AUGUSTA, Ga. – The Augusta University softball team has been picked to finish 11th in the Peach Belt Conference Preseason Poll, as voted on by the league head coaches and announced by the conference office Thursday morning.
For the second year in a row, the North Georgia Nighthawks have been selected as the preseason team to beat in a poll of Peach Belt Conference softball coaches. UNG received eight first-place votes out of a possible 12 and 140 total points, edging out Armstrong State in second place.
Georgia College was third in the voting with Young Harris in fourth and UNC Pembroke fifth. Francis Marion and Lander were tied for sixth with USC Aiken, Columbus State, Flagler, Augusta, Georgia Southwestern and Montevallo rounding out the voting.
Head Coach Melissa Brocato and the Augusta Jaguars return to competition Feb. 4-5 for the season-opening weekend at Jaguar Field. On Saturday and Sunday, the Jaguars take on Catawba at 10:00 a.m. and West Georgia at 3:00 p.m. Augusta also hosts Catawba vs. West Georgia on both days for a noon first pitch.
Augusta went 18-34 last season in 2016 and 7-17 in the Peach Belt. The Jaguars return 12 players from last season and have five new signees.
The 2016 coaches poll is below. Teams were given 12 points for a first-place vote, 11 for second and so on. Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.
Read the Full PBC press release by clicking here
Peach Belt Conference Softball
2017 Coaches Preseason Poll
|
Rank |
Team |
1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
5th |
6th |
7th |
8th |
9th |
10th |
11th |
12th |
Total |
|
1. |
North Georgia |
8 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
140 |
|
2. |
Armstrong State |
5 |
5 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
134 |
|
3. |
Georgia College |
0 |
2 |
4 |
5 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
115 |
|
4. |
Young Harris |
0 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
105 |
|
5. |
UNC Pembroke |
0 |
0 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
100 |
|
6. |
Francis Marion |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
77 |
|
7. |
Lander |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
77 |
|
8. |
USC Aiken |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
72 |
|
9. |
Columbus State |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
65 |
|
10. |
Flagler |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
1 |
42 |
|
11. |
Augusta |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
6 |
2 |
34 |
|
12. |
Georgia Southwestern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
2 |
33 |
|
13. |
Montevallo |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
8 |
20 |
Fans of Jaguar Athletics can subscribe to the email listserve by clicking here. Fans can follow Augusta University at www.augustajags.com and receive short updates on Facebook at Augusta University Athletics and on Twitter at @AugustaJags
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