LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The annual trip to Las Vegas awaits the Western New Mexico University softball team when they head up north for the Desert Stinger this Friday through Sunday. The Lady Mustangs will play Augustana, CSU-Monterey Bay on Friday, Northwest Nazarene and Azusa Pacific on Saturday, before finishing on Sunday against Concordia University.

WNMU will face only Northwest Nazarene for the second straight year as the Crusaders took the 7-5 win a year ago.

The Lady Mustangs begin the tournament against Augustana at 11:30 a.m. on Friday. The Vikings are off to a 5-1 start this season sweeping Chaminade and BYU-Hawaii, while splitting with Hawaii Pacific. Maggie Kadrlik holds a .591 batting average in the early going of the season, along with a home run and nine RBI. Shannon Petersen is also hitting .500 at the plate. In the circle, Karlee Koopman leads with a 1.22 ERA in three appearances and is 3-0 in 23 innings worked.

WNMU will face CSU-Monterey Bay at 2 p.m. on Friday. The Otters are 2-0 to start the season with a pair of wins over Dominican University. Three players are hitting over .600 after the first two games led by Jenae Coleman and Marielle Valdez's .667 averages. Alyssa D'Agostino adds a .600 average. In the circle, Lindsey Clarkson and Tori Pierucci each have a win and have yet to allow a run.

WNMU opens Saturday at 11:30 a.m. against Northwest Nazarene. The Crusaders have yet to play a game this season. Last year they went 9-37 and their top offensive returner in terms of batting average is Lily Paschal with a .299 average a year ago. In the circle, Abigail Watkins returns following a 70 inning pitched season.

WNMU will close Saturday at 4:30 p.m. versus Azusa Pacific. The Cougars opened 1-1 this past week splitting with UC San Diego. Madison Hernandez and Annie Sisler each hold a .667 batting average to lead the team. In the circle, Narissa Garcia has logged the most time going 6.1 innings and has a 5.68 ERA.

The Lady Mustangs close the Desert Stinger against Concordia University out of California at 2 p.m. on Sunday. They open the season with a doubleheader this Friday against CSU-San Marcos before opening the Desert Stinger. Lauren Rodriguez returns as the top player from last year's team in terms of batting average holding a .436 clip. She also added three home runs and 23 RBI. In the circle, Grayson Harvey went 16-0 a year ago with a 1.79 ERA in 125.1 innings pitched.

WNMU is 1-4 after the opening weekend taking their last game 9-5 over Oklahoma Panhandle State. Junior Lacy Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) is off to a strong start and leads the team with a .429 batting average. She has also driven in four runs and leads the team in runs scored with five. She was named to the Lubbock Christian All-Tournament squad. Freshman Clarissa Moreno (Tucson, AZ/Desert View) is also over .400 sitting at .417. Freshman Ariana Maldonado (Albuquerque, NM/Cibola) and Alicia Enriquez (Gilbert, AZ/Mesquite) are next on the list in terms of RBI with three apiece. As a team WNMU is hitting .306.

In the circle, redshirt junior Domi Shone (Gold Canyon, AZ/Mesquite) has seen the most time as she pitched in all five games and has accumulated 14 innings. She is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA and nine strikeouts. She also tallied a save. Freshman Tiana Salazar (Peoria, AZ/Peoria) has started two games so far and has a 1-1 record with a 4.67 ERA in nine innings along with seven strikeouts. Senior MaryJo Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) has tossed five innings with a 0-2 record and 5.60 ERA with a strikeout. WNMU has a 5.50 ERA as a team.

Live stats will be available for each game.