Upstate Softball Finalizes Recruiting By Signing Ohlrich, Zauner
5/8/2009 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 8, 2009
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate head coach Chris Hawkins put the final touches on the 2009 recruiting class by signing junior college standouts Cheyanna Ohlrich and Katie Zauner to national letters of intent. The signing of Ohlrich and Zauner gives the Spartans eight signees for the 2010 season.
Upstate, which finished the 2009 season with a 29-16 overall record and a fifth-place showing in the A-Sun, added Ohlrich and Zauner in the spring after signing six during the early signing period in the fall. Ohlrich and Zauner both play at the College of Siskiyous for head coach Doug Eastman and will join former teammate and current Spartan Crislyn Chewning at Upstate in the fall. As a fast-track sport in the NCAA, Upstate softball has completed its two years of provisional status and will be fully eligible for postseason competition in 2010.
"Cheyanna and Katie are very good players who I believe should be able to make an immediate impact on our program," said Hawkins. "Both come from a strong program at Siskiyous, have been coached extremely well, and have a tremendous amount of talent. Knowing the program at Siskiyous helped develop Crislyn (Chewning) and actually seeing them play last year, I feel confident they will make the move East without a problem and fit in with our program very well. I am excited to see them in a Spartan uniform next year."
Ohlrich and Zauner are currently leading Siskiyous in the California Junior College State Tournament as the No. 1-ranked team in the state and the top seed in the Northern California region. Siskiyous finished the regular season with a 41-3 overall record and a perfect 20-0 mark in the Golden Valley Conference to secure the conference championship. The Eagles claimed a pair of wins over Yuba in the opening round of the state tournament and will face the College of the Sequoias in the second round this weekend.
Ohlrich (INF, North Bend, Ore.) has been a standout player for the Eagles the last two seasons, primarily playing the middle infield positions. However, she can play several different infield positions. She was recently named a Louisville Slugger/NFCA Cal JC All-American and was a first team North All-State and All-Golden Valley Conference selection. She ranks third on the team and sixth in the conference in hitting with a .400 batting average. She currently has 15 doubles, seven triples, eight home runs, 40 runs and 48 RBIs to help lead the Eagles' offensive attack. She ranks 10th in the state in RBIs, eighth in triples, 15th in home runs and 15th in slugging percentage. She has had 15 multi-hit and 14 multi-RBI games this season, including driving in four runs each in a pair of wins over Feather River this season. She hit .344 with 16 doubles, three home runs, 36 runs and 42 RBIs as a freshman in helping lead Siskiyous to an appearance in the semifinals of the state tournament, the Golden Valley Conference title and a No. 1 ranking in the state. She was a second team all-conference selection.
Ohlrich graduated from North Bend High School where she started on the varsity team for three seasons after moving to Oregon from Southern California after her freshman year. She was a three-time team Most Valuable Player selection and was a first team All-League pick in the Far West League. She was named the Far West League MVP as a sophomore and junior. After back-to-back honorable mention 3A All-State honors as a sophomore and junior, she was a first team 3A All-State selection as a senior.
 Katie Zauner is a two-time all-conference selection at Siskiyous  |
|
Zauner graduated from Canby High School where she was a standout outfielder for four years on the varsity squad. She was a second team all-league selection in the 4A Pacific League as a freshman and garnered first team all-league honors in each of her final three years of high school ball. She was a second team 6A All-State selection as a senior. She helped lead the Cougars to four appearances in the state tournament and advanced to the third round of the 4A state tournament as a junior. She also played travel ball with the Glacier Northwest and Northwest Bullets teams that advanced to nationals. A standout on the field, she was also a standout in the classroom as a member of the National Honor Society and the Honor Roll.
Ohlrich and Zauner join Erika Harris (C/UTL, Piedmont, S.C., Wren HS), Ashley McCurry (OF, Enka, N.C., Enka HS), Blake Meredith (P/1B/OF, Post Falls, Idaho, Post Falls HS), Haley Sheehan (INF, Graniteville, S.C., SMC, Midland Valley HS), Alyssa Starkey (OF, Inman, S.C., SMC, Chapman HS) and Alexis Yohe (P/INF, Concord, N.C., Northwest Cabarrus HS) in the Spartans' recruiting class for 2009.
