SILVER CITY, N.M. – Having played the first three tournaments to start the season on the road, the Western New Mexico University softball team will enjoy the first chance this season to stay home as they open Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play welcoming in Colorado School of Mines and Black Hills State for pod-play.
WNMU will play each team both Saturday and Sunday, while the two visiting teams will also play each other both days.
The Lady Mustangs (4-11) are coming off of a big 6-5 upset win over No. 2 Dixie State this past Sunday. The win snapped a seven-game losing streak.
Freshman
Clarissa Moreno (Tucson, AZ/Desert View) has been off to a hot start to begin her WNMU career as the true freshman leads the team with a .394 batting average, posting 13 hits, two doubles and three RBI. Junior
Lacy Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) adds a .341 batting average and leads the team in hits with 15 and adds six RBI. Sophomore
Mariangela Garcia (Tucson, AZ/Desert View) and senior
Thailyza Ramirez (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) also have double-digit hits with each tallying 11. Ramirez leads the team in RBI with seven, while she has the only home run so far this year.
WNMU is hitting .259 as a team, while opponents come in with a .352 average. In the circle, redshirt junior
Domi Shone (Gold Canyon, AZ/Mesquite) has already pitched in 13 of the team's contests, starting seven. She has logged 50.2 innings, four complete games, a save, 26 strikeouts and a 2-6 record along with a 4.56 ERA. Senior
MaryJo Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) and freshman
Tiana Salazar (Peoria, AZ/Peoria) have each tossed 19.2 innings.
MaryJo Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) has eight appearances, starting three, along with a 6.41 ERA, while Salazar is 2-0 with a 3.20 ERA, one complete game and 15 strikeouts. WNMU has a 4.67 team ERA, while opponents hold a 1.77 ERA.
The Orediggers are 0-5 so far on the season having last played Feb. 6 in an 11-1 loss to Lubbock Christian. Paige Noehring leads the offense with a .316 batting average, while Kara Jones adds a .273 clip. Katie Leiker leads the team in home runs (1) and RBI (4). They hit .203 as a team, while opponents hold a .358 average.
In the circle, Hallie Smith holds a 0.76 ERA in 18.1 innings worked. Maddie Rogers has tossed 11.0 innings and is 0-4 with a 15.91 ERA. They have a 7.00 team ERA and opponents counter with a 2.26 ERA.
The Yellow Jackets also enter with a 0-5 record having played this past weekend in Texas. They recently faced Texas A&M International falling, 9-3.
Witman has the top average posting a .600 clip going 3-5 to start the year. Smith leads the team in RBI with two. BHSU holds a .217 batting average as a team, while opponents have a .306 average.
In the circle, Witman is also tops on the staff in terms of ERA at 5.25 with a 0-2 record in 6.2 innings. Wiley has logged the most innings with 15.2 and is 0-3 with a 6.26 ERA. As a staff they have a 6.76 ERA and opponents have just a 1.58 ERA.
The schedule for the weekend is as follows: Saturday, WNMU vs. Colorado Mines at 10 a.m., Colorado Mines vs. Black Hills State at 12 p.m. and then Black Hills State vs. WNMU at 2 p.m. On Sunday, Black Hills State vs. WNMU at 10 a.m., Black Hills State vs. Colorado Mines at 12 p.m. and then Colorado Mines vs. WNMU at 2 p.m. All games with have live stats.
