LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State softball continues Western Athletic Conference play by hosting UMKC in a three-game series beginning on Friday, April 14, at 6 p.m. (MT). Friday's series opener will be broadcast on the WAC Digital Network.
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WEEKLY WARRIOR
Kelsey Horton won her second Western Athletic Conference Hitter of the Week honor this season, the league announced on Monday. The sophomore hit .600 with four extra-base hits and six RBI. She had three home runs and a double with two walks and four runs scored over a three game period. Horton also recorded an impressive 1.600 slugging percentage and a .667 on-base clip. In the Aggies 14-6 victory over Seattle U, Horton tied the WAC record for the most home runs in a conference game. She joined elite company as she became the fourth player to do so and the first since 2010.
SEVENTEEN AGAIN
By hitting three home runs against SU, Horton tied the program record held by Staci Rodriguez for the most homers in a single game. Horton hit home runs in three straight at-bats, a program first, to tie the record. Rodriguez set the record in 2013 as she hit three home runs against Siena College. Both players adorned the number 17.
STEAL CITY
Rachel Rodriguez stole her 14th base of the season last weekend against SU. With the steal, Rodriguez sits third all-time in the NM State record books for career stolen bases with 61. She needs three stolen bases to claim second place all-time.
WHERE IN THE WAC
The Aggies enter the series with a league leading .469 slugging percentage. NM State also leads the conference with 28 home runs and 49 stolen bases as a team. Rachel Rodriguez leads the league with 14 stolen bases. Kelsey Horton leads the conference in batting average (.441), on-base percentage (.496), and total bases (83).
In conference play alone, New Mexico State posts a WAC best .337 batting average and a .558 slugging percentage. The team also leads the league with nine home runs, 41 runs scored, 55 hits, and 37 runs batted in. Horton leads all players with a .632 batting average and a 1.211 slugging percentage in conference play.
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies finished 2-1 against Seattle U last weekend as New Mexico State dropped the first game of the series 6-2, but bounced back with a 14-6 victory. In the series finale, NM State outlasted SU to take the series with a 6-4 win.
New Mexico State put up six home runs in the 14-6 victory over the Redhawks. Kelsey Horton hit three home runs while, Fahren Glackin had a pair of homers. Caity Szczesny hit a solo long ball in the seventh inning for her first of the season. Szczesny also hit a second seventh-inning home run in the Aggies 6-4 win.
KNOW YOUR FOE: UMKC
UMKC enters the series second in the WAC with a 13-27 overall record and a 4-2 record in league play. The Roos opened conference play by sweeping CSU Bakersfield, but followed the series by dropping two games to Grand Canyon. In the Roos 3-1 win against the Lopes, Kelsey Goodwin and Kendra Leach had two hits and Bri Sims hit a solo home run.
Leach leads the team with a .405 batting average as she has eight doubles, four triples and two homers this season. Lynsey Conner has appeared in the circle in 26 games this season. She posts a 5.85 ERA in 79.0 innings of work and a 5-10 record.
NM State enters the series with a 14-1 all-time record against the Roos. In the last series between the teams, New Mexico State swept UMKC on the road. Fahren Glackin recorded the win in the circle in the series finale between the teams as she struck out four in as many innings. Haley Nakamura led the team offensively with three hits, two runs and one RBI in the 11-8 victory.
COMING UP
Following the weekend series, NM State hosts No. 1 Arizona in a doubleheader on Tuesday, April 18, with the first pitched scheduled for 4 p.m.
