Ozuna and Wilkinson Named to Academic All-ASC Team

(6/12/06)  Senior Amanda Ozuna and sophomore Catherine Wilkinson were each named to the ASC's All-Academic team for 2006. Ozuna, who graduate last month with a degree in Exercise Science with Teacher Certification, ended her academic career in style.  She earned Dean's List honors in both the spring and fall of 2005, but was even better this semester - earning President's List with a perfect 4.0 GPA in her last term at SU.  Wilkinson, who has battled injuries throughout her career, is also an Exercise Science major and earned Academic Honor Roll this past semester.

Seniors Martinez, Ozuna Among 9 ASC Award Winners

(5/2/06)  Nine Schreiner Softball players were named honorable mention All-ASC West Division.  SU's two seniors, Krystle Martinez and Amanda Ozuna, were joined by juniors Lauren Zimmermann and Nicole Otten, sophomore Megan Eichman and freshmen Tara Gonzales, Kelsey Hanson, Cheyanne Loppnow and Lyndsie Travis.  Eichman led the team in batting average (.327), hits (36), doubles (10), stolen bases (15) and was third in RBI.  Ozuna was next with a .292 average and was tied for the team lead in RBI (13) with Loppnow.  Hanson batted .286 and was also the starting pitcher for 14 games for SU.  Travis led the pitching staff with four wins and had the best ERA among starting pitchers.  Zimmerman was fifth on the team in batting and was second in hits and doubles.

Softball Rallies to Take Three-Out-of-Four from SRS

(4/23/06)  After getting off to a slow start, the Mountaineers rallied for three straight wins to close out the careers of seniors Amanda Ozuna and Krystle Martinez.  Sul Ross posted a 6-2 win in the opener before Schreiner rallied with 10-6, 6-4 and 4-2 wins.  In the series, SRS committed 18 errors.  Megan Eichman led the way for Schreiner with 7 hits, 4 RBI and 4 runs scored.  Ozuna had a strong finish, getting four hits in the series with 5 RBI and 3 runs scored.  Martinez also finished well with 4 hits, 3 RBI and 3 runs scored.  Marci Mango picked up two wins in relief.  She won the second game by pitching 6-2/3 innings and giving up only one earned run.  She also pitched in the finale, throwing three innings without allowing an earned run.  Lyndsie Travis earned the win in Saturday's opener by pitching a complete game and giving up only 2 earned runs.

Trinity Rolls to Sweep of Mountaineers

(4/18/06)  It took visiting Trinity a little while to get started but once they did, it became a long night for the Mountaineers as TU won a twinbill by 18-3 and 11-0 scores.  In the first game, SU scored 2 runs in the second (both RBI coming off the bat of Tara Gonazales) to tie the score, but Trinity scored three in the top of the third and five more in the top of the fourth to take control.  In the second game, Trinity scored four runs in the first and never looked back.  Gonzales had two hits in addition to the two RBI to lead SU in both categories as the Mountaineers could only scratch out six hits in the two games.

Late Rally Propels La Verne to Win and Sweep

(4/13/06)  Schreiner continued its solid play in non-conference games, but visiting La Verne (CA) rallied with six runs in the sixth inning to take the first game of a doubleheader and then cruised in the nightcap.  With SU was leading the opener, 5-4, when La Verne erupted in the sixth.  The visitors went on to win 10-8.  In the second game, La Verne got on top and then used an 8-run 7th inning en route to a 12-3 win.  Cheyanne Loppnow led the Mountaineers with three hits and four runs scored.  Autumn Vara added three RBI -- all coming on a bases-loaded triple in the second game.  Lauren Zimmermann, Megan Eichman and Nichol Otten each contributed two hits for SU.

UMHB Cruises to Four-Game Sweep

(4/8/06)  Mary Hardin-Baylor proved too much for the Mountaineers in a four-game series sweep in Belton.  UMHB won by 9-1, 14-4, 8-0 and 8-0 scores.  SU was only able to manage 12 hits in the four games.  Leading the way for the Mountaineers with two hits each were Megan Eichman and Cheyanne Loppnow.

Mountaineers Win Opener but Drop Final Three vs. HPU

(4/1/06)  Schreiner scored four runs in the fourth inning of the first game of its series with Howard Payne and came away with a 6-4 victory.  Unfortunately, the Mountaineers didn't fare quite as well in the remaining three games.   SU trailed 3-2 going into the bottom of the fourth, but Lyndsie Travis put Schreiner on top to stay with a base-clearing double, scoring Lauren Zimmermann, Megan Eichman and Amanda Ozuna who each reached base with a single.  That was enough to allow Kelsey Hanson to get the win.  Hanson allowed only three runs in the complete-game victory.  In the other three games, SU lost 13-0, 1-0 and 3-1.  Hitting stars included Krystle Martinez who went 4-for-6.  Travis had 5 RBI on 3 hits during the series.  She also was the hard-luck loser in game three allowing only one run and five hits in seven innings of work.  Autumn Vara and Zimmermann also each added 3 hits.

HSU Takes Two From Mountaineers

(3/28/06)  Different location, different week, but - unfortunately for the Mountaineers - the same result as Hardin-Simmons swept a pair of games from SU by 12-4 and 7-1 scores.  Lauren Zimmermann and Bethany Martinez had two hits each and Marci Mango had two RBI.

