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Big West softball coaches voted Hawaii fifth in the conference’s preseason poll released on Wednesday.
BIG WEST SOFTBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Cal State Fullerton (4) 57
2. Long Beach State (3) 55
3. Cal State Northridge 49
4. Cal Poly (1) 40
5. Hawaii 30
6. UC Santa Barbara 27
7. UC Riverside 17
8. UC Davis 13
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The Rainbow Wahine team went 24-30 overall last season and finished seventh in the Big West at 8-13. They open the season Feb. 9 with a Paradise Classic doubleheader against Sacramento State and Boise State. UH also will face Oregon State and UAB in the three-day tournament.
UH returns starting pitchers Brittany Hitchcock (13-15, 2.18 earned-run average), an All-Big West second-team pick for the second straight season, and Kanani Aina Cabrales (8-11, 3.45). Third baseman Nicole Lopez was named the Big West Freshman Field Player of the Year last season after hitting a team-high .287.
Defending Big West champion Cal State Fullerton topped the poll with 57 points and four first-place votes.
Long Beach State, which earned an at-large bid to the NCAA regionals last season, followed with 55 points and received three first-place votes. Cal State Northridge was third in the poll followed by Cal Poly, which received a first-place vote.