisiana-Lafayette on Feb. 12. The Bulldogs will then travel to Kissimmee, Fla. to play in the 2010 Rebel games March 7-12.

Bryant will host Holy Cross in their home opener on Tuesday, March 16 at 4:00 p.m.