TU Softball Receiving Votes in Both Major Preseason Polls
1/29/2019 1:02:00 PM | Softball
TULSA, Okla. — The University of Tulsa softball team will open the 2019 season next week and the squad will enter the campaign receiving votes in both major softball polls, which were revealed on Tuesday morning.
The Golden Hurricane, who went 34-25 last season and qualified for the NCAA Norman Regional after its third straight American Athletic Conference Championship, received eight votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and one vote in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Tulsa returns a total of seven starters and three pitchers from last year's team, including a talented senior class that includes Julia Hollingsworth, Haley Meinen, Morgan Neal, Tori Stafford and Rylie Spell.
Hollingsworth was a first-team American Athletic Conference pick and second-team NFCA All-Region honoree a season ago after she hit .380 and led the league in runs scored (55), while also setting a TU single-season record with seven triples. Spell was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and she was joined on the circuit's second-team by Meinen and junior Mikayla Whitten.
Now in his 14th season at TU, head coach John Bargfeldt's squad will open the campaign Feb. 7-9 in Baton Rouge, La., at the Tiger Classic. The Hurricane start the tournament against host LSU, which has a preseason ranking of No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
The Golden Hurricane, who went 34-25 last season and qualified for the NCAA Norman Regional after its third straight American Athletic Conference Championship, received eight votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and one vote in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
Tulsa returns a total of seven starters and three pitchers from last year's team, including a talented senior class that includes Julia Hollingsworth, Haley Meinen, Morgan Neal, Tori Stafford and Rylie Spell.
Hollingsworth was a first-team American Athletic Conference pick and second-team NFCA All-Region honoree a season ago after she hit .380 and led the league in runs scored (55), while also setting a TU single-season record with seven triples. Spell was the league's Defensive Player of the Year and she was joined on the circuit's second-team by Meinen and junior Mikayla Whitten.
Now in his 14th season at TU, head coach John Bargfeldt's squad will open the campaign Feb. 7-9 in Baton Rouge, La., at the Tiger Classic. The Hurricane start the tournament against host LSU, which has a preseason ranking of No. 10 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 and No. 11 in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 Coaches Poll.
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