Biography
THIS YEAR: Already considered one of the finest players in Azusa Pacific history, senior All-American Rachel Alkire figures to be the catalyst of the Cougar offense … Has one of the best bats in the NAIA to go along with an excellent glove at shortstop … Is a quality pitcher as well and is key figure on a deep pitching staff … Ranks among Azusa Pacific career leaders in home runs (second), doubles (fifth) and pitching victories (eighth) … Should again push for postseason honors.
2004: Despite an injury that cut short her season (missed 10 of the final 12 games and didn't pitch over the final month), still put together a fine campaign … Batted .331 with team-highs 27 RBIs and a .517 slugging percentage … Matched her twin, Megan, for team lead in home runs (4) … Hit safely in 28 of the 37 games played, including 14 of the first 17 in which she tallied 16 RBIs, 11 runs and 7 doubles … Was 5-for-8 with 3 RBIs and 3 doubles in a doubleheader split with UCSD … As a pitcher was a team-best 11-1 with a 2.70 ERA … Fired a pair of 2-hitters and 2 3-hitters as well … Struck out a season-high 7 in a 2-hit shutout victory over Bethany … Limited Biola to just 2 hits over 7 innings while giving up 1 unearned run in a 3-1 victory … Named NAIA All-American Scholar-Athlete.
2003: As just a sophomore, established herself as one of the best Cougars ever, putting together a season that resulted in her being named NAIA All-American first team (just the fourth Cougar ever to earn first-team recognition … In 61 games batted .404 with 18 doubles, 5 triples and 12 home runs … Led the GSAC in hits (78), RBIs (school-record 59), home runs (12) and slugging percentage (.736) … As a result, became the fifth Cougar ever to be named GSAC Player of the Year, sharing the honor with Point Loma's Cheryl Bolding … Had 23 multiple-hit games, including 6 in the final 8 games … Hit a home run in 4 consecutive games at the close of the season, including a 2-out, fifth-inning grand slam in the NAIA regional playoffs vs. The Master's to propel Azusa Pacific to a 7-4 victory … Hit safely in 22 of the final 25 games, batting .481 (38-for-79) after April 1 … As a pitcher was 6-6 with 1.69 ERA … Fired a 5-hit shutout at Vanguard … Struck out a season-high 6 in a 4-hit, 8-1 victory over Biola.
2002: As a 2002 freshman appeared in 41 of the Cougars' 53 games either as pitcher and/or infielder … As a pitcher, she was 10-4 with the lowest ERA at 1.59 with 101.1 innings at work … One of her best outings as a pitcher was when she lead the Cougars to a victory against Vanguard where she pitched all 7 innings and allowed only 3 hits and 1 run … Batted .245 with 3 doubles and 1 triple … Had 5 multiple-hit games and had 2 4-game hitting streaks.
HIGH SCHOOL: Prepped at James Logan High in Union City, Calif., from which she graduated in 2001 … Was a 3-time All-Mission Valley Athletic League first team pick, twice as a pitcher and once as a utility player … Was also a 2-time All-East Bay first team honoree … As a senior pitcher, was 8-1 with a 0.12 ERA … Fired 1 perfect game, 2 no-hitters and 3 1-hitters … At the plate batted .469 with 5 home runs, 4 triples and 5 doubles … Named ANG newspapers "Best of the Best" as a 2001 senior … Also lettered 3 years in volleyball (middle blocker) and 2 years each in soccer (midfielder) and basketball (guard) … An excellent student, was all-scholar in all 4 sports … Graduated magna cum laude.
PERSONAL: Born Sept. 23, 1983, in Fremont, Calif., to Tim (purchasing manager) and Alice (accountant) Alkire … Along with Megan, has an older sister, Melanie, who in her 4-year softball career at the University of Notre Dame, hit 29 home runs and was a Big East Conference Player of the Year honoree … Majoring in liberal studies.
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ALKIRE AT AZUSA PACIFIC
YEARÂ Â G-GSÂ Â ABÂ Â HÂ 2B-3B-HRÂ RBÂ SB-SBAÂ AVG
2002Â 51-51Â 147Â 34Â Â 7-1-0Â Â Â 11Â 3-3Â Â .231
2003Â 61-60Â 193Â 78Â 18-5-12Â Â 59Â 1-1Â Â .404
2004Â 37-37Â 118Â 39Â 10-0-4Â Â Â 27Â 2-2Â Â .331
   149-148 458 151 35-6-16  97 6-6  .330
YEAR  W-L  ERA  G-CG Sho  IP BB SO
2002Â Â 8-7Â 2.14Â 17-13Â 3Â Â 98.1Â 22Â 42
2003Â Â 6-6Â 1.69Â 12-11Â 2Â Â 78.2Â 21Â 35
2004Â 11-1Â 2.59Â 12-11Â 2Â Â 81.0Â 20Â 41
   25-14 2.23 41-35 7 248.0 63 118
