RENO, Nev. – The University of Nevada softball team received votes in both of the national Top 25 preseason polls, which were released Tuesday.
In the USA Today/NFCA Division I Top 25, the Wolf Pack was four spots shy of being ranked. Nevada received 31 points in the poll. WAC member Fresno State was No. 25 while Hawaii (8 points) was the only other WAC school receiving points.
In the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top 25, Nevada received 11 points and was five spots short of making the Top 25. Fresno State was 24th in the poll while New Mexico State (1 point) was the only other WAC school that received a vote.
“We lost a lot of offensive production from last year’s team so it’s nice to see that people recognize the core group that we do return, including our two pitchers,” second-year coach Matt Meuchel said. “That being said, we’re more concerned with where we are at in the postseason than preseason polls.”
Nevada is coming off back-to-back WAC Championships and three NCAA Regional appearances in the past four seasons, including two straight trips to the postseason. The Wolf Pack returns six starters from last year’s team that went 40-19 and won the WAC title before reaching the WAC Tournament championship game and earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolf Pack opens the 2010 season in just over two weeks as it travels to the Kajikawa Classic, hosted by Arizona State in Tempe Feb. 12-14. Nevada will play 22 games at home this season and will kick off the home slate with the Wolf Pack Classic Feb. 26-28 at Hixson Park.
