LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The NM State softball team has one of the most unique opportunities in program history this weekend, as they travel to Tucson, Ariz., for the Bear Down Fiesta. The Aggies will take on No. 8 Arizona while also playing two exhibition games against the Mexican National Team. The Aggies will play an exhibition game against Team Mexico on Friday at 4 p.m. before taking on the Wildcats at 7 p.m. On Saturday, the Aggies will take on Team Mexico again at 1 p.m. before ending the weekend with a game against Arizona at 4 p.m.

Where to Watch
All games will be streamed live on the Arizona Pac-12 Network stream. 

Uncharted Territory
This will be the first time Aggies have played a national team since 2008 when they faced Team USA. This will be the first time the Aggies have faced Team Mexico. Team Mexico is ranked fifth in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings. 

Going Through the Gauntlet
The NM State Aggies faced one of the toughest starts in program history. In the first 13 games, the Aggies faced a nationally-ranked opponent in six of those games. This is the only time in program history that the Aggies will have played six games against nationally-ranked opponents in its first 13 games of the year. In 2018, the Aggies opened up the season with five ranked opponents in its first 12 games. 

Arizona will be the seventh ranked opponent the Aggies have faced this season, and the second top 10 opponent the Aggies have faced. The Aggies have not beaten a ranked opponent since Mar. 6, 2020, when they defeated No. 17 Arizona State. The Aggies have never beaten a top 10 team in the polling era. 

Late Inning Magic
The Aggies have played a staggering seven extra inning contests so far in 2021 and are 4-3 in those games. The Aggies have had three walk-off wins this season. The Aggies' most recent walk-off victory came last Friday against Grand Canyon when Maya Martinez hit a three-run home run with two outs to give the Aggies the 8-6 win. The Aggies are 11-5 in games decided by two runs or less this season.

Staying Hot
The Aggie bats have come alive thanks to a couple of hitting streaks from Kayla Bowen and Matalasi Faapito. Bowen is currently on a career-long 13-game hitting streak while Faapito is on an 11-game hitting streak. After a slow start to her season, Ramsay Lopez went on a terror last weekend against Grand Canyon. Lopez went 6-for-10 against the Antelopes with two doubles and one RBI. 

Aggie Rundown
The Aggies returned its top five hitters from the 2020 season, and they have all shined so far in the 2021 season. 

Matalasi Faapito continues to have a terrific season, as she leads the team with a .430 batting average, 11 home runs and 25 RBIs. Faapito has recorded a hit in 22 out of the last 24 games and is on an 11-game hitting streak. Faapito leads the conference in batting average, slugging percentage, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. 

Slap hitter Hailey Tanori continues to be one of the most consistent Aggies in the batter's box, as she has recorded a hit in 28 out of the Aggies 32 games this season. Tanori also leads the team with 12 steals. 

Junior Kayla Bowen has been a nice surprise for the Aggies, as she is hitting .309 on the year with six home runs and a team-high 27 RBIs. Bowen is also on a career-long 13-game hitting streak. 

Redshirt senior Nikki Butler usually finds her way on base, but it may not be in the most conventional way. Butler is well on her way to break her own single-season hit-by-pitch record. Butler set the record in 2018, as she was hit 18 times, and so far in 2021, she's been hit 14 times. Butler is hitting .273 on the year with two home runs and 17 RBIs. 


In the circle, the Aggies are led by Felicia De La Torre. De La Torre has an ERA of 5.00 and has struck out 73 batters. Faapito has also done well in the circle with a 5.11 ERA while striking out 38 batters. 

Fountain of Youth
Out of the 23 players, 18 are either freshman or redshirt freshman. The Aggies have just two seniors in Keala Brown and Nikki Butler on the roster. The Aggies brought in 10 newcomers with several of them making an immediate impact for the Aggies. 

The Aggies have gotten solid production from several true freshmen most notably Jayleen Burton who is hitting .313 in 32 at-bats. Audrey Shebloski has been a consistent starter for the Aggies at shortstop and is hitting .173 with five RBIs. 

Antuanett Dean, Kendra Levesque, Briana Gallegos and Jillian Taylor have also played key roles for the Aggies. 

Scouting the Wildcats
Perennial power Arizona is off to another stellar start with a 22-5 record. The Wildcats are ranked eighth in NFCA/USA Today Top 25 poll. The Wildcats have won eight straight in Pac-12 play after sweeping Stanford in a four-game series last weekend. The Wildcats have three excellent pitchers who have posted a team ERA of 159. Alyssa Denham leads the Wildcats in the circle, making 13 starts with a 1.52 ERA while recording 65 strikeouts. The Wildcats produce a lot of power with the bats with 46 home runs this season which is tied for 13th in the NCAA. Bringing a lot of that power is redshirt senior Dejah Mulipola who leads the team with a .418 average and 13 home runs. 

The Wildcats are coached by the legendary Mike Candrea who is in his 36th season with the Wildcats. Candrea leads the NCAA with 1,655 wins. 

Last Time Out
The Aggies took the series against Grand Canyon last weekend in its first home game in over a year. After dropping the first game 8-6, the Aggies came back with wins of 8-6 and 8-1 to end the weekend 2-1.

Up Next
The Aggies will return home and return to its WAC schedule next week against Tarleton State. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday at 2 p.m. The series will end on Saturday at noon. 

For updates throughout the season, follow the Aggies on Twitter (@NMStateSoftball), Instagram (@nmstatesoftball) and Facebook (NM State Softball).