PORTALES, NM —All records set must eventually fall. Such was the case when senior first baseman Erikka Burke stepped to the plate in the bottom of the fifth for the Eastern New Mexico University softball team (15-22; LSC 8-13) and bashed the 34th homerun of her career. Ninth-ranked Texas A&M-Commerce (31-3; LSC 16-2) picked up an 11-3 win in Lone Star Conference action at Greyhound Softball Field, but the Hounds saw a record fall which stood since 2002.

“I don’t think it has fully set in for me yet, as we still have some season left,” Burke said. “But it does feel great to be a part of it all. I just come to play and it just fell right into place. I don’t like to change my approach because I don’t want to change my game for anything specific. I’m just here to play with my teammates and have a great season. The record just comes along for the ride.”

“I’m so proud, there isn’t a person who deserved it more and wanted it less,” Head Coach Katie Welborn said. “She doesn’t care about records, she only cares about how the team does, so the fact we didn’t win today I guarantee will stick in her memory more than the fact that she broke a record. She’s put in the work and I’m so proud of how she played today and I’m so excited that I was there today to see her do this. As far as the team goes, I think we will do a lot better on Tuesday, we just need to get our hitting and pitching together all at once and we’ll be good to go. I’m looking forward to Tuesday.”

Burke in the Numbers
With her 12th homer of the season, Burke surpassed the previous mark of 33, set by Rachel Mohler who played for ENMU from 1999-2002
Burke’s career high is 13 homers, and the team single-season record is 14 (Kristen Cruickshank, 2009)
Yesterday, Burke tied the team record (7) for intentional walks and is two away from the single-season record (6, Cruickshank in 2009)

In the Game
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Hounds halved the deficit on RBI singles from Kamalani Peneku and Precious Aguirre
The Lions responded with seven straight runs to take an 11-2 edge into the bottom of the fifth
With one out, Burke drove the first pitch from Emily Otto over the left field wall to shatter the Greyhound record
Jennifer McElroy singled in the fifth inning to extend her hit streak to six games
ENMU finished with six hits

Up Next
The Eastern New Mexico University softball team will visit Rogers State on Tuesday
The first game of the non-conference doubleheader is scheduled for 11 a.m. MT