Picazo Chosen First Team All-LSC South, Named LSC South Newcomer of the Year
Helland Selected for Second Team; Nocas and Whipkey Earn Honorable Mention

PORTALES, N.M. — Sophomore designated player Tori Picazo (McKinney, TX/Western Texas College), who set an Eastern New Mexico University single season record with a .486 batting average, has been named First Team All-LSC South in voting by the LSC South coaches. Picazo also was chosen LSC South Newcomer of the Year. Other All Conference selections for Eastern were freshman outfielder Christina Helland (Albuquerque, NM/Rio Rancho HS) on the Second Team, plus Jessica Nocas (Jr., SS, Riverside, CA/Midland College) and Elizabeth Whipkey (Fr., 1B, Orange, CA/Villa Park HS) on the Honorable Mention list.

ENMU completed the 2005 season with a 20-29 overall record, up from 11-36 in 2004. The Zias were 3-17 in the LSC South, but lost seven conference games by a single run. Eastern spent all but the first week of the season without Head Coach Armando Quiroz, who broke his leg and severely sprained his ankle during an intrasquad scrimmage. Amber Daniel, a graduate assistant coach for the Zias, filled in as acting head coach the rest of the way.

1st Team All-LSC South

Picazo’s impressive .486 batting average broke the previous ENMU record of .470, set by Jennifer Doolittle in 1998. Picazo ended the 2005 season with 67 hits in 138 at bats. She ranked first in the LSC in batting average and on-base percentage (.566), and was second in slugging percentage (.732) and runs scored (52). She led the Zias with seven home runs.

In addition to setting the batting average record, Picazo also placed second all-time at ENMU in runs (52), tied for second in RBIs (44) and ranked fourth all-time in hits (67). She ranked third at Eastern in single season walks (22) and hit by pitches (5). She tied for fifth in single season doubles (13).

Picazo was one of three Zias to start all 49 games during the season. She earned a total of 20 extra-base hits, and also provided seven sacrifice bunts and one sacrifice fly. She recorded at least one hit in 40 of 49 games, including 36 of 40 games to end the season. She achieved two or more hits 22 times and was 5 for 5 against Abilene Christian University in the first game of a double-header on Apr. 2. She was chosen LSC South Hitter of the Week on Apr. 13, after hitting .625 (10 hits in 16 at bats) with 10 runs and eight walks against Oklahoma Panhandle State University (two games) and Tarleton State University (four games).

2nd Team All-LSC South

Helland played in 34 games, with 31 starts, before missing the end of the season following surgery to remove her appendix. She ranked fourth on the team with a .387 batting average. Helland scored 25 runs and hit 11 extra-base hits, including a team high three triples. She earned a .550 slugging percentage and struck out just eight times during the season. She recorded at least one hit in 25 games, including seven games with three hits.

Honorable Mention All-LSC South

Nocas led the Zias with 44 RBIs, tying Maegan Rhoten (2002) for second place on ENMU’s single season list, behind Doolittle (1998) with 72. Nocas recorded 61 hits to trail only Picazo on Eastern’s offensive chart this season. She also ranked second on the team with four home runs, and was third with a .391 batting average. She scored 31 times, pounded out nine doubles and earned a .538 slugging percentage. She played in 47 games as a starter, and struck out only seven times in 156 at bats.

Nocas provided the Zias with two or more hits 16 times, including 5 for 5 with four RBIs in Eastern’s second game against Panhandle State on Apr. 6. She registered six RBIs on Apr. 1, in the first game of the Zias’ four-game series against Abilene Christian University. She was named LSC South Hitter of the Week after going 6 for 7 (.857) in a double-header sweep of the College of the Southwest on Mar. 5 at Zia Softball Field.

Whipkey batted .396 for ENMU, while playing in 47 games with 44 starts. She recorded 38 RBIs and hit 12 doubles to rank second on the team in both categories. She also scored 19 runs and blasted three homers.

She gradually adapted from the high school game to action in the Lone Star Conference, as she raised her batting average from .167 after seven games to .373 after 41 appearances. She then went 11 of 21 in her final six games to add another 23 points to her average and end the year trailing only Picazo on the ENMU offensive stats. She also hit all three of her home runs in the last six games of the year. Whipkey earned at least one hit in 24 of the last 26 games, including 19 of the last 20.