Softball Ranked No. 7 In Preseason National Poll
LOUISIANA La. - For the second straight season, Louisiana's softball team will begin the regular season ranked in the Top 10 of the national polls.
Louisiana -the four-time defending Sun Belt Conference champion with All-American ace Brooke Mitchell returning in the pitching circle- will enter the 2005 season ranked No. 7 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason collegiate poll. No. 7 is the program's highest preseason ranking under the direction co-head coaches Stefni and Michael Lotief.
This season's ranking is the highest for the program in the poll which debuted in February 2003. Last season, the softball team debuted at No. 9.
Louisiana received 328 points finishing 13 points behind No. 6 Texas.
The ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 poll is voted on by NCAA Division I coaches representing 15 different ASA regions and 11 different collegiate conferences. The poll is also voted on by selected softball media members.
Louisiana was the lone ranked Sun Belt school and were ranked ahead of in-state rival LSU.
Louisiana finished the 2004 season with a 60-8 record, a school-record for victories, and was ranked No. 10 in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball poll after a runner-up spot in the NCAA Regional and Tucson, Ariz., missing the Women's College World Series by one game. The Cajuns won their fourth straight Sun Belt Conference regular season title by posting the league's first-ever undefeated conference record (18-0) and claimed their fifth straight Sun Belt Tournament crown.
Louisiana returns a total of 14 letterwinners and eight position starters from that 2004 squad plus adds another potential All-American candidate in Jill Robertson. Mitchell tops the list of returning talent and is expected to be a nominee on the 2005 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year Watch List.
"All of these women have another year of experience now," co-head coach Michael Lotief remarked. "We have faced the best pitchers in the world - Lisa Fernandez (U.S. Olympic Team), Cat Osterman (U.S. Olympic Team/Texas), Alicia Hollowell (First Team All-American/Arizona) and of course, we get to face a First Team All-American at practice (Brooke Mitchell) every now and then.
"These experiences only help our hitters to get better," Lotief stressed. "Our girls work extremely hard everyday and are prepared for the showdown. They truly have the desire to be the best and this ranking is a reward for their hard work and determination."
Defending national runner-up California tops the poll, edging out perennial powerhouse Arizona. 2004 National Champion UCLA ranks third, followed by Oklahoma, Stanford, Texas. Rounding out the Top 10 after Louisiana are LSU at No. 8, Washington in ninth and Georgia in 10th.
UL has guaranteed games with two teams ranked in the preseason poll during the 2005 season. The Cajuns host No. 2 Arizona in a three-game series at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park March 25-27 and face No. 4 Oklahoma at the KIA Klassic on March 17.
The NFCA Leadoff Classic field features 11 teams ranked in the preseason poll - No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 8 LSU, No. 11 Florida State, No. 12 Michigan, No. 14 Oregon, No. 15 Alabama, No. 17 Fresno State, No. 20 Nebraska, No. 21 Georgia Tech and No. 23 Southern Illinois - leaving the possibility of the Cajuns meeting more ranked teams during the season. The KIA Klassic in Fullerton, Calif., has nine teams ranked in the poll as part of the pool of teams participating.
Louisiana is one week away from beginning the 20005 regular season. UL will open its season Friday-Saturday, Feb. 4-6, as the Ragin' Cajuns host the 2nd Annual Louisiana's Mardi Gras Classic at Ragin' Cajuns Softball Park. The season opener is slated for 6 p.m., on Friday, Feb. 4 against Ole Miss.
LOUISIANA SI
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