TOLEDO, Ohio --- The Owens Community College softball team will open the season ranked No. 8 in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division III preseason poll.
Owens, which finished 13-7 overall last year and won the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (OCCAC) championship, returns a slew of talent, including four of their top six hitters in terms of batting average and their top two pitchers from last season.
"This team has a chance to be really special," head coach Chuck Brososky said. "In my 20 years of coaching, they are one of the most talented teams I have had the pleasure to be part of. They practice with enthusiasm and genuinely like to be together. I look forward to seeing how the season plays out."
Those returners include Hayley Kanzig, who hit .571 with three home runs and 30 RBI over 17 games, Alexis Orner, who hit .459 with five doubles, three triples and 14 RBI over 20 games, Autumn Brososky, who hit .439 with three doubles, two triples, 19 RBI and a team-best nine stolen bases in 20 games, and Kennedy Ryan, who hit .439 with six doubles, one triple, two home runs and 21 RBI over 19 games.
Kanzig (Shelby, Ohio/Shelby HS) was tabbed the OCCAC player of the year and became the eighth Owens softball player to earn NJCAA All-American recognition last year with her second-team selection. Along with Kanzig and Brososky, Orner (Holland, Ohio/Springfield HS) also made the all-conference team along with Valerie Swope (Rossford, Ohio/Rossford HS), who returns after hitting .333 with six doubles, four triples and eight RBI over 18 contests.
Brososky (Ida, Mich./Ida HS), who was named the OCCAC co-pitcher of the year, went 8-3 in the circle with a 3.65 ERA and five complete games. Ryan (Castalia, Ohio/Bellevue HS) also saw significant time as a two-way player, finishing 5-1 with 22 strikeouts.
Owens will be led by Chuck Brososky, who is the reigning OCCAC coach of the year. He is entering his third year as head coach following one season as the pitching coach. Two former Express standouts on the softball field also return as assistant coaches, Aubrey Geis and Tayler Redinger, who combined to win four OCCAC championships and make two NJCAA Division II national tournament appearances during their playing careers. Redinger was a key member of the 2011 national runner-up team that was inducted into the Owens Athletics Hall of Fame.
The Express are currently slated to open the season at home against Heidelberg University JV on March 15. For the full schedule, visit here.
2022 NJCAA D-III Softball Preseason Poll
1. Rock Valley College (7)
2. Corning Community College
3. Herkimer College
4. North Dakota State College of Science
5. Rowan College South Jersey - Gloucester
6. College of DuPage
7. Suffolk Community College
8. Owens Community College
9. Brookdale Community College
10. Joliet Junior College
Receiving votes: Anoka-Ramsey, St. Cloud Tech.
Baseball receiving votes in preseason poll
The Owens baseball program, which finished 35-15 overall last year and won the Region XII Great Lakes district championship before making an appearance in the NJCAA Division III World Series, debuted this year in the receiving votes section of the preseason poll. The Express will be led by sixth-year head coach John Parisho.