First Pitch
NM State is back home this week as they take on No. 25 Arizona Wednesday for a mid-week double header scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.
 
The Aggies are coming off a series loss this past weekend against Grand Canyon which saw them lose all three games. This is the third consecutive series that the Aggies have dropped after losing two games to both Dixie State and Seattle U prior to facing the Lopes. The Aggies now have an overall record of 10-29 on the year and a 5-13 record in conference play.
 
After being on the road for two straight weeks the Aggies look to bounce back at home as they head into the latter part of their season. The Aggies only have two more regular season series (one home, one away) following the double header against the Wildcats on Wednesday before the WAC tournament begins on May 12 in Huntsville, TX.
 
Where to Watch
The two-game set between the Aggies and the Wildcats will be featured on ESPN+, fans can also keep up with live stats of all three matches with links available on our website.
 
Legend in the Dugout
Kathy Rodolph has had a remarkable career as the head coach of the Aggies. In her 19th year at the helm, Rodolph is the winningest coach in NM State history with a 554-467 record. She's led the team to four WAC Tournament Championships and six WAC Regular Season Championships, including last season when the team went 14-4 in conference play. She is also a five-time WAC Coach of the Year. She has helped the Aggies capture the last eight WAC player of the year awards and back-to-back WAC Freshman of the year awards. Additionally, Rodolph has helped 17 players earn NFCA All-Regional Team honors.
 
Aggie Rundown
Prior to WAC play, the Aggies' struggles were somewhat reflective of the level of competition they faced as their schedule featured six games versus Power Five opponents, two teams ranked inside the top-25 and three squads that participated in the NCAA Softball Tournament one season ago.
 
This past weekend in Phoenix, the Aggies struggled to put up offensive production as they only tallied 12 runs on 14 hits through three games. Hannah Lindsay and Paige Knight were able to make some noise by hitting back-to-back home runs in game one of the series, but it wasn't enough to ignite the offense.
 
Ramsay Lopez continued her impressive season by recording four RBIs in the final game and added another home run to her season total (13). Lopez has now hit safely in nine of the last ten games. During that stretch, she's hitting .379 with 11 hits, four home runs and 12 RBIs.
 
Statistically Speaking
Jillian Taylor has become one of the WAC's top hitters as her batting average of .393 ranks fifth in the league. Taylor's hit streak finally came to a close on April 8, after 19 games - tying her for the longest hit Aggie hit streak since 2007 when Amber Olive also went 19 games with a knock.
 
As of late, Hannah Lindsay has put together an impressive streak of her own as she is currently riding a 12-game hit streak with the first hit of her run coming on April 1 against Utah Valley.
 
On the offensive side, Ramsay Lopez's performance at the plate has her among the league's best - ranking second in slugging percentage (.752) and first in home runs per game (0.33). She also places third in walks drawn (29), tied for first in home runs (13), and fourth in on-base percentage (.493).
 
As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in home runs (50) and slugging percentage (.516), while their 194 RBIs are fifth-most in the league. The Aggies also rank fourth in runs scored (199), second in slugging (.506) and fifth in total hits (323). Meanwhile, the Crimson and White offense sits in fourth in batting average (.311) and on-base percentage (.382)
 
Through 15 games in conference play, the Aggies rank first in home runs (26) and fourth in slugging percentage against league opponents (.515).
 
Taylor on a Tear
Although her historic streak is over, sophomore utility player Jillian Taylor put together one of the hottest stretches NM State fans have seen in years.
 
She managed a 19-game hit streak that began on March 8, in a home game against I-10 rival UTEP. During her streak, she had six multi-hit games, five doubles and a trio of home runs.
 
In the 20 games this season in which Taylor has registered two at-bats or more, Taylor has only failed to tally a hit in two games.
 
After being in and out of the lineup for the first six games, Taylor has been a staple in the starting lineup since March 5. In 30 games this season, the Spokane, Wash., native has posted a batting average of .416 - a team-best among hitters with at least 30 at-bats.
 
Scouting Arizona
The Wildcats come into Las Cruces with a 27-16 overall record and a 6-12 conference record which is good for seventh in the Pac-12. The Wildcats play in one of the top conferences in the league being in the Pac-12. The conference currently carries four top-25 teams and four teams just sitting inside the top-50. The Wildcats' two best wins have come over #21 Oregon and #13 Washington
 
The Wildcats have won seven of their last ten games and just came of a series win Against Utah which saw them put up 17 runs on 26 hits in just three games. The team currently has nine hitters with a batting average above .300, however, Jasmine Perezchica leads the team with a whopping .424 batting average which ranks among the top in the conference. Arizona also holds three prolific power hitters that have combined for 45 home runs between the three of them: Allie Skaggs (16), Carlie Scupin (16) and Sharlize Palacios (13).
 
As far as pitching goes, the Wildcats have two arms on which they heavily rely: Devyn Netz and Hanah Bowen. The two have combined for 35 starts on the season - Netz is 1-0 with a 3.50 ERA, 1.23 WHIP with 62 strikeouts, and one save. Bowen is 9-8 and carries a 4.28 ERA, 1.44 WHIP with 68 strikeouts, and one save.
 
History vs. Arizona
The Wildcats have dominated the Aggies historically over the two programs' history. Ariana is 22-2 against NM State all-time winning the last 15 matches versus the Aggies. The Aggies' two lone wins against the Wildcats came in 2012 and 2013 when the Aggies won by a score of 9-5 and 3-2. These two programs squared off last season in Tucson (4/10) when the Wildcats shut out the Aggies and scored eight runs, winning in just 5 innings.