COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado — The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) released the 2019 Softball Preseason Coaches Poll and Players to Watch on Monday, with the Fort Lewis College coming in at No. 11.

The coaches poll was voted on by all 13 head softball coaches. Coaches could not vote for their own institution. The Preseason Players to Watch were selected by each institution.

Fort Lewis had two players listed as Players to Watch this spring in redshirt junior pitcher Mandy Lorenson and senior outfielder Taylor Hollestelle.

Lorenson is a right-handed pitcher projected to lead the FLC staff this spring. She had her 2019 season cut short due to injury after just two starts. In those two games, she was 1-0 with a 1.74 earned run average and 11 strikeouts in 10.1 innings pitched. In her first full season with the Skyhawks in 2018, Lorenson was 7-6 overall with a 4.20 ERA. She struck out 84 in 80 innings pitched.

As for Hollestelle, she produced a big 2019 season in her first year as a Skyhawk as she started all 47 games she appeared in, batting .354 with eight home runs and 35 runs driven in. She finished second on the team with 104 total bases and led all Skyhawks with seven stolen bases. Defensively, Hollestelle posted a .929 fielding percentage in 156 chances as an outfielder and catcher.

Fort Lewis is coming off a 2019 season that saw the team finish 16-37 overall and 12^th in the RMAC standings.

With first-year head coach Ashley Reeves at the helm, the Skyhawks will look to top their preseason prediction when the regular season starts Feb. 6-8 at the Courtyard Classic, hosted by Dixie State University in St. George, Utah.

Coaches Poll (First-Place Votes)

1. Dixie State – 133 (7)
2. Colorado Mesa – 131 (3)
3. Colorado Christian – 125 (2)
4. MSU Denver – 102
5. Colorado School of Mines – 99
6. UCCS – 86
7. CSU-Pueblo – 71
8. Regis – 68
9. Adams State – 61 (1)
10. Chadron State – 57
11. Fort Lewis – 31
12. Black Hills State – 29
13. New Mexico Highlands - 21

RMAC release: https://rmacsports.org/news/2020/1/27/2020-rmac-softball-preseason-announced.aspx