Comeback Falls Short as Concordia Sweeps Mountaineers

(3/25/06)  The Mountaineers staged a late rally - scoring three runs in the fifth - to close their deficit to 7-5 but Concordia held off SU for a four-game sweep in Austin.  CUA earlier had beaten Schreiner by scores of 9-2, 7-2 on Friday and won the opener on Saturday, 7-1.  The Mountaineers were edged in total hits, but only by a count of 31-33.  Cheyanne Loppnow led the way for the Mountaineers, batting a combined 7-for-12 with one home run and 5 RBI.  Lauren Zimmermann was 7-for-16 and Tara Gonzales was 5-for-12 for the weekend.  Krystle Martinez, Bethany Martinez and Megan Eichman each had three hits for SU.

SU Sweeps Dallas to Run Win Streak to Three

Schreiner rallied for 11 runs in the sixth inning of game one to post a 15-7 win and then quickly scored 10 runs in the first inning of the second game to put away visiting University of Dallas 12-3.  In the past three games, the Mountaineers have scored 34 runs.  Dallas jumped ahead early in the opener and led 5-0 going into the bottom of the fourth before errors and timely SU hitting turned the game around.  Four Dallas errors led to 17 Mountaineer runs in the two games.  Nichol Otten had two hits in the opener and 3 RBI to lead the way in Schreiner's come-from-behind win.  On the mound, Lyndsie Travis was credited with both wins, pitching one inning of relief in game one and then all five innings in game two.  In the second game, Bethany Martinez went 3-for-3 with 3 RBI to pace SU.  Krystle Martinez had four hits, four runs and 3 RBI on the day.

Schreiner holds off CSS for Split, 7-6

Schreiner's offense got cranked up and scored seven quick runs over the first three innings, and then held of a rally by St. Scholastica (MN) for a 7-6 win and doubleheader split.  In the first game, St. Scholastica shut out the Mountaineers, 7-0.  Megan Eichman, Tara Gonzales and Amanda Ozuna each had two hits and Cheyanne Loppnow drove in two runs in the victory.  Lyndsie Travis pitched five innings, giving up three earned runs, to get her first win while Gonzales notched her first save of the season.

TLU Sweeps 4-Game Series

Texas Lutheran swept a four-game series from SU Softball in Seguin.  In the third game, TLU's Lauren Dobson pitched a five-inning no-hitter as the Bulldogs earned an 8-0 win.  Schreiner started the series well, battling back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game going into the bottom of the seventh.  TLU's Crystal Carvajal drove in the winning run with 1 out to post a 3-2 victory.  In the second game, SU gave up 9 runs in the first inning in an 11-0 loss.  In the series finale, TLU again got ahead early and was able to carry that momentum to a 5-1 win.  For the Mountaineers, Sarah Trevino had three hits in 8 at bats to lead all SU batters.  On the mound, Kesley Hanson was SU's most effective pitcher, giving up 3 earned runs in 8-1/3 innings of work.

Softball Struggles in ASC Crossover Tourney

It was a rough weekend for the Mountaineers at the ASC Crossover in Farmers Branch, TX.  SU lost all four games by a combined total of 37-3.  Schreiner started the weekend with a 9-0 loss to Ozarks.  Then came a 10-0 loss to Mississippi.  Sunday started much better as SU jumped out to a 2-run lead in the first inning vs. LeTourneau.  The lead grew to three in the top of the fourth before LU rallied by scoring 10 runs in the final three innings to post a 10-3 win.  In the final game of the event, East Texas Baptist posted an 8-0 win over the Mountaineers. 

Five-Run 7th Propels SU to Opening Day Split

Schreiner Softball started the season late, and it took an additional 13 innings for their offense to get started, but the Mountaineers made up for lost time and scored five runs in the final inning to beat Concordia, 6-5, in Austin.  Earlier in the day, Oklahoma Baptist recorded a 9-0 shutout of the Mountaineers.  In the second game, CUA scored single runs in the 1st-3rd innings and then two in the top of the sixth and carried a 5-1 lead into the bottom of the 7th.  Then the Mountaineers broke out the bats.  Singles by Lauren Zimmermann, Marci Mango and Nichole Otten added to an error and a walk made the score 5-3 with two on.  Cheyanne Loppnow then delivered the big hit,  a two-out double that scored two runs.  She advanced on the throw and then scored the deciding run on a wild pitch.  Tara Gonzales got the win in relief.
 

2006 Season Preview
Softball Challenges Freshmen Class to Make Impact

SU Softball head coach Rhonda Ruesch enters her fifth campaign with a challenge to her newest players -- step up.  That's not to say that the returning players will be pushed out of the way, but those returning Mountaineers need the youngsters to make contributions if the team is to find success this season.  Sophomore Nichol Otten led SU in batting average (.322), RBI (16), slugging percentage (.467), doubles (6), triples (2) and hit the team's only home run last year.  She also stole 7-8 bases.  What she will have to contend with is recovering from reconstructive ankle surgery in the off-season.  Lauren Zimmermann was third in batting average (.265) last year and led the team in hits (30) and was 8-9 in steals.  The other experienced returners are Amanda Ozuna, Krystle Martinez, Megan Eichman (who was the team's top base stealer in '05) and Bethany Martinez.  One holdover from last year is Catherine Wilkinson who was out last year while recovering from knee surgery.  She should have a big impact with her strong bat from the first game.  The key newcomers include freshmen pitchers Marci Mango, Kelsey Hanson, Tara Gonzales and mid-semester transfer Lyndsie Travis.  Freshmen expected to compete for spots in the everyday lineup are Sarah Trevino, Cheyanne Loppnow and Autumn Vara. Adds Coach Ruesch, "we're going to be a very young team with a very strong freshmen class who are going to be asked to do a lot right away".