LA GRANDE, Ore. – Spring season is just two days away and Mountaineers Softball is ready to go for the 2022 campaign! Eastern Oregon is coming off a 2021 season that saw them make the CCC Tournament and with a combination of youth and experience entering this year, the team will look to stay competitive in what is arguably the toughest conference in the NAIA.

2022 Season Outlook
• After finishing fifth last season in conference play, Eastern is preseason picked to finish fifth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference in 2022.
• The Mountaineers tallied 64 points in the preseason coaches' poll and were just six points back of fourth place pick Corban.
• This year's squad has 16 returners back from a season ago, with eight newcomers joining the team.
• The Mountaineers will look to their returners to hopefully guide the newcomers coming out of high school, while the transfers will look to help fill voids from those departed.
• With the CCC boasting three squads that made the World Series last season, time will tell if EOU has reloaded well enough to compete in a stacked league.

2021 Season Review
• The Mountaineers 2021 campaign saw the team post a 16-32 overall record and a 10-17 mark in CCC action.
• Eastern was able to earn the No. 5 spot in the CCC Tournament before bowing out after two games. 
• Last year, three players garnered All-Conference accolades in Jordan Henley, Makenzie Chambers, and Amanda Smith. Henley was named First Team, followed by Chambers as a Second Team selection. Smith was tabbed Honorable Mention.
• The Mountaineers were able to play just 10 non-conference contests last season due to COVID-19 and weather and went 3-7 in those games.

The Nicole Christian File
• Nicole Christian enters her third season as head coach of Mountaineer Softball in 2022. She was named the sixth head coach in program history in June 2019.
• In her second season at the helm, Christian led the Mountaineers to a 16-32 overall record and a 10-17 record in Cascade Collegiate Conference play. Eastern's CCC record earned them a berth to the conference tournament at the No. 5 seed.
• In her first season in 2020, Christian and EOU's season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They finished the shortened season at 6-15 overall, but posted a 5-4 record in CCC play. Due to COVID-19, there were no selections for the All-Conference Team.

The 2022 Schedule
• The Mountaineers will have 53 games on deck this season, with 13 being non-conference bouts.
• Fans will be able to catch Eastern in action at Peggy Anderson Field five times, with all five series being against Cascade Collegiate Conference opponents.
• This year's home series for the Mounties are as follows: British Columbia (March 11-12), Providence (March 25-26), College of Idaho (March 29), Corban (April 8-9), and Oregon Tech (April 22-23).
• All CCC series will be two-day doubleheaders, barring in changes due to weather. The fourth game of each series does not count towards league records as well.
• The first home series for the Mountaineers will be on March 11-12 when they host their neighbors to the north in the UBC Thunderbirds.
• Of the 13 non-conference games scheduled for EOU, just five will be against NCAA Division III opponents. EOU will play Willamette in three games and Lewis & Clark College in two games.
• The Mountaineers will start the season playing their first 17 games on the road.

POSITION BREAKDOWN
INFIELD
Catchers
• With the departure of Makenzie Chambers, EOU will look to rely on a catcher by committee. Four athletes are listed at catcher this season in Jenna Gray, Alyssa Luna, Sabrina Curland, and Hannah Tyree.
• Gray will be the veteran of the group as she comes into the year as a redshirt senior. She redshirted the shortened 2020 season and appeared in nine games last year. 
• For Luna, Curland, and Tyree they will look to add depth behind the plate. All three are true freshmen, so time will tell how well they adjust to the collegiate ranks.

First Base
• Two players enter this season listed at first base in Haley Ebner and Audrey Kime. Ebner is in her fourth year with EOU, while Kime enters as a true freshman.
• For Ebner, she is still listed as a junior as she opted to use the NAIA's COVID waiver from 2020 to retain a year of eligibility. An Honorable Mention All-CCC selection in 2019, Ebner was a staple in the lineup last year in the infield.
• Ebner was third in hitting last year with a .306 average. She was the team leader in the RBIs with 29 and hit a team best six home runs.

Second Base, Third Base, & Shortstop
• Outside of Ebner and Kime being listed purely at first base, the rest of the Mountaineers infield is listed at just that: infield. Second, third,and shortstop are all expected to be by committee/gameday selection.
• Listed at infield for EOU is Madison Stateler and Caitlin Crist, while Hannah Tyree is listed at third base along with catcher.
• Stateler is the lone returner of the group and played the majority of last season at shortstop. She hit .262 on the year and tallied seven RBIs. Defensively, she had 73 putouts and turned nine double plays.
• Tyree comes in as a true freshman, while Crist is a transfer from Idaho State where she was a two-sport athlete.

