Athletic Report
April 21, 2002

ZIAS QUALIFY FOR LSC TOURNAMENT, WILL OPEN AGAINST CENTRAL OKLAHOMA
PORTALES, NM – The Eastern New Mexico University softball team, which closed the regular season with six wins in final eight games, has qualified for the Lone Star Conference Softball Tournament, April 26-27, in Irving, Texas. The Zias, 28-21 overall and 10-10 in the LSC South, will open the tournament on Friday, April 26 at 11:00 a.m. (MDT) against the University of Central Oklahoma, 31-12, 15-5 in the LSC North. Eastern finished third in the LSC South. Texas Woman’s University, 41-11, won the South Division title at 12-5.

Texas A&M University-Kingsville, which ended the regular season at 39-16 and took second in the South Division at 11-5, also qualified for the LSC Tournament. The North Division will be represented in the LSC Tournament by champion Southeastern Oklahoma, 25-16 overall and 13-3 LSC North, plus Central Oklahoma, which finished second in the division, and Southwestern Oklahoma, which took third place at 25-18 overall and 13-7 in the LSC North.

Texas Woman’s and SE Oklahoma will receive first round byes. In addition to ENMU versus UCO, the first round also features TAMU-Kingsville against SW Oklahoma. The two-day event will use a double-elimination format. If ENMU wins its first game, the Zias will take on Texas Woman’s at 3:00 p.m. (MDT) on Friday. If Eastern loses to UCO, the Zias will play at 1:00 p.m. (MDT) on Friday, against the loser of Kingsville versus SW Oklahoma.

ENMU, which won the LSC South last year in just the Zias’ fifth season of intercollegiate competition, has recorded back-to-back winning season. Including a .500 record in 2000, the Zias have achieved a 91-60-1 (.602) combined record the past three seasons. In 2001, the Zias finished with a 38-14-1 overall record. Eastern won its first ever LSC South title with a 12-2 mark, took second place at the LSC Tournament, won the NCAA Division II South Central Regional championship and tied for fifth at the NCAA National Finals.

This year, the Zias have been at or above the .500 mark for most of the season. ENMU has been led by sophomore pitchers Lauren King (RHP, La Mirada, CA/La Serna H.S.) and Maegan Rhoten (RHP, Albuquerque, NM/St. Pius X H.S.), and by fielders Rachel Mohler (Sr., 3B, Las Vegas, NV/Green Valley H.S.), Jessica Rowley (Sr., SS, Dallas, OR/Clackamas C.C.), Bobbi Richardson (Fr., DP/UT, Kerrville, TX/Tivy H.S.) and Sarah Ramirez (Fr., OF, San Antonio, TX/Providence H.S.).

King leads the ENMU pitching staff with a 2.16 ERA in 139 2/3 innings pitched. She has struck out 95 batters and has recorded 4 solo shutouts. King’s pitching record this season is 13-6. Rhoten is 12-6 on the season with a 2.89 ERA. She leads the Zias with 120 strikeouts in 121.0 innings pitched. She won two games against Tarleton State this weekend with a combined 21 strikeouts, including a 10-strikeout performance in the third game of the four-game series, as the Zias clinched their LSC Tournament berth with a 1-0 victory.

The Zias also rely on Rhoten at the plate, where she has pounded out 21 extra-base hits, while scoring 22 runs and driving in an LSC-high 44 runs. She is hitting .272, with 13 doubles, 1 triple and a team-leading 7 home runs.

Mohler, a four-year starter for the Zias, tops the offensive chart this season with a .364 batting average. She leads the Zias with 59 hits, is second with 33 runs and is third with 32 RBIs. Mohler has blasted 12 doubles, 1 triple and 3 homers this year. She owns a career batting average of .388, and is the ENMU career record holder for hits (243), runs (138), RBIs (142), doubles (57) and home runs (33).

Rowley, who has been a two-sport star for the Zias in softball and volleyball, is hitting .340 this season. She leads the Zias with 17 stolen bases on 19 attempts, and also ranks first with 37 runs scored. She has driven in 33 runs to trail only Rhoten in RBIs, and has supplied the team with 10 doubles, 2 triples and 5 home runs. Ramirez is second on the team in hitting at .354. She has scored 29 runs and has registered 18 RBIs. She is tied for the team lead with 13 doubles to go with 1 triple and 1 home run. She has been successful on 8 of 9 stolen base attempts.

The Zias have received a .348 batting average from Richardson, who has seen most of her playing time at designated player or as a pinch-hitter. She has scored 20 runs and recorded 15 RBIs. Her 5 doubles and 3 homers in just 89 at bats have been important to the success of the ENMU offense. She hit a 2-run homer with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Zias a 5-4 victory in the first game of the series with Tarleton State.

Co-Head Coaches Kathleen Rodriguez (4 years) and James Rodriguez (2 years) have guided the Zias to a 105-87-1 (.547) record since the start of the 1999 season. Eastern’s coaching staff was named NFCA South Central Region Coaching Staff-of-the-Year in 2001.