PORTALES, N.M. – Head coach Kira Zeiter has recently finalized the 2019 Eastern New Mexico softball schedule for her first year at the helm of the program.

Zeiter takes over for the program following a three-year stint at Urbana University and will take over a program that finished last season with an overall record of 18-34. The Hounds will hit the field for the first time in Albuquerque, N.M. on Feb. 1-2 to compete in the first ever ENMU Softball Classic Kick-Off presented by U.S. Bank.

The Hounds will take on Fort Lewis, Adams State, and Oklahoma Baptist over the course of the two days at Paul Kohman Field located on the campus of Rio Rancho High School. Zeiter and company will have a good chance to begin their non-conference schedule off on a high note as the three opponents for the Greyhounds over the weekend went a combined 51-104 a season ago.

Eastern will then head to the Lone Star State to compete in four games over the stretch of Feb. 8-9 in San Antonio, Texas. The Hounds will take on RMAC foes New Mexico Highlands and Regis, Drury University, and Heartland Conference foes St. Edward's and St. Mary's throughout the weekend.

St. Mary's advanced all the way to the Heartland Conference Championship game a season ago after posting an overall record of 34-23 and will serve as a good measuring stick for the Hounds to see where they stand against one of the region's top programs. Eastern will then take the field for the first time at home on Feb. 11 for a double-header against New Mexico Highlands scheduled to get started at 2 p.m.

Angelo State will then make the trip to Portales on Feb. 15-16 to serve as the first Lone Star Conference opponent of the season for Eastern as the Hounds will begin their quest for a bid to the LSC Postseason Tournament following a season in which they finished the conference schedule with a record of 9-21. The Rambelles finished last year with a record of 53-9, advancing all the way to the NCAA Division II College World Series and finished the season ranked no. 6 in the 2018 NFCA Poll.

Eastern New Mexico will then face off with Texas Woman's in their first conference road series of the year on Feb. 22-23 in Denton, Texas before returning home on the first weekend of March to take on UT-Permian Basin. The Hounds defeated the Falcons last year in the weekend series 2-1, and will be looking to piece together a similar result in 2019.

The alternating home and away weekends will continue for the Hounds as they will hit the road headed back east for a series against Texas A&M-Commerce for a rare Friday double-header scheduled on March 8. The two teams will meet for the third and final game of the series on March 9 at 12 p.m.

Cameron and Texas A&M-Kingsville, two teams that qualified for the LSC Postseason Tournament last season are scheduled to do battle with the Hounds on March 15-16 and March 22-23 before Eastern takes a short break from LSC play and welcomes Lubbock Christian to the Greyhound Softball Complex for a double-header scheduled for March 26. The Hounds will then take on the Lady Chaps just a few days later on April 2, this time on the Lady Chap's home turf in Lubbock, Texas.

Eastern will close out their 2019 schedule with home series against rival West Texas A&M on April 5-6, and then on senior day against Tarleton State on April 18-19, with road series against Western New Mexico and MSU Texas sandwiched in between.