April 2008
With 40 games under their belt, the Lady Rattler Softball Team is off to another remarkable year as their overall record sits at 34-6 and region record at 21-1. Having faced each team in the region the Rattlers have a good idea of what they are up against and hope to continue their success on the diamond.
For the second year in-a-row, the Region IX softball tournament champion will earn an automatic bid to the NJCAA National Tournament in Plant City, Florida. In order to reach that long awaited goal of a NJCAA National Tournament appearance in mid-May the Rattlers must win the Region IX Tournament. Region IX includes Dawson Community College, Lamar Community College, McCook Community College, North Platte Community College, Trinidad State Junior College, and Western Nebraska Community College. Winning the Region will give the Lady Rattlers home field advantage.
Head coach Melissa Perea, in her second year at the helm of the Lady Rattlers, is very impressed with the way her team is playing. “We have a very talented group of young ladies this year who have put in the time and have been working extremely hard,” stated Perea. “All I can ask is that they give their best effort and that’s exactly what they’ve done both in the classroom and on the field. The region is tough this year, so we just have to take it one game at a time and work to improve each day in order put us in a good position come May.”
The Lady Rattlers return a total of ten sophomores off of last year’s national tournament qualifying team including: pitchers Jessie Lessard, Tawnee Sheridan, and Chelsey Schneider, infielders Becca Diede, Danielle Haubert, and Megan Valente, outfielders Noel Wees, Amber Ray, Windi Serrano, and April Reyes. Jessie Lessard was an NJCAA 2nd Team Athletic All-American as well as 1st Team All-Region IX Pitcher, while Noel Wees earned 1st Team All-Region Outfield.
Ally Goniea led Otero to a perfect 6-0 record last week with sweeps of Lamar Community College, North Platte Community College and McCook Community College. Offensively, she was 10-of-24 with 12 runs scored, two doubles, six home runs and 13 RBIs. In a six at-bat stretch Goniea hit six consecutive home runs. In the second game of the North Platte twin bill she was 4-for-5 with four home runs, including a grand slam and 10 RBIs. She followed that with a 3-for-4 and two home runs in the opening game of the McCook double-header.
Melissa Perea, head coach of the OJC Rattlers, considers Goniea to be a tremendous asset to the team and has been crucial to OJC’s overall success on the field. “Defensively, she is as tough as they come and has really taken on the leadership role behind the plate that we’ve been looking for from her. At the plate, her stick speaks for itself. She is a great situational hitter with incredible power. The NJCAA Player of the Week award is quite an honor for Ally, she has been working extremely hard and is very deserving of this award from the NJCAA,” said Perea.
The Otero Junior College Softball team’s overall record is currently 34-6 with a 21-1 Region IX record. The Rattlers have made three consecutive trips to the NJCAA National Tournament and finished in the top 16 teams in the nation in 2007.
Lady Rattlers 
