LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State softball hosts Grand Canyon for a Western Athletic Conference series at the NM State Softball Complex this weekend. The Aggies battle the Lopes in a single game on Friday, April 19, at 6 p.m. MT before facing GCU in a doubleheader on Saturday, beginning at 4 p.m. Fans can catch all the action from the series on the WAC Digital Network.
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HORTON HITS A BOOM
Nationally, Kelsey Horton ranks second in career home runs (64), third in career total bases (478), fifth in RBI (192) and seventh for runs scored (192).
The senior continues to climb in the NM State career record books. The slugger is record holder for total bases and is tied for first for home runs. She also ranks second in runs scored and sacrifice flies (11) while also sitting in third for RBI, hits (240) and doubles (42).
WHERE IN THE WAC
NM State ranks first in the WAC for home runs (40), homers per game (1.03) saves (5) and strikeouts thrown per game (6.32). The team also sits in second for batters struck out (228) and batters struck out looking (57).
Individually, Samaria Diaz leads the league with 145 strikeouts, and four saves. Horton ranks second with a .629 slugging percentage and 10 home runs this season. Victoria Castro is second in the conference for walks (22) while Nikki Butler is third for hit by pitch (10). In WAC play alone, Butler sits atop the leaderboard with a .567 batting average and 17 hits while ranking second for slugging percentage (.857) and on base percentage (.594). Horton leads the league in walks with seven while Diaz is first in strikeouts (51).
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies went 2-3 on their road trip in California last weekend. NM State went 1-2 during the WAC series with California Baptist but picked up a second win over the Lancers during a non-conference contest. New Mexico State also dropped a game to Loyola Marymount 3-2.
During the 3-1 series-finale victory at CBU, Butler had an RBI single and Horton posted the 64th home run of her career. Chloe Rivas picked up the win, the first of her collegiate career, when she pitched 3.1 innings and allowed just one hit while recording three strikeouts.
LOOKING AT THE LOPES
Grand Canyon enters the series at 26-17 on the season with an 8-1 record in league play. The Lopes lone loss came at California Baptist when the Lancers run-ruled GCU 10-1 in six innings. As a team, Grand Canyon is batting .280 and the pitchers post a 2.33 team ERA. In conference-only games, the team is first in batting average (.341) and ERA (1.33).
Individually, Yessie Morrison comes in with a 1.94 ERA for the season while Brianna Aguilar is first in the WAC with a 0.00 ERA for conference games. For WAC games, Shea Smith leads the conference in runs scored (10) while Lilly Bishop has a league-best three homers for the season.
COMING UP: MIDWEEK MADNESS
Following the three-game series, the Aggies take on New Mexico in a road contest at Lobo Softball Field. First pitch from the midweek tilt is set for 5:30 p.m.
