SILVER CITY, N.M. – The Western New Mexico University softball team, currently third in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference standings, will host MSU Denver, currently second in the standings, this weekend for a four-game set.
Not only are both teams near the top of the standings, but they are also riding winning streaks. MSU Denver has won six in-a-row, while WNMU is coming off of a four-game sweep against New Mexico Highlands.
WNMU is 15-16 overall and 11-5 in the RMAC, two games back of the Roadrunners for second and four back of first-place Colorado Mesa. The Lady Mustangs are off to a 7-1 start at home. The reigning RMAC Player of the Week sophomore
Mariangela Garcia (Tucson, AZ/Desert View) pushed her average to .406 after her blistering weekend at the plate. She also leads the team in hits with 41, doubles with 10, home runs with four and RBI with 27. She ranks 38
th nationally and third in the RMAC in terms of RBI. Four other players are hitting above .300 including freshman
Clarissa Moreno (Tucson, AZ/Desert View) (.350), senior
Samantha Munoz (Peoria, AZ/Centennial) (.333), senior
Alicia Enriquez (Gilbert, AZ/Mesquite) (.327) and junior
Breanna Aker (El Mirage, AZ/Apollo) (.308). Senior
Thailyza Ramirez (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) is second on the team to Garcia in home runs with three and RBI with 12. WNMU is hitting .291 as a team, while opponents hold a .311 clip.
In the circle, redshirt junior
Domi Shone (Gold Canyon, AZ/Mesquite) has seen a majority of the work logging 113 innings, posting a 9-8 record and a 3.47 ERA. She has appeared in 25 games, 15 starts, 10 complete games and a shutout. She is 30
th nationally and second in the RMAC in wins and 63
rd nationally and second in the RMAC in strikeouts with 62. Freshman
Tiana Salazar (Peoria, AZ/Peoria) has tossed 49.2 innings going 5-3 with a 3.38 ERA. She has appeared in 14 games, starting eight and two complete games. Senior
MaryJo Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) has seen 37 innings of work with a 1-5 record and 5.86 ERA in 14 appearances, starting six. WNMU holds a 3.89 team ERA, while opponents have a 2.93 ERA.
WNMU ranks in the top-100 nationally in double plays per game, 35
th and third in the RMAC at 0.45 per game. WNMU is also in the top-five in the RMAC in earned run average (4
th, 4.00) and win-loss percentage (5
th, .484). Junior
Lacy Granger (Carlsbad, NM/Carlsbad) is fifth in the RMAC in terms of toughest to strikeout (24.8), while freshman
Ariana Maldonado (Albuquerque, NM/Cibola) is eighth in doubles per game (0.33).
The Roadrunners have been on a tear as of late winning six straight and are 18-10 overall and 13-3 in the RMAC. They are 5-4 away from home in true road games and 5-4 in neutral contests. They won all four in a pod last weekend against CSU-Pueblo and Chadron State, then took a pair from Fort Hays State this past Tuesday.
Hayley Fields leads the offense posting a .396 average, along with a home run and 21 RBI. Five other players have hit over .300 including Harley Huser (.342), Colissa Bakovich (.341), Brooke Lovas (.337), Cassidy Smith (.319) and Sarena Espinoza (.306). Carissa Terry leads the team in home runs with two. They hit .307 as a team and opponents hit the same at .307.
In the circle, Smith has logged the most innings tallying 81 to go 6-6 with a 3.37 ERA in 14 appearances, starting 10, with six complete games. Fields is 11-3 with a 3.72 ERA in 75.1 innings making 14 appearances, nine starts, with five going for complete games. Kailey Christensen has seen some action logging 26 innings to post a 1-1 record and 4.31 ERA. As a team MSU Denver has a 3.74 ERA and opponents counter at a 4.02 clip.
MSU Denver took all five meetings last year with four coming in the regular season and the last in the RMAC Tournament in which the Lady Mustangs fell just short, 6-5. It's the first time since 2010 that MSU Denver will make the trip down to Silver City. They were called Metro State College of Denver and that time.
MSU Denver and WNMU will play a pair of doubleheaders, first on Saturday starting at 12 p.m. and then on Sunday at 11 a.m. Live stats will be available for all four games.
