Lobos Travel to Boise for Final MW Road Series of Season
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos head to Boise for the final Mountain West road series of the season, with a three-game series set to start on Friday.
SCHEDULE
Friday @ 6 p.m.
Saturday @ 2 p.m.
Sunday @ 12 p.m.
All three games will be on the Mountain West Network with live stats available.
UNM enters the series 5-11 in the MW, 13-35 overall and 3-2 in its last five games. Boise State is 28-20 on the season, 8-8 in conference and also 3-2 in its last five games. In their last MW series, the Broncos won two of three against Nevada and the Lobos went 3-0 against Utah State. BSU shares three common non-conference opponents with the Lobos in Cal, with the Broncos losing 8-2 and 6-4, McNeese, with the Broncos losing 4-1, and GCU, with the Broncos winning 3-1.
SERIES HISTORY
UNM is 11-22 all-time against BSU and has lost the last six games in the series. UNM’s last win in Boise was April 30, 2016 (7-6) and the last time the Lobos won the series was in 2021.
FRESHMEN IMPACT
Nine freshmen have earned a spot in the starting lineup this season and six freshmen (DeNae Vasquez-Dickson, Katherine Brunner, McKenna Guest, Hayden Luderer, Karly Smith and Macie Andrews) have played in over 20 games.
Of the freshmen, Brunner has played in 45 games with 40 starts- 21 as the designated player, 12 games at third and seven at second. Vasquez-Dickson has started in 40 games with 23 in center, 12 in left and five in right and played in 47 games, and Luderer with 15 starts and playing in 29 games with eight starts in center, six in right and one in left. Smith has played in 23 games with nine starts, seven as the designated player and two in right. Gabrielle Briones has started in five games, two at third, two at second and one as the designated player with an appearance in 17 games and Macie Andrews has started 12 games, nine in left and three in right, and played in 26 games.
McKenna Guest leads the Lobos’ pitching staff with 22 starts and 36 appearances and a team-high 141.0 innings, Brooke Umali has made four starts and 17 appearances, throwing 25.0 innings and Kenzie Jones has appeared in 10 games with one start and 11.2 innings.
Vasquez-Dickson has played in 97.9% of the games, 92.6% of the innings and started in 83.3% of the games. Brunner has played in 93.8% of the games, starting in 83.3%, and playing in 84.8% of the innings.
In the circle, Guest has started 45.8% of the games, made an appearance in 75.0% of the games and pitched in 47.6% of the innings. The RHP has accounted for 58.8% of UNM’s strikeouts this season with 87 of UNM’s 148.
UNM started five freshmen against UConn, in the March 19 game against UTEP and the first game at Nevada, 11 games with four freshmen starting and 22 games with three freshmen starting.
Brunner is third on the team in RBI (17) and tied for fourth in home runs (two), while Vasquez-Dickson leads in sac bunts (14), is fourth in RBI (16), third in runs scored (16) and home runs (three), tied for third in stolen bases (four), is fourth in slugging percentage (.342) and fifth in total bases (39), and Smith is tied for fifth in walks (eight). Vasquez-Dickson leads the MW in sac bunts and is fourth in the NCAA in sac bunts per game (.30) and third in number of sac bunts.
The Lobos have had two MW Freshman of the Week winners this season in McKenna Guest and Katherine Brunner.
KEY CONTRIBUTOR
Keyannah Chavez leads in slugging percentage (.673), on-base percentage (.470), total bases (76), triples (five) and walks (16). Chavez is second in batting average (.395), home runs (six), runs scored (27), hits (44), RBI (22), tied for second in sac flies (two) and third in sac bunts (five).
Chavez is tied for the lead in triples in the Mountain West and leads against MW opponents with three.
The sophomore is 16-34 (.471) as the leadoff in an inning, 36-62 (.581) in successfully advancing runners, 4-7 (.571) with runners on third and less than two outs, and of her 22 RBI, 11 are with two outs.
She’s had 13 multiple-hit games (10 games with two hits and three games with three), besting her total from her freshman season, and six multiple RBI games (five games with two RBI and a game with four), with the four the most RBI in a game by a Lobo this season.
Chavez has surpassed her season total from her freshman season in total bases with 76 (from 52) and RBI at 22 (from 19) and has increased her batting average (.315 to .389), on-base percentage (.410 to .470) and slugging percentage (.364 to .673) from her freshman season to this season. She has also hit five triples and six home runs after not having either last season.
She hit back-to-back home runs last week with a two-run home run against New Mexico State that tied the game at two and another two-run home run in Friday’s game against Utah State that gave UNM the 8-6 lead.
In MW play this season, Chavez has improved her batting average (.246 to .353), slugging percentage (.279 to .647) and on-base percentage (.378 to .477) from her freshman season last year to this year.
