Liberty Voted Preseason Favorite in ASUN Softball Poll
1/24/2022 3:01:40 PM | Softball
For the fourth straight year, Liberty has been voted the favorite to win the ASUN Conference championship in the ASUN Preseason Softball Poll, released today by the league office. The poll was voted on by all 12 of the conference’s head coaches.
Liberty junior outfielder Kara Canetto was named ASUN Preseason Player of the Year, while senior teammate Emily Kirby was voted ASUN Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Canetto and Kirby were joined on the ASUN Preseason All-Conference Team by senior infielder Lou Allan. Additionally, Canetto was voted ASUN Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year and sophomore catcher Caroline Hudson was voted ASUN Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
This is the third time in program history that Liberty has had its conference’s preseason pitcher of the year and preseason player of the year in the same season. In 2018, Amber Bishop-Riley and Julia DiMartino swept the Big South preseason awards, while Autumn Bishop and DiMartino swept ASUN preseason honors the following year.
Canetto is the fourth player in program history to be named conference preseason player of the year, joining Jessica Moore (2006-07 Big South), Amber Bishop-Riley (2018 Big South, 2021 ASUN) and Autumn Bishop (2019 ASUN). Kirby joins Tiffani Smith (2011 Big South) and former teammate Julia DiMartino (2018 Big South, 2019 ASUN) as Lady Flames to be named preseason pitcher of the year.
Defending ASUN champion Liberty has been the preseason favorite in the ASUN coaches poll all four years that the Lady Flames have been in the conference. The Lady Flames earned the top spot in the 2022 ASUN Preseason Coaches Poll with 141 points and 11 out of 12 first-place votes.
Kennesaw State is listed second with 129 points after earning an at-large berth to the 2021 NCAA Division I Softball Championship, while ASUN newcomer Central Arkansas is third with 99 points. FGCU received one first-place vote and 97 points for fourth place, while 2021 OVC champion is fifth in the poll with 95 points.
Lipscomb (80) edged out North Florida (79) by one point for sixth, while Jacksonville (69), Jacksonville State (63), North Alabama (47), Stetson (22) and Bellarmine (15) round out the poll.
A Greenville, N.C., native, Kirby made the most of her first season as a full-time starter in 2021. She was named the ASUN Pitcher of the Year and also appeared on the ASUN All-Tournament Team and ASUN All-Conference first team. Additionally, she earned inclusion on the NFCA All-Southeast Region third team. A CoSIDA Academic All-District selection, she posted a 15-5 record and a 1.92 ERA, tying for 10th in the nation with nine shutouts. She led the ASUN in strikeouts per seven innings both overall (7.34) and in conference play (8.51). Her nine shutouts were one shy of Julia DiMartino’s single-season program record of 10, set in 2018.
Hailing from Sylvania, Ga., Canetto followed up her .394 batting average from 2020 with a team-leading .385 average last season. The centerfielder was voted to the ASUN All-Conference first team. She finished with an ASUN-leading 75 hits, 10 doubles and a team-high 19 stolen bases. She led the team with 25 multiple-hit games and five three-hit games. Canetto posted two double-digit-game hitting streaks, including a team-best 15-game hitting streak. Her 75 hits tied for 11th nationally. Canetto tied for the team lead with six hits during the Knoxville Regional, including a home run off of JMU’s All-American Odicci Alexander during a three-hit game on May 23.
Hailing from Hesperia, Calif., Allan joins the Lady Flames as a graduate transfer following a breakthrough season during her senior season at Michigan. Allan batted .383 with a career-high nine doubles, 11 homers and a team-leading 45 RBI in 2021. She earned NFCA All-Great Lakes Region and All-Big Ten first-team honors last season, helping Michigan earn its third straight Big Ten Conference regular-season championship. The senior broke a scoreless tie with a sixth-inning solo homer in Michigan’s 2-1 win over No. 6 Washington in the 2021 NCAA Regional, before posting two RBI singles in the Regional final against Washington.
Hudson, a native of Paris, Tenn., became the first Lady Flame to start every game of a season at catcher in 2021, making 59 starts behind the plate. She posted a .991 fielding percentage with 296 putouts and 34 assists. Hudson threw out 20 out of 59 would-be basestealers (.339). She also helped Liberty’s pitching staff fashion a 2.57 ERA, .224 opponents batting average and an ASUN-leading 19 shutouts (t-6th nationally).
The Lady Flames are coming off a 44-15 season, which saw Liberty earn its second NCAA Regional finals appearance in the last four years. Liberty went 2-2 at the NCAA Knoxville Regional, eliminating Eastern Kentucky and Regional host No. 9 seed Tennessee while falling twice to eventual national semifinalist James Madison.
Liberty is ranked No. 24 in the D1Softball.com Preseason Top 25. Additional preseason national polsl will be released in the coming weeks.
Liberty opens its 2021 season with 10 games in the state of Florida, beginning Feb. 11 against Kentucky in Leesburg, Fla. The Lady Flames open the home schedule with an 11-game homestand, beginning with the Liberty Softball Classic, Feb. 25-26.
2022 ASUN Conference Preseason Softball Poll
Team (First-place votes) – Points
1. Liberty (11) 141
2. Kennesaw State 129
3. Central Arkansas 99
4. FGCU (1) 97
5. Eastern Kentucky 95
6. Lipscomb 80
7. North Florida 79
8. Jacksonville 69
9. Jacksonville State 63
10. North Alabama
11. Stetson 22
12. Bellarmine 15
2022 Preseason All-ASUN Team
Ashley Goebel, North Florida, Sr., C
Melanie Bennett, Kennesaw State, Jr., P
Emily Kirby, Liberty, Sr., P
Mary Kate Brown, Central Arkansas, So., INF
Reedy Davenport, FGCU, Sr., INF
Taylor Cates, Kennesaw State, Sr., INF
Lou Allan, Liberty, Sr., INF
Jenna Wildeman, Central Arkansas, So., OF
Sammi Miller, Eastern Kentucky, Sr., OF
Kara Canetto, Liberty, Jr., OF
Victoria Rodebaugh, Jacksonville, Sr., UT/DP
Brinaya Bailey, Kennesaw State, Jr., UT/DP
Preseason Player of the Year: Kara Canetto, Liberty
Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Reedy Davenport, FGCU
Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Emily Kirby, Liberty
Fan-Voted Preseason Player of the Year: Kara Canetto, Liberty
Fan-Voted Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Caroline Hudson, Liberty
Fan-Voted Preseason Pitcher of the Year: Kayla Beaver, Central Arkansas
