KIRKLAND – Softball coaches of the Cascade Collegiate Conference picked Northwest 10th of 11 teams in the preseason poll released last week.
 
"We've got work to do," said NU Coach Pam Fink. "This poll is based mostly on an unfinished season. We will compete every day to be better than yesterday. We will stay in the moment and keep our focus on today."
 
The Eagles return Jessica Nunes, who led the team with a .404 batting average and 17 RBI in 23 games last season. Jordan Dippel also hit .311 last season. The Eagles also added depth to its pitching staff but lost all-time wins, earned run average, and shutouts leader Rachel Hawley.
 
Southern Oregon tops the poll for the fifth season in a row with 100 points, followed by Oregon Tech (88), Corban (80), and College of Idaho (77).
 
Carroll College is ranked fifth with 64 points, Warner Pacific is sixth at 48, and Eastern Oregon finished seventh at 47.
 
British Columbia, which has since opted out of the season, is eighth at 38, followed by Bushnell at 24, NU at 23, and Providence at 16.
 
Northwest opens the season on Feb. 13 at Western Washington and launches CCC action on March 5 with a trip to the College of Idaho, which is the identical site and weekend the season ended last year due to the pandemic.