ENMU softball coach announces resignation

PORTALES - A season that has so far started with a thud has taken another blow, as Kira Zeiter announced her resignation as softball coach at Eastern New Mexico University.

Zeiter went 23-51 over her two-plus seasons, with a 13-35 record in Lone Star Conference play, and that record has been anchored by the team's 0-13 (0-12 LSC) start.

"We thank Coach Zeiter for her leadership over the last few seasons and wish her the best as she moves on to future endeavors," Athletic Director Matt Billings said in a university release.

The university has not yet announced an interim coach leading up to its Friday home doubleheader against St. Mary's. Other coaches listed on the staff include assistant Tim Sherwin and Samantha Brockman, a graduate assistant and former ENMU catcher.

Attempts by The News to contact Zeiter were unsuccessful.

Zeiter began her role as head coach in 2019, after previously serving as head coach at Urbana. In Zeiter's first season in Portales, the Greyhounds finished with an overall record of 12-30 and a conference record of 8-22 and freshman Iliana Mendoza was named Third Team All-LSC.

The team showed signs of progress in a pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign, which included an 11-8 overall record and a second-place 5-1 mark in LSC play. Big moments over 2020 included a 14-9 win over Texas Permian Basin with a school record four home runs, and a home sweep over West Texas A&M that broke a 35-game losing streak to the Buffs.

Pandemic fallout didn't help, as uncertainty over whether a 2021 season would happen led to starting catcher Parker Smith and cleanup hitter Jenny McElroy leaving eligibility on the table to take coaching jobs in Texas. When ENMU did start its 2021 campaign, it immediately started LSC play against teams that had anywhere between eight and 10 games under their belts.

The team is batting .174 this season with an OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) of .476 while its opponents are batting .463 with an OPS of 1.363. The team hasn't played in a sixth inning yet between mercy rules and forfeits.

The program has struggled for decades, with Zeiter's tenure just the latest rough stretch. Since Kathleen Rodriguez left the school to start the softball program at Texas El-Paso in 2003, the team has had four winning seasons and eight head coaches - none staying more than four seasons.

Last year's 11-8 campaign is ENMU's only winning season in the previous 12, and this year is all but assured to be its 17th losing season in 25 years of play and possibly its 12th last-place finish. The program has been an overall 445-689-1 and 188-360 in Lone Star Conference play, but the university vacated 81 of those victories (14 in LSC play) over four seasons as part of a probation agreement with the NCAA on self-reported eligibility issues.