Third-year Head Coach Niki Cognigni's Pitt-Johnstown softball team has been picked to finish fifth in the Central Division, while Bloomsburg, West Chester and Seton Hill have been picked to win their respective divisions when the conference released the 2018 PSAC Preseason Coaches' Poll on Thursday.

Pitt-Johnstown, in just its fourth season as an NCAA varsity sport,is coming off of a 15-23 overall record and a 4-16 record in conference-play.  Ten letter-winners and seven seniors return, including starting pitcher Melissa Wagner and outfielder Marley Elbin, who finished second on the team in hitting at .287 a year ago.  Coach Cognigni also welcomes back junior two-time First-Team All-PSAC outfielder Morgan Cannin, who led Pitt-Johnstown in hitting (.341), hits (42), runs (20), total bases (44) and on-base percentage (.396).


PSAC Central
BU swiped three first-place votes after appearing in the 2017 PSAC Championship game. The Huskies were one of three PSAC teams to accumulate 30 wins last season and return a pair of all-conference representatives. BU coach Susan Kocher is 20 wins shy of 250. The Huskies have advanced to the NCAA Division II playoffs in six of Kocher's seven seasons and BU has finished at least nine games above .500 in 38 consecutive seasons.
 
Outfielders Emily Mayhew and Taylor Winkelman will pace the BU squad while Mayhew boasts a career batting average of .334. Winkelman tied for third in runs scored (39) while swinging at a .353 clip in 2017.
 
Lock Haven earned the No. 2 slot after garnering three first-place votes. The Bald Eagles will be under the direction of Kelly Shannon for the ninth season. Shannon has amassed 205 wins and returns a pair of all-conference members. Junior gunslinger Bekah Slattery will look to build off of a 16-win season, where she accumulated 134 strikeouts. Junior Faith Ceely led the team with 11 stolen bases while batting .309. LHU recorded 17 games last season where it scored five or more runs.
 
IUP landed at No. 3 in the poll and returns three all-conference players. Kaitlyn Beers and Lauren Goetz will patrol the infield while senior catcher Bryanna Lonick looks to manage the Crimson Hawks pitching staff. Coach Bill Graham enters his ninth season at the helm of IUP and is 14 wins shy of 250.
 
Mansfield earned the No. 4 spot and returns reigning freshman of the year Alli McGovern. McGovern impressed with a .387 batting average and a .472 slugging percentage.
 
Pitt-Johnstown and Clarion rounded out the poll, respectively.
 
PSAC East
WCU earned three first-place votes while claiming the top spot in the East. The Golden Rams won their first PSAC title last season and return senior pitcher Amanda Houck. Houck paced the league in innings pitched (260.2), wins (34), earned run average (1.50), strikeouts (196), strikeouts looking (52). WCU amassed a league-high 48 wins and advanced to the NCAA DII Super Regionals before falling to West Virginia Wesleyan in a winner-take-all contest.

PSAC West
In a tightly-contested West, Seton Hill found itself atop the poll after receiving a first-place vote. The Griffins sport a pair of all-conference performers while under the direction of Bill Monstrola. This is SHU's first appearance atop the poll and highest ranking since being picked second in 2016. The Griffins have advanced to the PSAC tournament in two of their four years in the league.