Jan. 23, 2008
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. -
As it heads into its final year in the Ohio Valley Conference, the Samford University softball team was picked to finish fourth in the annual preseason coaches poll Wednesday, as the league office officially released the results from its annual vote.
The Bulldogs tallied 58 points in the poll, just two shy of third-place Eastern Kentucky.
Tennessee Tech was picked to repeat as OVC champions. The Golden Eagles, who picked up their fifth OVC regular-season title and sixth conference tournament crown last year, received a total of 79 points and eight first-place votes.
Jacksonville State claimed the remaining first-place nods and received 71 points for a second-place pick. UT Martin completed the top five with 46 total points.
Rounding out the six through 10 spots were Southeast Missouri (40), Tennessee State (36), Eastern Illinois (27), Austin Peay (23) and Morehead State (10).
"I'm not too surprised at where we were picked," said Samford head coach Beanie Ketcham. "Most people only look at last season when they vote and hopefully we'll use this to have our team motivated to prove them wrong. We have a lot of room to grow as a team and I believe that we have the talent to finish first and to win the conference."
Last season, Tennessee Tech posted an OVC-record 50 wins en route to its fifth regular-season title and its sixth tournament crown.
The Golden Eagles, who compiled a 50-12 overall mark while going 20-5 in the league, became the first OVC team since 2002 to earn a victory in the NCAA Tournament last season. Tennessee Tech defeated both nationally-ranked Alabama and California before eventually losing a pair to the Crimson Tide.
"I was actually shocked to see Tennessee Tech picked to win again," Ketcham said. "They lost a lot of talent from last year's team, but they did bring in a pretty good recruiting class. I'm excited about our team this year. We have good pitching and we will definitely be better offensively.
"If we can put some things together during non-conference play and get on a roll early in the season then I think that we will definitely win some games in the conference. Hopefully, we'll be able to give the teams that were picked to finish ahead of us a run for their money."
In 2007, Samford concluded the year with a school-record 31 wins and set single-season records in both home runs (30) and stolen bases (87).
The previous Bulldogs' record in wins was 28, set during the 2004 campaign. Samford has tallied seven-straight 20-win seasons and Ketcham has led the Bulldogs to their three best season records in school history.
Samford heads into the upcoming 2008 campaign with seven returning starters, including First-Team All-OVC pitcher Stephanie Royall. The Bulldogs finished the 2007 campaign with a 31-23 overall record and a 15-11 mark against OVC opponents.
After a third-place finish in the conference a year ago, Samford has turned in a productive off-season and will begin its 2008 campaign Feb. 8, at the Alabama State Hornet Tournament.
The Bulldogs' 2008 roster boasts three talented seniors in outfielder Emily Deaux, catcher Tracey Deaux and outfielder Jeslyn Metcalf. Samford's team also consists of five juniors, three sophomores and a highly-touted freshman class.
The Samford University softball team will begin play in its 2008 schedule on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m., as the Bulldogs square off against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions in the Alabama State Hornet Tournament. During the three-day competition, Samford is also scheduled to face Akron, Alabama State and Belmont.
2008 OVC Softball Predicted Order of Finish
(as voted on by the OVC's head softball coaches)
School, Points
1. Tennessee Tech (8 first-place votes), 79
2. Jacksonville State (2 first-place votes), 71
3. Eastern Kentucky, 60
4. Samford, 58
5. UT Martin, 46
6. Southeast Missouri, 40
7. Tennessee State, 36
8. Eastern Illinois, 27
9. Austin Peay, 23
10. Morehead State, 10
(Teams awarded 9 points for a first-place vote, 8 for second, etc.)
2008 Samford Softball Schedule
OVC Preseason Release
