Giana Zimmerman did not know what to expect from her rookie season of Division I college softball.

She did not anticipate being among the Ohio Valley Conference's top pitchers.

But that's where Zimmerman currently finds herself through the first 19 games of Southeast Missouri State's season.

"I was just hoping to do my best and whatever happens, happens," Zimmerman said. "I didn't expect this. I'm pretty excited."

So is Southeast coach Lana Richmond, who thought she had found an ace when she signed the freshman from the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge, Colo.

Zimmerman has proved to be just that for the Redhawks. Southeast is 11-8 overall and 2-1 in the OVC entering its first home action of the year, this weekend's three-game series against first-place Tennessee Tech (17-15, 5-0).

Zimmerman is 6-3 with a 1.87 ERA. She has allowed 51 hits, 17 walks and struck out 53 while working 60 of Southeast's 123 innings.

She ranks fifth in ERA, seventh in wins, seventh in strikeouts and seventh in complete games among OVC hurlers.

"It all starts in the circle," said Richmond, whose pitching staff has struggled in recent seasons. "We're getting complete games. ... She is a force on the mound."

Not that Richmond expected anything different after she and then-pitching coach Jeanine Soncini first watched Zimmerman hurl at a major tournament in Florida during the fall of her senior year of high school.

Richmond recalled that the tournament, which was scheduled to feature about 70 games, was almost completely rained out. Only five contests were played.

"We went to see three pitchers. We just happened to catch five innings of her game," Richmond said. "We saw enough."

So, too, had Zimmerman seen enough of Southeast and Cape Girardeau after making her recruiting visit that December.

"I had never heard of the school before," she said. "I came to visit and loved it. It reminded me of my mom's hometown [Trinidad, Colo.].

"It just seemed like a good fit for me. I was either going here or New Mexico State, but after I visited here, I didn't even talk to New Mexico State after that."

Zimmerman had a dazzling career at Wheat Ridge High School, one of the top large-school programs in Colorado.

Zimmerman, a four-year starter, led the state with an 0.31 ERA as a senior while going 15-3 with 242 strikeouts and 24 walks in 128 innings.

Asked to describe her pitching style, Zimmerman said: "I don't throw super, super fast. I tend to rely on my movement."

Richmond said Zimmerman throws hard enough -- in the mid-60 mph range, which Richmond said equates to about the mid-to-upper 80s in baseball -- but also pointed to her movement.

"She throws a variety of pitches," Richmond said.

That wasn't always the case, said Richmond, who credits first-year pitching coach Jeff Dabney for much of Zimmerman's progress since arriving at Southeast.

"When she first came here, all she relied on was her riseball," Richmond said. "You have to have something else when they lay off the riseball.

"Coach Dabney has worked with her to develop her other pitches. The first month [of fall practice], she didn't buy into it. But now she's so effective."

Zimmerman was especially impressive over the weekend as Southeast opened OVC play with a three-game series at Morehead State, last year's conference runner-up.

Zimmerman matched up against reigning OVC pitcher of the year Alex Gjevre in two of the contests. Zimmerman almost got the better of Gjevre twice.

In the first game of the series, Zimmerman fired her first collegiate shutout as Southeast won 1-0. In game three, the Redhawks fell 2-1 in 10 innings.

Zimmerman's pitching line for the weekend was one earned run allowed in 16 2/3 innings as Southeast won two of three.

"We played really, really well," Zimmerman said. "It was nice to get that experience."

A bat to boot

Zimmerman, also a standout hitter in high school, was a regular at the plate for the Redhawks during the early part of the season, but an injury to her left arm has put an end to that in recent weeks.

Despite having the ninth-most at-bats on the team -- 33 -- Zimmerman ranks third in RBIs with seven and is tied for second in home runs with two, although her average is just .212.

"She had four game-winning hits for us early in the season," Richmond said. "Right now she's battling an arm injury and it takes a stick away from us. But her first priority is pitching."

Zimmerman also is strong academically, carrying a perfect 4.0 GPA throughout high school and compiling a 3.8 GPA in her first semester at Southeast.

Richmond proudly points out that Zimmerman and another freshman pitcher who has been solid -- Stefanie Barnes (3-1, 3.47 ERA), who earned a 4.0 last semester -- both are attending Southeast on combination academic/athletic scholarships.

"Stefanie has given us quality innings," Richmond said. "That's what we've been missing, two quality pitchers."

Zimmerman and Barnes -- along with sophomore transfer Nicole Troncoso, the OVC's No. 3 hitter with a .410 average -- are part of a youthful squad that features one senior and two juniors.

Zimmerman said that's encouraging for the future as the Redhawks try to build after consecutive eighth-place OVC finishes that saw them fail to reach the conference tournament for the only two times in program history.

"We've got really good chemistry. Everybody gets along real well," Zimmerman said. "We can only get stronger.

"We just want to play our best and we would love to host the conference tournament [as the regular-season champion]."

If the Redhawks are able to pull off that surprise feat, Zimmerman will be a major factor.

"She's a competitor," Richmond said. "We're going to go as far as we can with her."