Staff report
SALISBURY — South Atlantic Conference softball coaches have voted Lenoir-Rhyne as the league favorite.
The Bears received nine first-place votes and totaled 130 points. The Bears have won the last two SAC Tournaments.
Wingate received the other three first-place votes and totaled 123 points. The Bulldogs have won three straight SAC regular-season championships. Lincoln Memorial is picked third.
Next in the poll are Tusculum, Anderson, Emory & Henry and Catawba. The Indians are picked eighth in the 12-team league. They totaled 67 points.
Catawba senior Brianna Gallagher, the 2025 SAC Player of the Year, is a utility player on the preseason All-SAC team. She can play in the infield or outfield. She had a monumental offensive season in 2025 with a .480 batting average, 16 homers and 43 RBIs for a 23-23 team.
Catawba has four players on the SAC Players to Watch List.
Grace Flynn, a versatile junior from East Forsyth, batted .359 with seven homers and 23 RBIs.
Madde Altiers, a senior catcher/first baseman from North Davidson, batted .355 with 11 homers and 31 RBIs.
Alexandra Baquie (11-8), a senior from Florida, and Kate Holland (8-10), a sophomore from Georgia, did most of the pitching for Catawba in 2025.
Catawba is scheduled to host Augusta at Whitley Field on Jan. 31. That doubleheader starts at 1 p.m.
SAC Poll
1 Lenoir-Rhyne (9) 130
2 Wingate (3) 123
3 Lincoln Memorial 101
4 Carson-Newman 99
5 Tusculum 95
6 Anderson 79
7 Emory & Henry 74
8 Catawba 67
9 Mars Hill 53
10 Newberry 47
11 UVA Wise 30
12 Coker 26
