BATON ROUGE — LSU junior outfielder Rachel Mitchell was one of 12 players to earn a spot on the second annual Preseason All-SEC Team Tuesday as chosen by the league’s coaches.
Mitchell, a First-Team All-SEC and Second-Team NFCA All-South Region pick in 2008, ranked inside the league’s Top 10 in batting average (.374), home runs (11), RBIs (51), runs scored (48), total bases (126), multi-hit games (22) and slugging percentage (.665).
“Kudos to Rachel,” head coach Yvette Girouard said. “This honor from the SEC coaches recognizes her for how good of a ballplayer she is. It’s imperative that she has a great season. When you’re semi rebuilding with 10 new players, your best players have to step up with big seasons.”
The Tigers also picked up a No. 17 preseason ranking in the ESPN.com/USA Softball preseason poll released on Tuesday.
The poll is voted upon by a panel of college coaches and media members from coast to coast. Florida and Alabama are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 as the SEC placed five teams in the poll.
In addition to five games against the Gators and Crimson Tide at the new Tiger Park, LSU plays host to No. 10 Texas A&M and No. 13 Tennessee.
The Tigers also take on No. 6 Oklahoma, No. 11 Northwestern and No. 18 DePaul at neutral sites before a SEC road series at No. 23 Georgia. Teams who are receiving votes on LSU’s schedule include Hawai`i, Georgia Tech, Baylor and Mississippi State.
LSU is wrapping up preparations for the Paradise Softball Classic this week and returned to splitting practices between the old and new Tiger Park on January 15.
The Tigers break its practice into two sessions focusing on offense at the old park before concluding with a defensive workout at the new facility.
“The batting order and defensive lineup is becoming clearer by the day,” Girouard said. “We’re going to have the answers we need by this time next week as we get on the plane for Hawai`i. It will be a growing and learning process throughout the season. We have a lot of different options that we intend on using.”
LSU embarks on the 2009 season at the Paradise Softball Classic, squaring off against No. 6 Oklahoma, UAB and host Hawai`i from Feb. 5-7. The new Tiger Park opens against McNeese State on Feb. 11.
Season tickets are on sale now at www.LSUSports.net, the official Web site of LSU Athletics. Tickets also can be purchased at the ticket office or by calling (225) 578-2184 or (800) 960-8587. LSU students, faculty and staff are admitted free with a LSU ID.
There are a limited number of chair-back seats still available for $100, while reserved bleacher seating is $75. Fans are encouraged to get their season tickets to guarantee great seats for LSU’s marquee home schedule that features six games against teams that made the 2008 Women’s College World Series.
2009 SEC Softball Preseason Team
Player, School
Pos.
Ht.
Cl.
Hometown
Charlotte Morgan, Alabama
IF
5-10
Jr.
Moreno Valley, Calif.
Kelley Montalvo, Alabama
IF
5-0
Sr.
Miami, Fla.
Ali Gardiner, Florida
IF
5-7
Sr.
Waccabuc, N.Y.
Aja Paculba, Florida
IF
5-3
So.
Wildomar, Calif.
Brittany Rogers, Alabama
OF
5-6
Sr.
Dacula, Ga.
Francesca Enea, Florida
OF
5-8
Jr.
Woodland Hills, Calif.
Kim Waleszonia, Florida
OF
5-4
Sr.
Fontana, Calif.
Rachel Mitchell, LSU
OF
5-3
Jr..
LaPorte, Texas
Kelsi Dunne, Alabama
P
6-0
So.
Port Orange, Fla.
Stacey Nelson, Florida
P
5-9
Sr.
Los Alamitos, Calif.
Chelsea Bramlett, Mississippi State
C
5-8
Jr.
Cordova, Tenn.
Lauren Grill, Ole Miss
U/DP
5-6
Jr.
Tualatin, Ore.
ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25
January 27 ? Preseason Poll
Rank
Team
2008 Record
Points
PVS
1.
Florida (18)
70-5
497
3
2.
Alabama
58-8
466
4
3.
Arizona State (1)
66-3
432
1
4.
UCLA (1)
51-9
428
5
5
Michigan
52-8
384
9
6
Oklahoma
47-14
378
10
7.
Arizona
41-19
369
7
8.
UL-Lafayette
52-15
364
6
9.
Stanford
49-15
321
13
10.
Texas A&M
57-10
309
2
11.
Northwestern
40-16
295
11
12.
Fresno State
54-13
252
15
13.
Tennessee
50-16
230
17
14.
California
43-27
203
14
15.
Washington
30-25-1
200
RV
16.
Houston
54-11
188
12
17.
LSU
44-18
179
19
18.
DePaul
51-18
166
21
19.
Missouri
47-17
165
16
20.
Long Beach St.
42-16
120
22
21.
North Carolina
50-12-1
107
25
22.
Nevada
44-18
95
20
23.
Georgia
46-24
89
18
24.
Massachusetts
42-12
86
23
25.
Virginia Tech
49-19
55
8
Parenthesis denote first place votes.
Dropped Out from 2008 Postseason Poll: San Diego State
Others receiving votes: Mississippi State (20), San Diego State (19), Iowa (13), South Florida (12), Hawaii (10), Purdue (7), Oregon State (5), Kansas (4), Nebraska (4), Notre Dame (4), Texas (4), Creighton (3), Georgia Tech (3), Hofstra (3), Baylor (2), East Carolina (2), Jacksonville State (2), Oklahoma State (2), Oregon (2) and BYU (1).