CONTACT: Steve Mullen (518) 629-8063
FOR RELEASE: Immediate, Monday, February 9, 2004
The Hudson Valley Community College softball team is ranked third in the preseason National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III poll. Meanwhile, the Hudson Valley baseball team is ranked 12th in the NJCAA Division III poll.
Led by second-year head coach Jeff Beyer, the softball team is looking to improve upon a third place finish in the Region III tournament a year ago. The Lady Vikings, who finished 29-8 in 2003, return four players who hit better than .300 last season including catcher Becky Frederick (East Nassau/New Lebanon High School). Frederick hit .327 with 15 RBI in 22 games.
Stephanie Goodspeed (Troy/Lansingburgh High School) returns as the ace of the Hudson Valley pitching staff. She was 7-4 with a 2.45 earned run average last season.
The Lady Vikings open their season on Sunday, March 21 at Disney World against the College of DuPage (IL). DuPage, last year's national runner-up, is ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA preseason poll.
The Hudson Valley baseball team is scheduled to open its season on March 6 at Queensborough Community College.
The Vikings were 27-17 last year and finished second in the Region III tournament. Infielder Ryan Gijon-Owen (Puebla, Mexico/Bowie High School) leads nine returning players that hit over .300 a year ago. Gijon-Owen hit .476 with five home runs and 48 runs batted in.
Jeremy Gulich (Horseheads/Horseheads High School) is Hudson Valley's top returning pitcher. He was 6-0 with a 3.46 earned run average last season.
Tom Reinisch is entering his 10th season as the head coach of the Hudson Valley baseball team.