The IPFW softball team was recently picked to finish third in the Summit League by the conference’s coaches.
The Mastodons got 46 votes. Defending regular-season champion UMKC (five first-place votes) edged out tournament champion North Dakota State (4 firsts) 61-60.
The rest of the voting went Southern Utah (44 points), Western Illinois (38), IUPUI (22), South Dakota State (22), Oakland (18) and South Dakota (13).
The Mastodons return Summit League Pitcher of the Year Courtney Cronin, Summit League Freshman of the Year Ashleigh Bousquet and Cassie Wolfe, who is second in career home runs at IPFW.
IPFW opens the season Feb. 10 against Alabama State.
– The Journal Gazette