Hofstra University Athletics

ERIN ORTEGA (PHILLIPS)

Erin Ortega pitched for the Pride softball team from 1993 to 1996 and was a member of two NCAA Tournament teams. During her tenure Hofstra won 150 games and the 1995 North Atlantic Conference Championship.
In her four years Erin posted a 67-40 record with 618 strikeouts in 122 appearances. Her 618 strikeouts ranked third all-time on the Hofstra career list, while her 67 wins placed her fifth at the time of her graduation.

As a freshman in 1993 Erin posted a 16-6 mark and a 1.33 ERA as she helped lead the Pride to an at-large selection to their first-ever NCAA Tournament. She posted a 13-10 record in 1994 and then helped the Pride back to the NCAA Tournament in 1995 after posting a 17-10 record with 144 strikeouts. Erin led the Pride to the NAC Championship that year, throwing 17 2/3 innings over three games on the last day of the tournament. She did not allow an earned run and won all three contests en route to being named the NAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. She also earned All-Mid-Atlantic Region accolades and was an All-NAC selection.

Erin closed out her Hofstra career in 1996 by winning 21 games and striking out 277 batters, a mark that stood until Kayleigh Lotti broke it in 2008. Her 21 wins are the eighth best single season total in school history and she also set the school record for strikeouts in a game with 19 against Manhattan. Erin again earned all-region and all-conference honors, and was also named Hofstra’s 1996 Female Athlete of the Year.

Following graduation with a degree in communications, Erin played one year of professional softball in The Netherlands. She returned to the states and began a career with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, where she has worked for more than 10 years.