The words played on the loudspeaker every time Eastern New Mexico University softball player Erikka Burke steps to the plate are nothing less than appropriate.
“I see everything I dream about and wish I had …” rings out across the stands every time Burke steps up to bat.
Burke sees her goals with softball and aims for them every day.
The 22-year-old senior first baseman recently became the second ENMU softball player to hit 30 home runs in her career, having eight home runs for the season alone and trailing only Rachel Mohler (33) on the career list.
But the goal Burke shoots for every day in her softball career is not a home run stat. It’s the betterment of her team as a whole.
“It’s not really my thing doing all the stat stuff,” Burke said. “I guess it’s a good goal to shoot for, but for me, it’s more about I’m just here to play and have fun. It’s not about me; it’s about the team. If I hit a home run and we still lose, to me, it doesn’t mean anything. It’s about all of us winning.”
Burke said growing up surrounded by the sport and having played since since she was 4 years old — including playing for Oak Grove High School, in Oak Grove, California — has made her competitive and ambitious in the sport.
“She works her butt off every single day. She comes out and does extra, which everyone does, but she does extra upon extra,” said Coach Katie Welborn. “She is always working hard, and she just knows that she’s prepared when she walks on the field. And that mentality of just being prepared is what makes her great.”
Burke said she is very family-oriented, so the hardest things about being at Eastern has been being so far from her family, but one of the biggest rewards of being one of the university’s softball players has been building a sisterhood with her teammates, so she has a second family.
“This place could not have been a better fit for myself,” said Burke. “Coming from a big city where there is something constantly going on, I love the small town feel. I got here, and everyone is so nice and super supportive. You don’t always get that in California.”
The health and physical education major said she is torn between entering the master’s program or going home when she graduates in May, but either way, “I want to stay in the sports world.”
Burke has been with Welborn her entire three years of coaching at Eastern, and that is something that is “unbreakable,” according to Welborn.
“She is so goofy off the field, then when she steps on, it’s game time; it’s go time. And I think what we’re all gonna miss the most is that she can separate the two,” said Welborn of Burke. “I think that’s what we’re going to miss most is that she is just such a good leader and captain on and off the field.”
And for Burke, despite the game not being about home run records for her, when asked if she will hit that 31st home run by the end of the season, she said, “most definitely.”
