LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The top seeded NM State Aggies (29-19, 14-4) begin its WAC Championship chase on Thursday afternoon against No. 4 Utah Valley (23-26, 8-10). First pitch is set for 5 p.m. at Logan Field in Seattle, Wash. 

Where to Watch
The entire WAC Tournament can be seen live on ESPN+. If watching from outside the country, the games can be seen on the WAC Digital Network. Greg Sexton (Play-by-Play) and Katie Favilla (Color) will be on the call for each game.

Aggies Win Sixth WAC Regular Season Title
The Aggies clinched its sixth WAC regular season title last weekend. The Aggies took two out of the three games against California Baptist and got a little help from Seattle U. On Saturday, the Aggies defeated the Lancers 9-3 to clinch at least a share of the title. Shortly after, Seattle U fell to Grand Canyon, and Aggies clinched the title and the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament. The Aggies have now won five out of the last six WAC regular season titles.

WAC Tournament
The four team tournament, double elimination tournament will begin on Thursday and end with the championship games on Saturday. The Aggies are the No. 1 seed and will face No. 4 Utah Valley. No. 2 Seattle U will face No. 3 Grand Canyon. All the games will take place at Logan Field in Seattle, Wash., and can be seen live on ESPN+.

Finishing Strong
The Aggies made a little history last weekend against California Baptist. The Aggies won its 12th consecutive conference game on Friday. In the history of the program, no team had ever won 12 consecutive conference games until last Friday. The Aggies won 13 out of its final 14 WAC games and won 11 of its final 12 games total.

Closing in on Records
A couple of Aggies are nearing single-season and career records. Matalasi Faapito is chasing Aggie great Hoku Nohara's single-season batting average record. Nohara holds the record with a .429 average which she set in 2009. Faapito is currently hitting .400.

In a more unique stat, Nikki Butler is closing in on her own single-season hit-by-pitches record. Butler set the record in 2019, as she was hit 18 times. So far this season, Butler has been hit 18 times and needs just one more to break the record. Butler is also on pace to finish in the top five in the Aggie record books for career batting average, career slugging percentage and career on-base percentage.

Standing Alone
There is one athlete in the NCAA to have hit at least 13 home runs and have struck out a least 50 batters. Matalasi Faapito is the only athlete to complete this feat in the country. Faapito recorded her 50th strikeout last weekend against Dixie State. Faapito leads the conference in home runs with 15.

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 four walk-off wins this season. The Aggies' most recent walk-off victory came last Friday against Utah Valley when Maya Martinez hit a two-run home run to give the Aggies the 12-10 win. This was Martinez's second walk-off home run of the year. The first came on Apr. 2 against Grand Canyon. The Aggies are 13-6 in games decided by two runs or less this season.

Heating Up
Associate head coach Cat Heifner had the Aggie bats rolling in WAC play. The Aggies lead the conference in batting average (.330), runs (132), hits (172) and home runs (36) in conference play. Nikki Butler hit  a staggering .456 in WAC play with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. Ramsay Lopez hit .385 with four home runs and seven RBIs. Matalasi Faapito hit .379 with six home runs and 11 RBIs. After a tough first half of the season, Gabby Aragon has been on fire in WAC play with a .375 average with one home run and 11 RBIs.

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 conference with a .422 batting average, 15 home runs, an

.844 slugging percentage and a .497 on-base percentage. Faapito has recorded a hit in 30 out of the last 35 games.

Slap hitter Hailey Tanori continues to be one of the most consistent Aggies in the batter's box. She is hitting .335 this season and had a solid weekend against Utah Valley last weekend. She picked up four hits against the Wolverines and had two triples in the second game on Friday. This is the first time she has recorded two triples in a single game in her career.

Nikki Butler has been on fire since conference play began. She is hitting .478 in WAC play with seven home runs and 24 RBIs. She won back-to-back WAC Hitter of the Week awards on Apr. 19 and Apr. 26

After a slow start to the season, Ramsay Lopez has found her groove in the batter's box in the last half of the season. Lopez is hitting .285 with 10 home runs and 19 RBIs.

In the circle, the Aggies are led by Faapito, Felicia De La Torre and Chloe Rivas. De La Torre has the lowest ERA of the bunch with a 4.15. Rivas has been pitching well of late and is 7-1 on the season. Faapito has won her last seven starts to improve her record to 11-8. She holds a 4.57 ERA with 56 strikeouts.

Scouting the Wolverines
Utah Valley ended its regular season on a high note last weekend with a sweep over Tarleton State. This was the first time the Wolverines have swept a WAC opponent this season. In the batter's box, the Wolverines are led by Linnah Rebolledo and Basia Query. Rebolledo and Query have combined for 14 home runs and 71 RBIs. Rebolledo leads the team with a .346 average with Query right behind her with a .335 average. Devyn Cretz leads the Wolverines in the circle. Cretz is 14-12 this season with a 3.53 ERA and 119 strikeouts.

Scouting the Redhawks
The second seeded Seattle U Redhawks come into the WAC Tournament with a 26-19 record and an 11-5 record in the WAC. Much like the Aggies, the Redhawks ended the year on a hot streak, winning nine out of their last 11 games. The Redhawks pose serious problems for opposing pitchers with five players in the lineup batting over .300. The Redhawks also have a trio of pitchers in Carley Nance, Stefanie Madrigal and Shi Smith who have been very solid all season. Nance and Madrigal lead the way with 2.93 and 2.95 ERA's. Smith has a 3.03 ERA but has struck out 110 batters this season.

Scouting the Antelopes
No. 3 Grand Canyon enters the WAC Tournament with a 19-28 overall record and an 8-9 record in WAC play. The Antelopes stole the final game of its series with Seattle U. The 'Lopes are led by Gianna Nicoletti who has been phenomenal in their leadoff spot all season. Nicoletti is hitting .358 with eight RBIs. Nicoletti is also a force on the base paths, stealing a WAC-leading 27 bases this season. Savannah Tourville is also a threat for the 'Lopes as she is hitting .352 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. In the circle, Grand Canyon is led by Ryan Denhart who has posted an 8-9 record with a 3.49 ERA. She has thrown seven complete games in 19 starts for the 'Lopes.

Last Time Out
The Aggies ended the season on a high note taking two out of the three games against California Baptist last weekend. The Aggies captured their sixth WAC Regular Season Championship and earned the number one seed after a 9-3 win on Saturday.

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