Tide softball team picked to win the SEC

Crimson Tide softball team picked to win SEC

TUSCALOOSA | The fourth-ranked University of Alabama softball team has been picked to win the Southeastern Conference championship.

League coaches have selected the Crimson Tide to win the Western Division race and overwhelmingly voted Alabama as the pick to take the conference championship.

The Crimson Tide received eight first-place votes in the overall conference championship selection. Florida was picked to win the league by two coaches, with LSU getting one vote.

LSU was picked second in the Western Division, followed by Mississippi State, Auburn, Ole Miss and Arkansas. Florida was the unanimous pick in the Eastern Division, followed by Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky. Vanderbilt does not field a softball team.

Alabama finished 55-10 last season, earning the program’s first-ever No. 1 ranking during the course of the regular season. The Tide finished 11th in the final ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.

Alabama will open its season on Friday, Feb. 8, against South Alabama in a 3 p.m. game at the Alabama Softball Complex in the opening round of the Bama Bash tournament. The Tide will play Purdue at 3 p.m. the same day.

— Tommy Deas