BATON ROUGE — After advancing to the NCAA Super Regionals for the second-straight year, the LSU softball team enters the 2008 season ranked No. 9 in the NFCA/USA Today preseason poll released on Wednesday.
The Tigers return NFCA first-team All-American and Diamond Sports National Catcher of the Year Killian Roessner and All-South Region selections Dani Hofer and Jazz Jackson. LSU ranked fourth nationally in win-loss percentage last season, second in earned run average, eighth in doubles per game and posted top 50 rankings in scoring, batting average, slugging percentage, home runs per game, stolen bases per game and fielding percentage.
Along with Hofer, the Tigers have three outstanding pitchers to go to in the circle. Tiffany Garcia returns for her senior season after being a reliable reliever for the last two years. Cody Trahan will be called upon to stop into a starter’s role this year, while LSU is bringing in South Carolina Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Casey Faile.
Despite having to replace two starters in the infield, the Tigers have a wealth of experience and talent to choose from to make the transition much easier. Shannon Stein will remain at second base for the second season, while Tayl’r Hollis makes the move to shortstop. A career utility player who has seen action at five different positions in her career, Erika Sluss will take over at first base. Freshman Jessica Mouse is expected immediately step in and start at third base.
The 2007 outfield returns two of its three starters, including Jackson in centerfield with Quinlan Duhon or Rachel Mitchell in left and Dee Dee Henderson in right field. The Tigers also add speedsters Tiffany Shaw and Ashley Applegate for depth.
The NFCA/USA Today poll is voted on by 30 NCAA Division I coaches representing different conferences. Defending national champion Arizona tops the poll, edging out Texas A&M. The Aggies advanced to the Women’s College World Series last season and finished ranked seventh.
Arizona State, which ended the Tigers’ season last year in the NCAA Super Regionals, comes in a third, followed by Alabama and Oklahoma. Rounding out the Top 10 are Tennessee, Northwestern, Baylor, LSU and DePaul.
The Pac-10 leads the way with seven teams ranked in the top 25, followed by the Big 12 with five ranked teams and the SEC with four. Among the four SEC teams in the top 25, three are in the top 10, including Alabama, Tennessee and LSU. Florida comes in at No. 13. South Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi State are among the 26 teams receiving votes.
LSU will play 12 of its regular-season games against six teams that are ranked in the Top 25, including eight games against four Top 10 opponents. Ranked opponents on the Tigers’ 2007 schedule include No. 1 Arizona, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Tennessee, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 13 Florida and No. 21 Cal State Fullerton.
The Tigers will host the 2008 Southeastern Conference Tournament and be in action for 19 regular season games and two pre-conference tournaments at Tiger Park. SEC Tournament tickets, along with LSU season and individual game tickets, will go on sale on Monday to catch all the action.
The SEC Tournament will be held at Tiger Park for the first time. The three-day single-elimination tournament will determine the league’s automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. LSU has advanced to the championship game eight times in the last nine seasons, winning the title an unprecedented five times, including last season when the Tigers defeated Florida, 1-0, in nine innings.
Tickets for the tournament will go on sale at the LSU Ticket Office, along with regular season tickets, on Monday. Tournament books are available for $20 each for adults and $10 each for youth between the ages of 3 and 12. All children under three get into Tiger Park for free.
Season tickets will be available for $60 for reserved seats, while single-game tickets are available at a cost of $5 for adults and $3 for youth. Fans are encouraged to get their season tickets this season to guarantee great seats in the new Tiger Park for next season. Fans can purchase tickets online at the official web site of LSU Athletics, www.LSUsports.net, at the ticket office or call (225) 578-2184 or (800) 960-8587. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free to regular season games with an LSU ID.
The Tigers will open the season at home on Friday, Feb. 15, in the Easton Tiger Classic. LSU will begin play at 3:30 p.m. against St. John’s before taking on Ball State at 5:45 p.m. The Tigers will also face Nicholls State and Chattanooga as part of the three-day tournament.
2008 Preseason NFCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll
Rank
Team
’07 Record
Points
Final ’07 Rank
1.
Arizona (27)
50-14
721
1
2.
Texas A&M
46-14
581
7
3.
Arizona State
54-17
575
8
4.
Alabama
55-10
553
9
5.
Oklahoma
55-8
522
11
6.
Tennessee (1)
63-8
511
2
7.
Northwestern
52-13
503
4
8.
Baylor
51-16
486
5
9.
LSU
55-12
463
10
10.
DePaul
47-13
462
6
11.
Washington
42-19
436
3
12.
Michigan
47-12
400
13
13.
Florida
50-22
386
14
14.
UCLA (1)
37-18
381
18
15.
Hawaii
50-13
343
12
16.
Virginia Tech
49-16
306
17
17.
Georgia Tech
54-16
210
19
18.
Oregon State
35-21-1
201
15
19.
Stanford
41-23
197
20
20.
Oregon
44-19
165
22
21.
Cal State Fullerton
38-23
163
16
22.
Texas
35-20
115
24
23.
Ohio State
40-18
111
23
24.
Louisiana-Lafayette
46-18
84
RV
25.
Missouri
40-24
76
25
Others Receiving Votes:Houston 75, South Carolina 74, Georgia 62, Fresno State 42, UMass 38, Creighton 23, Illinois State 23, Florida State 22, California 21, Mississippi State 16, NC State 12, Tennessee Tech 12, Loyola Marymount 8, Nebraska 7, Southern Illinois 7, BYU 7, Hofstra 5, North Carolina 5, Louisville 3, South Florida 3, UNLV 3, Texas Tech 2, Mississippi Valley State 1, Fordham 1, Florida Atlantic 1, Iowa 1.