Courtesy of UTEP Athletics
EL PASO, Texas – Keanna `Kiki’ Pepi, who played her freshman year of softball at Oregon State, will transfer to UTEP head coach Tobin Echo-Hawk announced.
Pepi will have three years of eligibly for the Miners.
“She’s going to come in and help us right away,” Echo-Hawk said. “She brings a ton of power, offensively, so we’re looking for her to fill some holes that we lost due to graduation. She going to play the infield and hopefully be a leader on the field and be that dynamic player we’ve seen in the past.”
The native of San Diego, Calif., played in 22 games, starting 13, for the Beavers during the 2014 campaign. Pepi’s most productive outing came against Stanford during the last game of the season, hammering her first career home run as part of a 4-for-4, three-run and five-RBI performance during a 13-9 victory over the Cardinal on May 10.
In 2014, Pepi recorded 11 hits in 43 at-bats (.256 average), but hit .368 (7-for-19) during league play. Pepi completed her first collegiate season with a home run, seven RBI, seven runs and one double.
On the defensive side, Pepi played first and third base, recording 29 putouts and 12 assists.
Pepi made her first career start as the designated player against Appalachian State (Feb. 9), walking twice and scoring a run. She recorded her first collegiate hit against Arizona (March 24), while she notched her first RBI against Utah (April 4) on a 1-for-3 day. Against UNLV (May 4), she went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
During her junior season at Kearny High School in San Diego, Pepi hit .431, with three long balls, 21 RBI and 14 stolen bases. She was voted team MVP and earned All-Western League First Team honors that season. Pepi also competed in basketball and volleyball for the Komets.
