By Keaundrey Clark
Humboldt State Softball finishing one win shy of its third national championship last season, This week the Lumberjacks were voted No. 2 in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association Division II Top 25 Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Lumberjacks made their sixth NCAA Championship Tournament appearance in 2016, they return much of the roster that propelled them to a national runner up. NFCA All-American pitcher Maddie Williams and outfielder Hanna Holland, and NFCA All-Region second baseman Tiffany Hollingsworth are HSU’s top returners from a roster that went 54-8-1 last season.
Defending champion North Alabama earned the No. 1 spot and all 16 first-place votes. The Jacks were the only California Collegiate Athletic Association program ranked in the preseason poll.
HSU opens the season at the Desert Sting Tournament in Las Vegas, Feb. 3. The Jacks will play five games in the tournament before returning for its home opener against Chico State on Feb. 10.