For the final month of the 2014 softball season, Salisbury and Christopher Newport played in a number of nail-biting, down to the wire playoff contests – sometimes against each other.  Look for more of that in 2015.

The Captains started "playoff season" by winning a coin toss for the top seed in the CAC Tournament, then eventually won the CAC playoff title with an extra-inning two-run homer.  That snapped a 17-year streak of CAC titles for the Sea Gulls.

A few weeks later, at Salisbury, the Gulls downed CNU in close games twice in the NCAA Super Regional to advance to the Division III World Series.  Salisbury then went 1-1 in extra-inning games and won three one-run games on the way to a second-place finish in the national championship tournament.

So it's no surprise that the CAC coaches selected Salisbury, led by two-time Player of the Year and senior pitcher Rachel Johnson, and Christopher Newport to battle it out for the 2015 trophy in the group's preseason poll.  Salisbury was the unanimous choice for the top spot in the poll (49 points), in which coaches were not permitted to vote for their own teams, while CNU collected 43 points to finish second.

The battle for third place in the preseason poll was won by Frostburg State (34 points), which edged York College (30 points) and Mary Washington (27 points) for the honor.  FSU outdueled YCP, 7-6, to advance to the semifinal round of the 2014 CAC playoffs.

Three programs that are growing also plan to battle for one of the five CAC playoff positions, including Wesley (18 points), Penn State Harrisburg (16 points) and Southern Virginia (7 points).

Four teams, including Christopher Newport, Mary Washington, Southern Virginia and Wesley, lead off the 2015 campaign with games on the weekend of Feb. 21-22.  The regular-season will culminate with the top five teams advancing to the home field of the regular-season champion April 16-18 for the CAC championship trophy.

Here is a brief look at each team heading into the 2014-15 season:

CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT is ranked fifth in the country in the 2015 National Fastpitch Coaches Association's (NFCA) pre-season poll. The Captains are coming off a 38-8 record last year and a trip to the Super Regionals of the NCAA Championship. The Captains ended up ranked sixth in the nation in the NFCA's final poll of 2014. Keith Parr's squad is coming off a CAC championship last year in CNU's first season of membership in the conference. The Captains captured the title with a dramatic victory over Salisbury in the title game at Captains Park. CNU will be led by senior first baseman Sabrina Hill, who hit .414 last year with 12 home runs and 40 RBI as a junior.

With Wes Landrum entering his 10^th year as head softball coach at FROSTBURG STATE, the Bobcats look to fill a void left by former stud first baseman Caitlin Lovend. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Hannah Tavik and junior infielder Renay Aubel might just be the answer. A Second Team All-CAC selection, Tavik led the Bobcats with a breakout season in 2014 with a .431 batting average and a second team-best 10 homeruns while earning 12 wins on the mound. Aubel, also a Second Team All-CAC selection, slugged her way to a .341 batting average while earning a second team-best 131 putouts.

MARY WASHINGTON enters the 2015 season with high expectations, led by senior All-CAC pitcher Hannah Otterman. In all, the Eagles welcome back 13 players from last season, including senior outfielder Hannah Williams, first baseman Emily Briggs, and all-CAC third baseman Brittany Scites. Returning starters Alex Tenney, Stefannie Asselanis, and Zoie Patrick will look to move UMW back toward the top of the CAC this spring.

PENN STATE HARRISBURG had a tough first season in the Capital Athletic Conference (CAC) and is looking to rebound after a so-so 2014 season.  The Lions won nine games last year but are looking to achieve more this spring.  In order to accomplish that goal, the Blue & White will have to progress quickly in their second season competing against the best of the best in the CAC.   The ladies will be led by do-it-all Senior Captain Gabrielle Wolfe.  Wolfe was named CAC All-Conference first-team selection a year ago when she led the team with 24 RBI's, slugging percentage of .677 and recorded her 200^th career strikeout.  Also back is the 2014 batting average leader Rieley Loch.  Penn State Harrisburg's new addition of Freshmen Erelle Sowers, whose high school team won the PIAA Softball Championship last year, should add some depth to the lineup.

SALISBURY returns three first-team All-Americans, six first-team All-CAC contributors, and seven starters from 2014, including Player of the Year Rachel Johnson. Johnson led the pitching staff, which ranked sixth in the nation in ERA, and fifth in strikeouts per nine innings. Part of those solid numbers was the defense behind Johnson and the squad's pitching staff, which led the nation with a .983 fielding percentage. Four of the five starting infielders return from a year ago, with catcher Rebecca Hoey, third baseman Katie Sebbane, shortstop Kim Dorsey, and second baseman Molly Simpson back for 2015; all were first-team players, and senior Angela Malgieri and junior Rachel Spadin will anchor the outfield. Offensively, Salisbury was one of the best in the nation, ranking 12th in slugging percentage (.540) led by All-American designated player Paige Knussman, who was fourth in the nation in RBI and sixth in batting average.

The SOUTHERN VIRGINIA roster consists of nine new young faces going into their first season as the Knights are eligible to qualify for the Capital Athletic Conference postseason. First-year head coach Kortny Hall hopes her young squad will learn from each game and help build a strong foundation for future seasons.  Returning for the Knights are middle infielders MaKenzie Cox and Maggie Tafua, who showed a lot of potential in 2014. Transitioning from outfield to catcher is senior Lainie Thompson. On the mound will be senior Jamie Pinkston and junior Annie Biggs. Biggs rejoins the squad after serving a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints following the 2013 season.

Every player on the WESLEY roster is now a recruit of head coach Juli Greep who hopes the Wolverines can improve to a .500 record.  Steph Caracozza, who hit .427 to rank third in the CAC last year, returns for her junior season, while Lindsay Siok and Lily Engel return for their second season in the circle.  Commanding the pitching staff from behind the plate while also being a key force in the lineup, Nina Marcano also returns while hitting .356 with a team-high five home runs, 25 RBIs and ten stolen bases a year ago.  Also back for the Navy & White are tri-captains Morgan Seymour, Breanna Hartman and Kayla Fromal who have starting spots locked down in the infield, as well as Sarah Saunders in the outfield.

YORK enters 2015 with a dramatically different team as third year head coach Jen Petteys welcomes in 15 newcomers to this year's team. CatcherVanessa Mendez is York's lone senior while Payton Hill is York's only junior. Sophomore Katie Maloney, the CAC Co-Rookie of the Year in 2014, comes back as York's offensive leader after an outstanding freshman year that saw her lead York in batting average, at-bats, hits, runs, doubles, triples, total bases, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. Fellow sophomore Carleigh Ruleman is the Spartans' fourth returner as the foursome will be expected to shepherd the young Spartans through the upcoming campaign.