January 25, 2012

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Augusta – The Columbus State softball team was picked to finish fifth in the Peach Belt Conference Coaches Preseason Poll announced Wednesday afternoon by the league office.

For the fourth year in a row, North Georgia has been selected as the preseason team to beat.  The three-time defending PBC Conference and Tournament Champions received eight of a possible 10 first-place votes and finished with 98 points in the poll, ahead of Armstrong Atlantic State who was second with 88.  Flagler was third in the voting with 77 while Augusta State was fourth and CSU fifth.  USC Aiken, Francis Marion, Georgia College, UNC Pembroke, Lander and Georgia Southwestern rounded out the voting.

The Lady Cougars return nine players from last season's squad that went 37-16 and finished in a tie for third place with Flagler in the Peach Belt Conference regular season.  Two of those players, Kara Gordon and Morgan Staffins, were All-PBC First Team selections in 2011 and will help guide a hungry team looking to advance to their first post-season appearance since the 2007 campaign. 

Columbus State will open up the season on February 10 as they host West Alabama as part of the annual Hughston Sports Classic held in Columbus.

Peach Belt Conference Coaches Preseason Poll

Rank	Team	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Total
1.	North Georgia	8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	98
2.	Armstrong Atlantic State	3	5	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	88
3.	Flagler	0	2	5	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	77
4.	Augusta State	0	1	3	4	2	0	0	0	0	0	73
5.	Columbus State	0	1	3	3	2	1	0	0	0	0	71
6.	USC Aiken	0	0	0	2	3	3	2	0	0	0	55
7.	Francis Marion	0	0	0	0	0	5	4	1	0	0	44
8.	Georgia College	0	0	0	0	1	2	1	4	2	0	36
9.	UNC Pembroke	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	4	2	1	31
10.	Lander	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	3	18
11.	Georgia Southwestern	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	14