First Pitch
NM State makes the trip east to the campus of Sam Houston State University where they will partake in the 2022 WAC Softball Tournament in Huntsville, Texas. Entering the bracket as the No. 7 seed, they will find themselves across from No. 6 and host Sam Houston in the opening round of the tournament. Unlike years past, the first contest the Aggies will play in will have win-or-go-home stakes as it will be single elimination. Should the Aggies emerge victorious, the remainder of the bracket will be double elimination.
 
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph and the Aggies will be looking to claim their fifth WAC Tournament title. NM State's most recent championship came in 2018 and it currently hoists a 28-22 (.560) record all-time in WAC Tournament play. This win percentage is is tops among active WAC schools and is good for sixth-best among teams that have played at least 10 WAC Tournament games.
 
The Aggies will be riding some momentum entering the tournament after taking down Utah Valley in the final regular season game of the year. After falling in the first two games of the road series versus the Wolverines, NM State prevailed 9-8 in the third game of the weekend and sixth game between the two programs this season. In the win, the Aggies were led at the plate by Riley Carley who finished the night 3-4 with three RBIs and one home run.
 
As a result of a new-format WAC where schools are split into two separate divisions, Wednesday's meeting betweeen the Bearkats and Aggies will mark the first time the two have met all season. This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs all time with the Aggies carrying a 3-2 advantage.
 
Where to Watch
The entire host of 2022 WAC Tournament games will be available to watch online via ESPN+ while international viewers can find the broadcast at WACsports.com/watch.
 
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 555-478 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
Similar to year's past, NM State opened with 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.
 
Despite their struggles in the regular season, the Aggies are familiar with winning at the WAC Tournament as they will enter the week looking to raise the tournament trophy for the fourth time in the last seven years.
 
Unlike most years, the Aggies will need to do nearly all of their winning without the advantage of the final at-bat as only a game versus No. 8 Lamar would result in the Aggies being in the home dugout.
 
Statistically Speaking
Jillian Taylor has emerged as one of the WAC's top hitters, her batting average of .396 ranks fourth in the league. Taylor's hit streak 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 base knock.
 
Ramsay Lopez's performance at the plate also places her among the league's best – leading the WAC in home runs (15) and home runs per game (0.32), while ranking third in slugging percentage (.705),  third in walks drawn (29),  and seventh in total bases (93).
 
Meanwhile, Hannah Lindsay and Kayla Bowen have been dominant in WAC play. Entering the tournament, Lindsay is leading the Aggies by hitting a blistering .453 to go along with seven home runs in WAC play. Lindsay is joined by Bowen at the top of the NM State stat sheet who also has seven home runs in 24 WAC contests. Bowen also paces the Aggies with 31 hits in league play.
 
As a team, the Aggies lead the WAC in home runs with 61- 14 more than any other WAC school. They also hold second in slugging percentage (.504), and rank fourth in on base percentage (.379), RBIs (236) and batting average (.311).
 
Throughout conference play, the Crimson and White offense leads the WAC in home runs (34), sits second in slugging percentage (.513) and third in RBIs (123).
 
NM State's offense is also among the nation's best as they rank inside the top 50 in batting average (23rd, .311), slugging percentage (32nd, .504) and home runs per game (26th, 1.30).
 
That charge is led by Ramsay Lopez who's home run total of 15 ranks 40th in the country while her home runs per game average of 0.32 ranks 38th among all Division I hitters. Lopez's slugging percentage and on-base percentage also rank inside the top 50 nationally.
 
Taylor's Midseason 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 47 games this season, the Spokane, Wash., native has posted a batting average of .396 - a team-best among hitters with at least 75 at-bats.

There's a First for Everything
The Aggies will have quite the hill to climb this week as they enter with a number seven next to their name. No team seeded sixth or lower has ever reached a WAC Tournament title game. However, this could be a misleading stat as the WAC Tournament has only featured seven or more teams three other times in league history.
 
The Formula
In order to overcome the challenge and play cinderella, the Aggies will need to rely on their offense. In games in which the Aggies score 10 or more runs, they are 6-1. Meanwhile, they are also stellar at closing games - posting a record of 9-0 when carrying a lead through the sixth inning.
 
Not Their First Rodeo
Several Aggies donning the Crimson and White in this week's tournament have experience tournament play before. In fact, eight players on this year's roster played for the Aggies in last season's run to the title game.
 
Of those eight players, the stats of Ramsay Lopez might be most notable as she hit .500 in the 2021 WAC Tournament - finishing with six hits, two doubles, one home run and three RBIs in four games.
 
This will also be Kayla Bowen's third appearance in the WAC Tournament after playing in 2019 and 2021.