SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Endicott College and Salve Regina University have been voted as the favorites to win the 2015 Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) softball championship after the Gulls received five first place votes and the Seahawks received four first place votes for a total of 93 points in the CCC preseason coaches' poll. Western New England University was selected third after earning one first-place vote and a total of 75 points. The University of New England placed fourth after receiving 66 points to round out the top billing. Wentworth was picked to finished 10th among the conference playing schools.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head softball coaches.

Two of the top four teams in the 2014 preseason poll faced off for the CCC title a season ago. The Gulls were victorious 7-6 over the Golden Bears after EC scored a run in the bottom of the 12th inning marking Endicott's 10th CCC championship since 2011.

The Gulls participated in the NCAA Division III Softball Tournament in 2014, as Endicott earned the CCC's automatic bid into the tournament. EC's softball season came to an end on after they dropped an 11-0 decision to reigning National Champions, Tufts in one of two, New England Regional finals. Endicott defeated Williams and Lesley to eliminate the two from the double elimination round of the regional tournament before being ousted by the Jumbos. The Gulls finished their season 27-13-1, 14-4 in CCC action.

Just a season ago, the Seahawks finished their 2014 campaign tying for first in CCC play with an overall record of 22-19, 14-4 while participating in the ECAC Championships.
All ten CCC softball teams will start their quest for the 2015 conference title within the next two weeks. The top eight teams in the regular-season conference standings will qualify for the conference tournament, which gets underway Saturday, April 25 with a one-game play-in round between the fifth and eighth seed and the sixth and seventh seed, with the winners advancing to the six-team double elimination phase. The top four seeds will automatically be placed in the six-team double elimination phase of the tournament, which begins on Monday, April 27 and will continue through Saturday, May 2.

Second-year head coach Caitlin Luquet welcomes back six letterwinners from last year's squad and is poised to make a run at a conference tournament berth. Leading the way are a pair of All-CCC selections from a season ago in seniors Sam Curran and Liz Glavin. Curran, who was also named an Academic All-American, batted .417 with 11 doubles, three triples, two home runs, and 13 RBI, while Glavin, who was the conference's rookie of the year as a freshman, batted .460 with nine doubles, one triple, five home runs, and 32 RBI. Junior Karsyn Sawyer returns to the mix as well after hitting .357 a season ago with a pair of doubles and five triples.

2015 CCC Softball Preseason Coaches' Poll