Lobos Release 2018 Softball Schedule
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico softball team released its schedule for the 2018 campaign this week, as the Lobos will play their first of 53 games on Friday, Feb. 9, 2018 against the University of Utah in Tempe, Arizona. To see the Lobos’ full schedule for 2018, click here.
The clash versus the Utes will be the first of the five-game Kajikawa Classic in Tempe. The team begins its season with five-straight similar invitationals including the Kajikawa Classic, followed by the UNLV Desert Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., the UCR Classic in Riverside, Calif., the J. McHaney Classic in Lubbock, Texas and their first home event of the season, the Lobo Classic in Albuquerque on Friday, March 9 through Sunday, March 11.
UNM will begin its conference slate immediately following the Lobo Classic with a three-game series at home versus UNLV on Friday, March 16 through Sunday, March 18.
The Lobos will face a gauntlet of opponents to begin the season, facing four ranked teams in their first six games according to the NCAA’s 2017 end-of-year rankings. They will play No. 4 Oregon, No. 9 Arizona and No. 14 Utah along with Oklahoma State, who received votes in the poll, in the Kajikawa Classic, and then play No. 21 BYU to open the UNLV Desert Classic. UNM will also play Arizona again on Wednesday, April 27 in Tucson, Arizona.
UNM will meet in-state rival New Mexico State twice during the season. The first game between the two teams will take place in Albuquerque on Wednesday, March 21 and the Aggies will host the Lobos in Las Cruces on Tuesday, April 3.
UNM will host San Diego State in its final home game of the season on May 6 before traveling to Boise State for its final series of the season, ending on Saturday, May 12. Regional Selections will follow the next day, Sunday, May 13.
The Lobos return a pair of seniors to their squad this season including standouts Krissy Fortner and Chelsea Johnson. Fortner led all Lobo pitchers with a 3.60 earned run average in 58.1 innings last season. The pitcher also had the fewest walks on the team with 10. Johnson had the third-highest batting average on the team with a .369, trailing last year’s graduates Jasmine Casados and Shelbie Franc. She also led the team with seven home runs, was second on the team with 28 RBI’s and was third in on-base percentage at .408.
Click here to see the Lobos full 2018 schedule. Also, be sure to follow UNM Softball on Twitter to stay up to date throughout the season.