It is a first in the history of TU’s softball program. The Golden Hurricane are ranked.
They come in at No. 24 in the USA Today//NFCA Division I Top 25 Preseason Poll, which was released Tuesday by the National Fastpitch Softball Coaches Association.
Tulsa also picks up where they left off at the end of the 2011 season, where it had finished at 24th.
Key players return from last year’s squad, which won the Conference USA Championship and reached the finals of the NCAA Regional in Norman, Okla.
Returning starters include outfielder Caitlin Everett, short stop Samantha Cobb, third baseman Jill Barrett, second baseman/outfielder Shelby Blanton, pitcher Aimee Creger and pitcher designated player Lacey Middlebrooks. Middlebrooks and Everett are juniors, the rest are sophomores.
TU opens the 2012 season on Feb. 10-12 in Lafayette, La., where it will compete in the 26th Annual Louisiana Classics. It will face teams such as Rutgers, Mississippi Valley State and the host, who is ranked 23rd in the same preseason poll. Tulsa’s home schedule starts March 2-4, when it hosts the Hyatt Downtown Tulsa Tournament. North Texas, Austin Peay and Loyola College are schools scheduled to be in that event.
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