LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State softball hosts the 2017 Western Athletic Conference Softball Tournament on May 11-13. The top-seeded Aggies take on either No. 4 UMKC or No. 5 CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, May 11, at 4 p.m. (MT).

Fans can watch every game from the 2017 WAC Softball Tournament for free online on the WAC Digital Network.

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With an 11-4 conference record, the Aggies come into the tournament as the No. 1 seed. Utah Valley and Seattle U had 7-8 records in league play, but UVU earned the No. 2 seed since they won the tiebreaker by taking the series from SU, who received the No. 3 seed. UMKC is the No. 4 seed with a 5-10 record and CSU Bakersfield is the No. 5 seed with a 4-11 record in WAC play.

WHERE IN THE WAC

New Mexico State finished conference play as the WAC Regular Season Co-Champions. Both NM State and Grand Canyon finished the season with an 11-4 in record in conference play.

NM State posts a 25-22 overall record this season. As a team, NM State leads the WAC with 47 home runs and 59 stolen bases. Kelsey Horton leads the conference with a .438 batting average, an .822 slugging percentage, and a .517 on-base percentage. She also leads the league with 14 home runs and 120 total bases.

WEEKLY WARRIOR

New Mexico State's Kayla Green was named the Western Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Week, for the second time this season. She earned her fourth save this season in the Aggies 5-4 win over FAU. By doing so, she tied the NM State single-season record for saves in a season. Green allowed three earned runs on six hits and struck out three in the game.

LAST TIME OUT

NM State defeated FAU 5-4 last Thursday in the Aggies' regular season finale. Nikki Butler and Victoria Castro each hit a two-run home run in the game. Kayla Green earned the start in the circle and pitched the first four innings. Green reentered in the seventh and recorded her fourth save of the season.. 

KNOW YOUR FOE: UMKC

UMKC enters the tournament with a 15-36 overall record and a 5-10 record in conference play. Kendra Leach posts a team-best .388 batting average and a .583 slugging percentage. Morgan Byrn leads the team with 11 home runs this season.

In the circle, Lynsey Conner boasts a 5.96 earned run average. She leads the team with three complete games and 23 strikeouts. Andra O'Brien posts 1-10 record and a 6.09 ERA this season. Leach leads the team with two saves and a 5.33 ERA.

The Aggies swept the Roos when they came to town earlier this season, recording two run-rule victories in the three-game series. New Mexico State hit five home runs in the series including two homers by Victoria Castro. Kayla Green pitched a complete game in the Aggies 8-0 victory over UMKC. She allowed only two hits and struck out one in the shutout.

KNOW YOUR FOE: CSU BAKERSFIELD

CSU Bakersfield posts an 11-31 overall record and a 4-11 record in league play. Julea Cavazos is the one of two Roadrunners to start all 42 games this season. She holds .258 batting average and recorded seven extra-base hits this year. Nicole Curry started 39 games for CSUB and posts a team-high .299 batting average.

In the circle, Summer Evans leads the 'Runners with an 8-12 record this season. She posts a 4.33 ERA and has pitched 13 complete games. Lyndsay Klimenko comes into the tournament with a 6.24 ERA and a team-high 22 strikeouts.

The Aggies went 2-1 at CSU Bakersfield during league play. In NM State's 13-3 series finale victory, Kelsey Horton went 4-for-4 with two homers. When the two teams met in the 2016 WAC Tournament, New Mexico State fell in heartbreaking fashion when the 'Runners defeated the Aggies 1-0 to clinch the WAC Tournament title and the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

COMING UP

The winner of Thursday's game will advance to the semifinal round and play on Friday at 1:30 p.m. The loser will head to an elimination game on Friday at 4 p.m. The 2017 WAC Tournament champion will be crowned on Saturday, with the championship game set for 1 p.m.