Fourth-year Head Coach Niki Cognigni-Pecora and the Pitt-Johnstown softball team have been picked to finish in a tie for fourth-place in the PSAC Central Division with Mansfield University when the 2019 conference Preseason Coaches Poll was released on Thursday.

Lock Haven, Gannon and West Chester topped the PSAC Preseason Softball Poll for their respective divisions..

The Mountain Cats return 12 players from last season's team that finished 13-23 overall and 8-12 in conference-play.  Among those players are three seniors and nine sophomores.  Coach Cognigni also added six freshman to this year's group.

Pitt-Johnstown will be led by senior, two-time All-PSAC outfielder Morgan Cannin.  Cannin batted .379 as a junior in 2018.

Among those returning players, several have filled everyday starting roles, including sophomore pitchers Kristen Coffay and Ashley Pagliei.

Lock Haven claimed five of the six possible first-place votes after running the table and finishing league play at 20-0 in 2018. The Bald Eagles were the first PSAC team to accomplish the feat since 2014 (California) and eighth time since 1993. Lock Haven will ride the arm of preseason All-American and reigning Pitcher of the Year, Bekah Slattery. The senior paced the league with 219 strikeouts while tying for first with 26 complete games and tying for second with 20 wins. The Bald Eagles will be under the direction of Kelly Shannon, who earned Coach of the Year accolades for the second consecutive season and is seven wins shy of 250 for her career. 
 
Bloomsburg received a first-place vote and was slotted second in the poll. The Huskies return three All-PSAC Central players in 2019 in red-shirt senior Kalynn Wheeland, senior Taylor Winkelman, and sophomore Tara Baney. Wheeland was also named to the D2CCA All-American second team last season after leading the Huskies with a .414 batting average.
 
IUP was tabbed third and return the Athlete of the Year, Kaitlyn Beers and Freshman of the Year, Renee Wall. Beers was the first Crimson Hawk to garner the award since 1999. She accumulated 33 RBI while producing a .362 batting average, including 13 doubles.  Wall matched her teammate with 13 doubles while impressing with a .370 batting average. She recorded nine multi-hit games, including a trio of three-hit contests. 
 
Mansfield and Pitt-Johnstown tied for fourth while Mansfield's coach, Edith Gallagher, is six wins shy of 450 in her career. 
 
Clarion rounded out the poll and return all-conference member Taylor Nonnenberg. Nonnenberg broke the program's career record for steals.