Viking_Yearbook_93

£ison”s mrsilce. Left: Centerfieidef Cendi Clarfte grimaces after striking out. Top Rigiit: Players pitch in to set up ttie range room for an unexpected indom’ practice when the game for the diqr is canc^ed due to rain. Above: Coach Teii MarianI stress^ a point durif« a heme game against a Canadian fas^ltch team. Left to right: Teri Mariani, catcher Denise Miner, diertstop S^Hi Spees, pitcher Kim Itolum. Photos by Stephanie Basalyya continued from last page the entire season, including the two games they lost in the West Regional. The losses stung hard at first, but the pain subsided when reflection started and the accomplish­ ments of a rain-shortened season were realized. “They played hard, and I had no complaints with how they played,” Mariani said. “Like I told them, it just wasn’t in the cards. It just wasn’t our turn.” The Viking offense was powered by the hot bats of two seniors: third baseman Karin Jacobs, leftfielder Cathy Eason, who carried the Vikings for much of the season. Jacobs led the team in batting average, hitting .352. She also had a team-high 43 hits and 27 runs in a season which she switched to batting leadoff. Eason hit .333, garnering 38 hits and a team-leading 5 home runs and 30 RBI. She paced the Vikings in doubles as well (6). Usually the batting and scoring leads of Jacobs and Eason, along with second baseman Raquel Seward and Candi Gage were protected behind the arms of sophomore pitchers Carrie Andrews and Kim Holum. The tandem com­ bined to throw 12 shutouts and struck out 100 opposing batters. The offense and the pitching pro­ vided a potent mix, which was characterized early in the season when the Vikings outscored their opponents 66-18 through their first 14 games. It was a ride that came to an end too soon in 1993. But the playoff losses didn’t put a blemish on the "" kind of season the Vikings had. It will be a tool to rebuild with next season. “It was really hard to end like that, and I was just real­ ly sad to see it finally be over,” Jacobs said of her final pair of games in a Viking uniform. “I never thought I d actually see it be over. I didn’t like ending it that way, ending [at Regionals], under those circumstances. So that was really hard.” As for Mariani, she can only hope her 18th season at PSU doesn’t have rain in the forecast. Story by CZferis \A/^ilson