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ENMU arrow Athletics arrow News arrow Press Releases arrow 2006 Archive arrow 2/12 Zias Win Two of Three at WTAMU Tournament
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arrow2006 Archive

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Zias Win Bookends of Triple-Header on Final Day of WTAMU/Holiday Inn Invitational

Box Score - Game #3, ENMU 13, Fort Hays 1

Box Score - Game #4, ENMU 12, Regis University 16

Box Score - Game #5, ENMU 17, OPSU 3

AMARILLO, TEXAS — After weather caused the cancellation of the second day of the West Texas A&M University/Holiday Inn Invitational, Eastern New Mexico University played three games on the final day (Sunday, Feb. 12) of the tournament. Rosemary Moreno (Sr., Midland, TX/Midland College) pitched a five-hitter in the opener for a 13-1 win over Fort Hays State University. In the second game, Eastern got into home run hitting contest in a 16-12 loss to Regis University. The Zia batters continued making contact in the final game of the tournament, a 17-3 win over Oklahoma Panhandle State University which included Amanda Nightingale’s (Sr., P, Mesquite, TX/North Central Texas College) first appearance of the season.

Hitting has been a strength all season for the Zias and they showed it against Fort Hays’ Emily Rockefeller who gave up nine hits and seven run in one and two-thirds innings pitched. Jessica Nocas (Sr., SS, Riverside, CA/Midland College) drove-in the first Eastern run with a double. A ground out by Elizabeth Whipkey (So., 1B, Orange, CA/Villa Park HS) drove in Christina Helland (So., LF, Albuquerque, NM/Rio Rancho HS) from third. Tracy Jordan’s single drove in the final run of Eastern first inning offensive display for a 3-0 lead.

In the second, Moreno stranded two runners on base to keep FHSU scoreless. In Eastern’s half of the inning, Helland hit an RBI double and with two outs, Whipkey recorded her second RBI of the game with a double to drive in Helland. Kelsey Kubik made it back-to-back doubles to knock in Whipkey. Jordan closed out the scoring with her second RBI on a single that drove in Kubik for a 7-0 Zia lead.

Eastern continued to score, adding four more runs in the third, including a two-run homer by Helland. As Morena continued her mastery of the Fort Hays batters, Nocas and Jordan each added an RBI in the fourth for a 13-0 lead. FHSU had to score eight runs in the top of the fifth to avoid a run-rule loss, but only managed one as it dropped its record to 1-3 this year.

Regis came in with a solid offensive attack which showed immediately as lead-off batter Heather Utecht hit a triple and was followed by a two-run homer by Melissa Backlund. Eastern answered in the second as Tina Whitt (Sr., C, Riverside, CA/Midland College) hit an RBI single to get the Zias on the board. With one out, Kristina Goodman (Jr., CF, Artesia, NM/Artesia HS) hit a two-RBI single to give the Zias a 3-2 lead. ENMU added to its lead in the third on RBI doubles by Jordan and Whitt to go up 5-2. Regis knocked one run off the deficit with a fourth inning solo homerun by Lindzy Molinar.

RU’s bats exploded for six runs in the top of the fifth to take a 9-5 lead. Eastern came back with two runs in the bottom of the inning behind RBI hits by Whitt and Courtney McClasky (Sr., C, Keller, TX/Morningside College) to make it a two run game (9-7). A solo homerun by Amber Sivetts gave Regis a 10-7 lead before Eastern’s bats got hot once again. Kubik opened the sixth with a double and Whipkey, Jordan and Whitt followed with back-to-back-to-back home runs to retake the lead at 11-10. Nocas closed out the scoring by driving in Nicole Bregler (So., 3B, Alamogordo/Alamogordo HS) on a fielder choice to increase the lead to 12-10. Regis retook the lead for good in the top of the seventh with a six run output which included second homers of the game by Backlund and Molinaro and three-run homer by Monica Atencio, as Regis improved to a 2-3 record. For the game, the teams hit 10 homeruns combined.

Nightingale, who hadn’t pitched this season because of an injury had her first start of the season in the third game of the day against OPSU. The Zia batters who had scored double-digits in runs in three games in a row, made it a four in a row against Oklahoma Panhandle with 17 runs. Whitt got the Zias going with an RBI single and Kubik hit a base-clearing three-RBI single to put the Zias up 4-0 after one inning. After Oklahoma Panhandle scored a run in the second, Eastern put seven more runs on the board in the bottom of the inning, featuring a three-run homer by Jordan. Eastern scored trifectas in the third and fourth innings and won their second run-rule game of the day.

ENMU batters managed a .515 batting average on the day, led by a .909 average (10-11) by Jordan, including three homers and 13 RBIs. In five games of the tournament, she batted .706 and scored 10 runs. Moreno went 2-0 in the pitching circle and Nightingale starts the season with a 1-0 record and a 2.80 ERA. Nocas hit two homers in the tourney for a team-leading four balls hit out of the park. She leads the team with a .489 batting average and 19 RBIs.

The Zias travel to Phoenix, Ariz. for the four-day Schutt sports Division II Lead-Off Classic. Play begins on Thursday, Feb. 16 with games against Fort Lewis College and Belmont Abbey College. Eastern will play Minnesota State University on Friday, Feb. 17 followed with an afternoon game by a team to be announced. The Zias will play two more games on final day of the tourney, Saturday, Feb. 18. They will return to Portales through Silver City, NM to play double-headers against Western New Mexico University on Monday, Feb. 20 and Tuesday, Feb. 21.

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