Liberty Voted Preseason Favorite in ASUN Softball Poll
1/27/2021 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Official ASUN Release
For the third year in a row, Liberty has been voted the favorite to win the ASUN Conference championship in the ASUN Preseason Softball Poll, released Wednesday by the league office. The poll was voted on by all nine of the conference's head coaches.
Liberty senior infielder Amber Bishop-Riley was named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year and was joined on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team by sophomore outfielder Kara Canetto. Additionally, freshman Savannah Channell was named ASUN Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
The Liberty senior receives her second career conference preseason player of the year honor, as she was also named the 2018 Big South Preseason Player of the Year. Bishop-Riley is the second player in program history to be named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, as her sister Autumn Bishop received the honor in 2019.
Liberty has been the preseason favorite in the ASUN coaches poll all three years that the Lady Flames have been in the conference. The Lady Flames earned the top spot in the 2021 ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll with 73 points, receiving five first place votes.
Kennesaw State is listed second in the poll with 67 points, including one first-place vote. FGCU follows in third place with 62 points and two first-place votes. The 2019 ASUN regular-season and tournament champion, Lipscomb, received one first-place mention and 53 total points for fourth place.
Hailing from Murrieta, Calif., Amber Bishop is one of two players in program history to be named NFCA All-Region three times, including a first-team mention in 2019. She was off to the best start of her career when the 2020 season was halted. She batted .420 with 10 homers and 27 RBI in just 23 games. Over the final 11 games of the season, she batted .600 (18-for-30) with nine homers and 25 RBI. The senior homered twice and drove in five runs against No. 6 Michigan, hitting a walk-off homer. She led the ASUN in homers, RBI and slugging percentage.
A native of Sylvania, Ga., Canetto had a tremendous bounce-back season in 2020 after missing the second half of her freshman season with injury. A 2019 ASUN All-Freshman Team honoree, she batted .394 with a team-high seven doubles in 2020. She was even better against Top 25 teams, batting .444 (16-for-36) versus nationally-ranked opponents. The junior recorded seven multiple-hit games, including three three-hit contests. Canetto went 3-for-4 with a game-tying RBI in a 6-5 win over No. 6 Michigan and had two-hit games against No. 22 Auburn, No. 8 Alabama and No. 1 Washington. She was voted to the 2020 VaSID All-State first team.
Channell, a Keystone Heights, Fla., native, made an immediate impact at shortstop last year before the season was halted. She started 22 games and led the team with 55 assists. Channell recorded seven assists versus No. 22 Auburn, the most assists by a Lady Flame in a single game since 2015. Her diving stop kept Megan Johnson's 39-pitch perfect game against Texas Southern alive.
Facing the second-toughest schedule in the nation, the Lady Flames posted a 10-13 record last season before the campaign was shut down due to the CoVID-19 pandemic. Liberty hit its stride right before the season was halted, going 9-2 in its last 11 games.
A challenging schedule awaits, which will be announced later this week.
2021 ASUN Conference Preseason Softball Poll
Team (First-place votes) – Points
1. Liberty (5) 73
2. Kennesaw State (1) 67
3. FGCU (2) 62
4. Lipscomb (1) 53
5. North Alabama 50
6. North Florida 41
7. Jacksonville 28
8. Stetson 17
9. Bellarmine 14
2021 Preseason All-ASUN Team
Megan Garst, North Alabama, Sr., P
Alyssa Bilodeau, Jacksonville, Sr., P
Cheyanne Sales, Kennesaw State, So., C
Amber Bishop-Riley, Liberty, Sr., INF
Reedy Davenport, FGCU, Jr., INF
Taylor Cates, Kennesaw State, Jr., INF
Amy Vetula, Lipscomb, Jr., INF
Johneisha Rowe, FGCU, So., OF
Brea Dickey, Kennesaw State, Sr., OF
Kara Canetto, Liberty, So., OF
Rebecca Koskey, North Florida, So., UT/DP
Preseason Player of the Year: Amber Bishop-Riley, Liberty
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Reedy Davenport, FGCU
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Megan Garst, North Alabama
Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Johneisha Rowe, FGCU
Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Savannah Channell, Liberty
Fan-Voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Melanie Bennett, Kennesaw State
Amber Bishop-Riley and Kara Canetto of @LibertySB are members of the 2021 #ASUNSB Preseason All-Conference Team??????
— #ASUNSB ?? (@ASUNSoftball) January 27, 2021
The Flames are favored to win the title this season??
?? | https://t.co/mRAg1p4cV2#RiseWithUs??| @kara_can10 pic.twitter.com/cfuAU1VeHd
