Games 28-30
NM State (13-14, 2-4 WAC) vs. Grand Canyon (28-5, 4-2 WAC)
 
Friday, March 31 | 4 p.m. MDT (DH)
Game 1: Live Stats | Watch | Listen
Game 2: Live Stats | Watch | Listen
Radio: 91.5 FM | KRUX (Adam Young)
 
Saturday, April 1 | 1 p.m. MDT
Game 3: Live Stats | Watch 
TV: Bally Sports Ariz. | Comcast N.M. | ESPN+ (Adam Young)
 
First Pitch
NM State returns to Las Cruces this weekend to take on Grand Canyon after a lengthy 26-day road stretch. The Aggies' last home game came on March 5th where they took a 4-1 victory over their I-10 rival UTEP. Now the Aggies are looking to snap a three-game skid as they get set to host a 28-5 Lopes team that rolled through their non-conference schedule and is now looking to build on their conference resume. 
 
Last time out, the Aggies dropped a midweek matchup to their in-state rival, New Mexico, on Tuesday, losing 8-2 in seven innings, dropping them to below .500 on the season. The Aggies held the Lobos to just one run through three innings, even taking the lead for half an inning. Still, seven unanswered runs by the Lobos from the fourth inning on ultimately put the Aggies away as they split the season series with UNM at one apiece. 
 
Grand Canyon got their season off to a great start, winning 24 of their first 27 games, all in non-conference play. Since the beginning of conference play, the Lopes are 4-2 with wins over Tarleton, Sam Houston, and Abilene Christian. The Lopes lead the WAC in 13 different stat categories and rank top five in three more.
 
The Aggies are 18-14 all-time against Grand Canyon but have lost their last five matchups to the Lopes, all coming within the last year. 
 
Lunar Launches
26 games into her freshman campaign at NM State, Kendal Lunar is making quite the impact for the Aggie offense. 
 
The Alamogordo, N.M., native ranks 12th among all Division I hitters and is second in the WAC with 11 total doubles on the season. Lunar also ranks fifth in the nation in doubles per game (0.48). 
 
Power at the Plate
Once again, the Aggie offense is one of the best at hitting the long ball. Thus far, the Aggies have combined to hit 39 home runs to average 1.44 per game, ranking eighth in the nation and first in the WAC.
 
The Aggies have hit a home run in 20 of their 27 games this season, going 14-6 in those game and 0-7 in games where they don't hit a home run. 
 
Dix Dealing in the Circle
Impact transfer Emily Dix continues to embark on an impressive first season with the Aggies, picking up her third save of the season in the win over UTEP on March 5.
 
Her three saves on the year rank 15th in the nation and first in the WAC, while also totaling more saves than the Aggies as a team during the entire 2022 season.
 
Run Protection
It's pretty simple; when the Aggies score runs, they win games. After the win over Maine, NM State sits at a perfect 10-0 in games that it tallies at least six runs.
 
On the other hand, NM State has yet to win this season when scoring two or fewer runs - posting an 0-10 record in games of this nature.
 
Aggie Accolades 
Graduate student Kayla Bowen was named to the Preseason All-WAC team as the lone representative for the Aggies. Last season, Bowen earned Second Team All-WAC honors after hitting .369 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI. She paced the team in hits (59), doubles (13), and total bases (105).
 
Covering the Bases
The Aggies return a strong core of players at the batter's box and in the circle, led by 2022 WAC 2nd Team selections Kayla Bowen and Jillian Taylor. Taylor was also named to the 2022 WAC All-Defensive Team for her efforts with the glove. On the year, Bowen hit .369 with 11 home runs, 13 doubles and 41 RBI. Taylor led the team in batting average (.376) while collecting 47 hits, seven home runs, and nine doubles; she was also solid with the leather, recording 82 putouts with five assists, along with turning a pair of double plays.
 
NM State's infield looks to provide a productive season on both sides of the field, with a pair of starters coming back for another season and an impact transfer from within the conference. Jayleen Burton is coming off a sophomore season where she produced 17 hits and a trio of RBI while providing strong defense from the shortstop position. Paige Knight transferred in from the prestigious Oklahoma program ahead of the 2022 season, and made an immediate impact as an Aggie, batting .284 and launching seven home runs with 25 RBI.
 
Coming in from UT Arlington, junior Jessica Carreon is looking to be a spark plug for the Crimson & White offense. Last season as a Maverick, Carreon started every game, recording 17 runs scored, seven multi-hit games, led the team in walks drawn (21), and swiped nine bases.
 
In the outfield, Gabby Aragon looks to build on a productive season that saw the now-junior from Carlsbad make 31 appearances for the Aggies, collecting nine RBI and five extra-base hits while providing 26 putouts and a pair of assists.
 
Laurali Patane and Jordin King return for the 2023 season after accounting for 72% of innings pitched, 69% of total strikeouts and 85% of the wins at NM State to lead a staff that includes junior college transfers Ana Rodriguez, Emily Dix, and Aydenne Brown.
 
Behind the plate, sophomore Hannah Lindsay looks to build upon a strong freshman campaign, which saw her record the third-highest batting average on the team (.341) while crushing eight home runs and totaling 21 RBI.
 
Legend in the Dugout 
Kathy Rodolph has had a remarkable career as head coach at NM State. Entering her 20th season at the helm, Rodolph is the winningest coach in NM State history with a 568-487 record. 
 
She's led the team to four WAC Tournament Championships and six WAC Regular Season Championships, the most recent coming in the 2021 season when the Aggies went 14-4 in conference play.
 
She is also a five-time WAC Coach of the Year. She has helped the Aggies capture eight WAC player of the year awards and a pair of WAC Freshman player of the year awards. Additionally, Rodolph has helped 17 players earn NFCA All-Region Team Honors.
 
Scouting the Lopes
Grand Canyon currently sits in second place in the WAC, right behind Sam Houston, despite holding the best overall record in the conference (28-5). The team is off to a fantastic start, dropping only five of their 33 contests this season, with only two coming in conference play. Friday will be just the fifth road game played for the Lopes, as all but eight games have been played in Phoenix this season. 
 
Grand Canyon leads the WAC in 13 different stat categories while also falling into the top 20 in the nation in eight categories: Batting average (.337, 9th), doubles (50, 15th), ERA (1.72, 8th), on-base percentage (.429, 9th), Scoring (6.76, 13th), shutouts (11, 13th), slugging percentage (.537, 14th) and W/L percentage (.848, 8th).
 
Kristen Fifield is easily the Lopes' biggest weapon at the plate. Fifield currently leads the conference in home runs (12), home runs per game (0.36) RBI's (52), RBIs per game (1.58), slugging percentage (.869) and total bases (86) while also ranking top 20 nationally in those categories, including RBIs where she ranks second in the country. Grand Canyon also features the Aggies' 2022 homerun leader Ramsay Lopez, who made the switch from crimson to purple this offseason. Lopez is hitting .354 for the season and is second on the team in home runs with nine. 
 
GCU also features one of the most prolific pitching rotations in the nation, with five of their six pitchers featuring sub-four ERAs, including Emily Darwin (1.77), Hailey Hudson (1.11) and Meghan Golden (0.80), who lead the WAC in ERA this season. 
 
History vs. GCU
NM State is winning the all-time series with GCU, 18-14, but has lost their last five matchups to the Lopes dating back to last season. The Aggies secured their first win over GCU on April 24, 2015, with a narrow 7-6 victory in Las Cruces. NM States' last win came just last season in the Aggies 2022 conference opener – the first of six meetings with the Lopes last season – when the Aggies walked off the Lopes in extras, 8-7 (8 innings).