Softball season opens Saturday for Mt. Aloysius and junior standout Lydia DeFazio, a player who will carry a unique distinction into a doubleheader at Pitt-Greensburg.

DeFazio, a Penn-Trafford product, is the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference Preseason Player of the Year. She was bestowed that honor last season before the pandemic wiped out the season.

A first baseman and catcher who ripped through the conference as a sophomore, DeFazio was the 2019 AMCC Player of the Year after hitting .479 with nine home runs and 44 RBIs. She had a .557 on-base percentage.

DeFazio hit .568 with seven homers in AMCC play.

Mt. Aloysius claimed back-to-back AMCC titles in 2018 and 2019 and the Mounties again are the preseason favorite to finish first.

Penn State Behrend is the coaches’ No. 2 team, followed by Pitt-Bradford at No. 3.

The Mounties in 2019 won their second straight conference title and reached the NCAA Division III Tournament, winning a school-record 33 games in the process. They reached the second round before falling to Arcadia and Randolph-Macon. Mt. Aloysius was the first AMCC team to make the national tournament.

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