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UTM softball picked second in OVC preseason poll

UTM softball picked second in OVC preseason poll
UTM softball picked second in OVC preseason poll | Ohio Valley Conference softball, The University of Tennessee at Martin, Skyhawks, UTM, Jenny Bain, Donley Canary

CANARY
MARTIN, Tenn. – Defending Ohio Valley Conference softball tournament champion, The University of Tennessee at Martin, has been predicted to finish the 2010 regular season in second place by the league’s head coaches. The Skyhawks return three all-conference players, including freshman of the year Jenny Bain, from last year’s team that advanced to the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament.
UT Martin earned two first place votes and accumulated 60 points in the poll, tying them with Southeast Missouri and Tennessee Tech. The Skyhawks won the second place tie-breaker by virtue of their first place votes.
“With the way last season ended and the number of people we have coming back, I’m not surprised to be picked where we are,” said Skyhawk head coach Donley Canary. “Games are not played on paper though, so we will still have to prove ourselves on the field.”
Canary added, “While the regular season is very important, it is ultimately the tournament that decides if you get an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament and that is the goal again this year, to be one of the 64 teams playing in the postseason.”
The Skyhawks broke 12 school records in 2009, including the coveted home run record with 55, last year en route to the program’s first national postseason appearance. Canary will field a similar team in 2010, as the Skyhawks return 14 letterwinners, including six position starters from last year’s squad. In addition, Canary and his staff worked hard this offseason to add six prized recruits, as the Skyhawks will look to gear up once again for a deep postseason run.
UT Martin will begin its 58-game schedule on Feb. 12 when it faces Missouri-Kansas City in the season opener at the Middle Tennessee Invitational. The Skyhawks will play 24 games away from Bettye Giles Field before they welcome Eastern Kentucky for the home and OVC opener on March 20.