PAC Release

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. -- Allegheny College softball received two first-place votes and finished third in the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll for the upcoming 2024 season.

Allegheny, who finished third in the conference last spring, is expected to qualify for the PAC Championship Tournament again this season as the third-place team. The Gators were one of four teams to earn at least one first-place vote and finished with 83 total points in the poll.

The defending champions from Waynesburg University received six first-place votes and 95 points. Westminster College was second with 89 points and two first-place votes. Geneva College (73) and Saint Vincent College (63) rounded out the top five in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

The Class of 2025 was well represented on the PAC's Players to Watch list. All five selections from Allegheny were juniors, and four are returning All-PAC honorees. Pitcher Aleya Belardinelli (Melbourne, Fla./West Shore) and infielder Sophia Godzak (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon) were both named to the 2023 All-PAC First team after leading the Gators in the circle and at the plate. All-PAC Second Team catcher Cameron Long (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) and first baseman Sofia Genareo (Lakewood, N.Y./Southwestern Central) were also included on the watch list, along with infielder Olivia Devries (Kent, Ohio/Field).

The Gators open the 2024 campaign with their annual spring break trip to Central Florida. The week-long road trip begins on Sunday, March 3, when Allegheny faces Concordia College (Minn.) and Penn State Brandywine in Clermont, Florida.