TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology softball team has been picked to finish sixth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference this season, in a preseason poll of league coaches.
The Fightin' Engineers received 34 poll points to place sixth in the poll. The top four finishers will qualify for the HCAC Softball Tournament in May.
Anderson University earned the top spot with 80 points and eight first-place votes. Bluffton University was picked second with 66 points and one first-place vote.
Manchester was picked third, followed by Transylvania and Defiance. Rose-Hulman was picked sixth, with Franklin, Hanover and Mount St. Joseph rounding out the projections.
Rose-Hulman finished fifth in the HCAC last season with an overall record of 14-26. The Fightin' Engineers finished 7-9 in conference play.
Offensively, Rose-Hulman returns the majority of offensive starters and pitching staff from the 2012 season. The Fightin' Engineers also feature several freshmen who will immediate compete for playing time.
Rose-Hulman opens the season in Florida on February 25.