OUTFIELD
• The Mountaineers outfield presence will consist of six players, with four being returners from last season. 
• In this group is Shelby Starr, Faith Huezo, Rhyanne Oates, Karsyn Zaragoza, Haley Tyree, and Allyson Bates.
• Back from the 2021 campaign are Starr, Huezo, Oates, and Tyree. Oates and Starr saw the most action of the group last year playing in 25 and 23 games, respectively.
• Oates tallied five hits and had two RBIs in 32 at bats. Defensively, she had two putouts and one assist.
• Starr racked up 10 RBI's and had nine hits on the year. She saw limited time on the infield as well and finished with 17 putouts to go along with 12 assists.
• Last season, Tyree appeared in five games and scored four runs. Huezo played in 10 contests and scored three runs.
• Zaragoza and Bates both come to EOU as transfers from Lower Columbia College and Wenatchee Valley College, respectively.

UTILITY
• The Mountaineers have three utility players listed for this season in Taylor Dow, Grace Gaither, and Olivia Zufelt. Both Dow and Zufelt are returners, while Gaither is a newcomer.
• Dow appeared in 37 games last year, playing as the DP or in the outfield. She also came in as a pinch runner on multiple occasions.
• Offensively, Dow hit .262 for the year and scored 16 runs. She had 17 RBIs and was a perfect 4-4 on stolen base attempts. She also hit one home run last season.
• Zufelt appeared in 31 games last season in her first year with EOU. She saw time as the DP and at catcher. She totaled 12 RBIs last season, hit two homers, and scored 12 runs.
• Gaither joins Eastern as a transfer from NCAA Division I institute Oregon State.

PITCHERS
Left-Handed
• The Mountaineers will have three left-handed pitchers on staff in Amanda Smith, Makayla Mauger, and Kayla Berg. All three are returners from last season.
• In 2021, Smith ultimately became the ace for EOU as she appeared in 24 games and started 13. She had a team leading ERA of 4.09 and struck out a team best 45 batters in 92.1 innings of work. Smith was tabbed Honorable Mention All-CCC at pitcher.
• Berg saw time both in the circle and in the outfield for the Mounties and may do so again in 2022. She appeared in nine games at pitcher and fanned 22 batters in 31.0 innings.
• As a true freshman, Mauger worked as both pitcher and saw limited action as the DP. She appeared in nine games in the circle, pitching 21.2 innings. She finished with 15 strikeouts.

Right-Handed
• Four right-handed pitchers round out the staff for Eastern, with all four being returners. Making up the quartet is Mckenna Stallings, Natalee Hall, Kaylin Winans, and Abby Giles.
• Giles was fourth on the team last year in strikeouts with 21. She appeared in 13 games, primarily as a reliever. She pitched the third most innings finishing at 36.2.
• Stallings worked her way into the rotation early on as a true freshman. She pitched 34 complete innings and struck out 17 batters. 
• Hall appeared in seven games as a reliever and had one start. She worked nine complete innings and had one strikeout. Winans appeared in one contest last season.
• As a whole, EOU pitching staff is a veteran group and will look to be the anchor point for the defense. Time will tell which pieces of the puzzle fit around them to help create complete defense.

Scouting the Willamette Bearcats
• The Bearcats enter the weekend tilt with EOU owning a 1-1 record to start after splitting a two-game series against Corban.
• This weekend's three game series vs. the Bearcats will be the home opener for Willamette. Live stats will be available, but there will be no livestream provided by WU.
• Through two games, the Bearcats are batting .296 as a team and have an on base percentage of .426.
• Willamette is slugging .537 early on and has already smacked two home runs. They have seven extra base hits and drawn 10 walks.
• So far, Jordyn Johnson has the hot hand hitting .500, but has appeared in just one game. She does own one of the two home runs for WU and has scored two runs.
• Cora Erickson has played in both games and is hitting .429 to start. She has three hits in seven at bats, including one double.
• Kelsey Wong is also hitting .429 early on. She leads the team with four RBIs and has one double on the year.
• Kendra Knapp and Mia Lund are the leaders in runs scored with three, respectively. They are both hitting .333, while Knapp has two RBI's to just one by Lund.
• In the circle, Shaye Mott has appeared in both games and pitched 8.2 innings. She has struck out three batters and has already pitched one complete game.

Up Next
• Following the three-game tilt at Willamette, Eastern will remain in-state for a one-day doubleheader match-up at Lewis & Clark College on Sunday, Feb. 20. First pitch is set for 12 and 2 p.m., respectively.

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