BATON ROUGE — The LSU softball team was picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference Western Division in a preseason poll by the league’s coaches released Monday.
The Tigers, who advanced to their sixth-straight NCAA Regional and fifth-consecutive SEC Tournament title game last season, earned 50 points and one first-place vote in the SEC Western Division. Alabama was picked to finish first with 60 points and 10 first-place votes. Mississippi State ranked third with 39 points, followed by Auburn with 35 points, Ole Miss with 22 points and Arkansas with 19 points.
Georgia led the SEC Eastern Division with 50 points and 10 first-place votes. Tennessee ranked second with 35 points and received one first-place vote. Florida finished with 35 points in third place. South Carolina and Kentucky completed the division with 26 and 14 points respectively.
Defending SEC champion Georgia was picked to win its second-straight overall title with nine championship votes, while Alabama was picked second with two championship votes.
Points for the poll were awarded on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis for the Eastern Division and 6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for the Western Division. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
The Tigers open the 2004 season on Feb. 6 at home against Centenary at 2 p.m. as part of the three-day Tiger Classic. The tournament also features 2003 Women’s College World Series participant Oklahoma, Illinois, Southeastern Louisiana and Centenary.