The Southern Illinois University softball team was picked to finish third in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in a preseason poll of the league's coaches, according to a news release on siusalukis.com.
The Salukis received 82 points in the poll -- 10 points behind preseason favorite Drake and six points back of second-place Wichita State.
The rest of the rankings have Northern Iowa fourth with 68 points, Illinois State fifth with 54 points, Evansville sixth with 53 points, Missouri State and Bradley tied for seventh with 34 points each, Indiana State ninth with 28 points, and Loyola 10th with 14 points.
Wichita State is the defending league champion. According to mvc.org, SIU finished fourth in the league last season with a 15-10 record.
Also in MVC preseason news, two Salukis were selected to the preseason all-conference team. First baseman Shaye Harre and pitcher Brianna Jones were named to the squad, with both players coming off all-conference selections last season.
Harre, a senior from Nashville, Illinois, led the league in on-base percentage last season with a mark of .517, and was second in slugging percentage at .728. Both marks ranked in the top 50 nationally, as well, according to her profile page on siusalukis.com. She also was a second-team Academic All-American.
Jones, a sophomore from Manchester, Tennessee, led all NCAA Division I freshmen in shutouts with 10, led the MVC in wins with 23 and was second in earned-run average at 1.92. She also was a finalist for the National Fastpitch Coaches Association's Freshman of the Year honor, according to her profile page.
Southern Illinois will open the 2017 season on Feb. 10 against Nevada at the Lion Classic in Hammond, Louisiana, according to the team's online schedule. The Salukis' first home game is against Kentucky at 3 p.m. March 3 at Charlotte West Stadium.
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