PORT ARTHUR — When the Lamar State College-Port Arthur Seahawks take the field today against Chipola (Fla.) College, more than a few familiar faces will grace the diamond at Martin Field. There are 10 returning players from the 2011 squad filling out what could well be the most competitive Lamar State College-Port Arthur softball program in school history.

    First pitch will be today at 1 with the second game of the double-header set to begin at 3 p.m.

In addition to the returning letter-winners from a season ago there are two transfer students with NJCAA and NAIA experience to add to the Seahawks’ threat.

Returning Talent

    Among the top players back from last season is Bridge City sophomore Valerie Brown. Playing catcher and third base, Brown earned NJCAA Region XIV all-conference honors a year ago. She hit .268 with 10 runs batted in and scored 15 runs. She had four doubles, one triple and one home run.

    Other sophomores returning for the 2012 season are Katy Austin, Tiffany Schwartzenburg, Emily George, Katherine Parker, Victoria Day, Krista Mayer, Erica Schmalenberger, Keely Borel and Candice Spurlock.

    Austin is a pitcher out of Port Neches-Groves High School. She is expected to make an impact on the hill after throwing 23 strikeouts while also hitting .222 at the plate.

    Schwartzenburg, a West Brook High School graduate who works the outfield for the Seahawks, picked up 14 RBIs in just 35 plate appearances in 2011. She had two stolen bases, three doubles and six runs scored while earning a .241 batting average.

    Day, who is a talent anywhere on the field and serves as a utility player for the Hawks, had a 5.73 earned run average on the hill in limited appearances last season. Mayer, who attended a Region XIV all-star game before the start of this season, posted a .243 batting average with six doubles, nine runs batted in and two stolen bases. She will play the infield at second base and short stop.

    George, playing second base, had six RBIs, four stolen bases, two doubles and a triple, going .236 at the plate last season. Parker, who works the corners at first and third base, saw very limited playing time as a freshman but picked up four runs scored, one RBI and a double.

    Schmalenberger will work her way around the field as a utility player, seeing limited play a year ago as a freshman. Borel, a catcher from Nederland, hit .255 as a freshman with four RBIs and four doubles.

Spurlock, who graduated from?Texas City High School, earned a 5-16 won-loss record on the hill as a freshman. She finished with a 5.39 earned run average with 24 strikeouts.

    The two transfers are Mallory Koschany of Sterling College in Kansas and Danielle Treadway of Navarro College. Koschany, a graduate of Katy Taylor High School, led the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference with a .510, collecting two doubles and three triples along the way. Her batting average was fourth best in all of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

    Treadway, a sophomore pitcher out of Silsbee High School, helped lead her Navarro College team to a second place finish in the Region XIV East Zone and a second place finish at regionals. In 35 games, she pitched 109 innings, allowing 70 runs (47 earned runs), for a 3.02 earned run average and an 11-5 record on the mound. 

    Five freshman fill out the remainder of the Seahawks roster.

    Brittany Viramontes plays third base and outfield and graduated from Atascocita High School in 2011.

Adrienne Rocha of Houston Bellaire High School will play outfielder for the Hawks this season.

Third baseman Allison Angelle graduated from Bridge City High School. She helped lead the Cardinals to a district championship with a 10-0 team league record.

    Melinda Leday is an outfielder out of Beaumont Ozen High School.