BRIEFLY: SOUTHEAST SOFTBALL TEAM SIGNS FIVE PLAYERS

Southeast Missouri's women's softball team has signed five players during the early signing period.

Signing to play for Coach Lana Richmond's Otahkians for the 2001 season are Erica Bonilla, Jaclyn Evans, Reagan Hamlin, Kristen King and Amy Thompson.

Bonilla, an outfielder from Trabuco Canyon, Calif., attends El Toro High School. She boasts a .458 batting average. Her brother Clemente plays baseball at Southeast.

Evans is an all-state catcher at Pattonville High School. She batted .369 last season with 18 RBIs. She also threw out 23 of 25 base stealers.

Hamlin, a first baseman/pitcher, currently attends Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Okla. At Seminole, Hamlin had team-high figures of six home runs and 48 RBIs. On the mound she went 8-0 with a 1.55 E.R.A. She earned all-region honors as Seminole placed fifth at the JUCO Nationals last spring.

King attends Kankakee (Ill.) Community College where she broke the school record for wins (23) and strikeouts (133). She posted a 23-2 record in earning all-region honors.

Thompson, a 6-foot-1 senior at Incarnate Word, has earned all-state honors and was named the best offensive player in the Metro Women's Athletic Association.