Payne Earns First RMAC Player of the Week Honor

Eric R. Flores
The Paw Print

Adams State College redshirt freshman Kristen Payne has been named as the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference/Rawlings Player of the Week after her 3-home run effort against Fort Lewis College over the weekend.
Payne, who hit her first career grand slam in walk-off fashion in Game 1, 11-1 6-inning win, of Sunday’s doubleheader, Payne slugged 1.286 and hit .500 (7-for-14) with two doubles and three homers. She had nine RBI, six of which were 2-out RBI, and scored four runs. She also posted an on base percentage of .562 as she was walked twice.  The six 2-out RBI gives her 23 on the season to lead the conference. Defensively, she had 19 putouts including 10 in Sunday’s Game 1.
Payne is the Grizzlies fourth player to earn the conference’s weekly honor and this is the second straight week the Grizzlies have had a player named as Player of the Week.
Also included in the weekly release are the conference standings. The Grizzlies, who hold a 25-20 overall record a 17-15 conference record, are sitting in third place in the RMAC West Division and in sixth place in the overall standings.
This weekend the Grizzlies will travel to Colorado Springs to take on the UC-Colorado Springs Mountain Lions, who have a 17-23 overall record and a 14-17 conference record. The Mountain Lions are sitting in fifth in the RMAC East division and in ninth place in the overall standings, just one spot from making the RMAC Tournament. The tournament will be played in Golden, Colo. and hosted by the Colorado Mines Orediggers, as announced in the weekly release, and will take place on May 5-7, 2011. The complete bracket will be announced Sunday, May 1.