BOSTON, Mass. – With 13 letterwinners returning from last season's record-breaking season, the Wentworth Institute of Technology softball team has been picked to finish third in the 2024 Commonwealth Coast Conference Softball Preseason Poll.

The Leopards picked up 63 total points, coming in behind defending champion Endicott (79) and 2023 CCC finalist Western New England (74). The Gulls earned seven of nine first-place votes while the Golden Bears picked up the other two. Nichols (53) and the University of New England (42) rounded out the top five.

National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Region selection and three-time All-CCC honoree Kaitlin Pettenger (Budd Lake, N.J.) leads the list of Leopard returnees after batting .400 with 10 doubles, four triples, three home runs, nine stolen bases, and 21 RBI. The graduate student set the program's single-season hit record with 56 and is Wentworth's all-time hit leader with 139.

Junior Katie Kranz (Bedford, Mass.) returns after earning CCC Defensive Player of the Year honors a year ago after had had a flawless, 1.000 fielding percentage in conference play and a .984 fielding percentage overall. Junior Jess Rowe (Yardley, Pa.) is also among the returners for the Black & Gold after recording a slugging percentage of .456 with 12 of her 28 hits on the season going for extra bases. In the circle, sophomore Julie Schriver (Moscow, Pa.) posted a 14-2 record with one save and a 2.20 earned run average during her rookie campaign.

Wentworth finished the 2023 campaign with a 28-13-1 record, shattering the program record for wins in a season. The Leopards made a deep run in the CCC Tournament, finishing third. The Leopards open the 2024 season with a 10-game stretch at The Spring Games in Central Florida March 3-9.

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