Former Charger helps Randolph-Macon top ODAC preseason poll

Defending ODAC champion Randolph-Macon softball received the top spot in the 2016 Old Dominion Athletic Conference preseason poll in voting by the leagues head coaches and released by the conference office.

The 2015 NCAA Newport News Regional runner-ups garnered 78 points and six first place votes. Virginia Wesleyan was just six points behind with three first place votes and 72 points. Lynchburg rounded out the top-three with 69 and grabbed the remaining first place vote. Roanoke was fourth followed by Emory & Henry, Guilford, Eastern Mennonite, Randolph, Shenandoah and Bridgewater.

R-MC softball head coach, Kevin Proffitt, returns for his 14th season to lead a squad full of returning talent. Proffitt is joined by assistant coaches Amanda Sopko ’15, Megan Smith, Dana Wood and Chip Bailey.

The Yellow Jackets return three All-ODAC players. Seniors Madison Gilman (Glen Allen, Va. / Patrick Henry) and Sierra Ford (Powhatan, Va. / Powhatan) are both back along with Nelda Bagley (Kenbridge, Va. / Central) who returns for her sophomore season on the pitching staff.

Gilman led the Yellow Jackets and the ODAC with 41 RBI and was second with 13 doubles. She was fourth in the conference with seven home runs. Gilman started all 38 games and was second on the club with 33 runs. She was voted All-Atlantic Region First Team and All-ODAC First Team as well as a member of the ODAC All-Tournament Team.

Ford hit .307 in 2015 with six doubles, one triple and five home runs. She was the only player in the ODAC to tally three homers in one game. She had 29 runs and 18 RBI.

Bagley went 20-6 with an ERA of 1.69. Bagley had 31 appearances and 24 starts. She recorded 23 complete games, including seven shutouts. Bagley walked 46 and struck out 167 in 178 innings. She was named All-Atlantic Region Second Team, ODAC Rookie of the Year and was selected All-ODAC Second Team. Bagley was voted the Most Outstanding Player in the ODAC Tournament after going 4-0 in four starts with two shutouts and an ERA of 0.75. She walked seven and struck out 22 in 28 innings. The left-hander was also named to the NCAA Tournament All-Regional Team for the Newport News Regional. She went 2-2 with a 1.79 ERA, striking out 19 in 31.1 innings.

Gilman and Ford have helped contribute to the continued growth of the program over the past three years. The 2013 team set the record for single season wins at 34. The 2014 team reached the ODAC Championship game for the first time. The 2015 team won the program’s first ever ODAC tournament and made the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance in the Newport News Regional. R-MC advanced to the regional final.

25 of 36 All-ODAC honorees across the league are returning in 2016 including eight First Team performers. The 2016 season begins with non-conference play on Sunday, February 14.  The first set of ODAC contests are slated for the weekend of March 19.