GUEST APPEARANCE
Freshman McKenna Guest has been a frequent presence in the circle for the Lobos, appearing in a team-high 36 games, starting a team-high 22 games and throwing nine complete games.
The RHP has thrown a team-high 141.0 innings, 73.2 more innings than the next Lobo pitcher, and has a team-best 87 strikeouts, accounting for 58.8% of UNM’s total strikeouts and 64 more than the next Lobo pitcher. Guest has also been the pitcher on record in 10 of UNM’s wins and earned her first save in the win against Marist.
Guest struck out a season-high nine at UTEP and followed that up two days later with seven strikeouts in the first game against Marist.
She is averaging 4.3 strikeouts per game, 3.2 innings per appearance and a 1.4 k/bb rate behind 28 games with at least one strikeout and 23 games with multiple strikeouts, including five games with five or more.
Nationally, Guest has thrown the 47th-most innings in the NCAA and the eighth most by a freshman pitcher. Her 22 starts are tied for the 38th most by a pitcher and is the fourth most by a freshman pitcher and her 36 appearances are tied for the third most by a pitcher and the most by a freshman in the NCAA.
YEATTS GOES YARD
Chloe Yeatts hit home runs in consecutive games for the second time this season with a solo home run against UTEP and followed that with a two-run home run in the seventh inning against UNLV.
Yeatts started off her sophomore season with a two-run home run in the season opener against Tennessee State and again with another two-run home run against McNeese, with both in the first inning.
The Oklahoma native leads the team in home runs with seven, doubles (seven) and in RBI (27), and is third in slugging percentage (.459), total bases (61), hits (33) and batting average (.248), and fourth in on-base percentage (.297).
Yeatts has improved her home run total from her freshman season from five to seven as well as her total in total bases (56 last year) and her slugging percentage (.448) and she is close to matching her hits (34 last year) and RBI (31 last year).
SHAKING UP THE LINEUP
In the 48 games this season, the Lobos have used 44 different lineup combinations. UNM has used the same batting order in the McNeese and Chattanooga games the first weekend, the same lineup in the Montana and Toledo games, the same lineup in both SDSU games and the same lineup in the first two Utah State games.
The Lobos have used three different players in the leadoff spot, five in the second spot, four in the third spot, six in the cleanup, 11 in the fifth spot, 10 in the sixth spot, 11 in the seventh spot, 11 in the eighth spot and five in the ninth spot in the lineup.
Rachael Hathoot has led off in 37 games, Sydney Carithers has hit ninth in 32 games and DeNae Vasquez-Dickson second in 27 games for the most frequency in the lineup. Elizabeth Baylor has hit seventh in 20 games, Chloe Yeatts cleanup in 19 games, Carithers has batted eighth in 11 games, Keyannah Chavez third in 18 games, Emma Bramson fifth in 15 games, and Katherine Brunner sixth in 16 games for the most appearances in each spot of the order.
Keyannah Chavez and Ashley Archuleta have made the most movement in the batting order appearing in seven different spots. Chavez has hit the most often third (18 games), followed by leadoff and second (eight games), as well as three games in the cleanup spot, two times in each the sixth and eighth spot and hit fifth in one game. Archuleta has hit third in 15 games, fifth in nine games, cleanup in seven games, leadoff in three games, seventh in three games, second in four games and one game in sixth.
In the field, UNM has used five different players in left, six in right field, four at third, three behind the plate, three in center, three at second base and two at first base. UNM has also had 10 different players as the designated player.
Only Hathoot has started every game at shortstop, while Bramson has started every game, but has played 33 games at first, four at third, eight as the designated player and three games in right field.
BY THE NUMBERS
The Lobos have reached double figures in hits five times this season: UNM’s win against Tennessee State in the season opener, where the Lobos finished with 12 hits, 15 hits in the win against Marist on Feb. 16, 12 hits in the March 22 game against UNLV, 13 hits in game two against San Diego State and 10 hits in the last game against Utah State.
UNM is 8-1 when scoring at least six runs, 10-3 when scoring at least five runs, 9-5 when outhitting its opponent, 7-4 in one-run games and 2-2 in extra-inning games.
If the Lobos can score in the first inning and hold a lead after the first inning, the Lobos are 7-4 when leading after the first, 7-3 after the third, 9-2 after the fourth inning, 11-3 when leading after the fifth and 10-0 when leading after the sixth inning.
UNM is 41-76 (.539) with a runner on third and less than two outs, going 5-5 in the first game against Marist, 3-3 in the second game against the Red Foxes, 2-2 in the win against Toledo and 4-4 in Sunday’s game against Utah State. UNM also went 3-4 in the win against SFA. In the series at SJSU, the Lobos were a combined 5-5 in the series.
The Lobos have had their leadoff hitter reach 36.1% of the time (113-313), with all seven reaching in the first game against Marist, 4-6 at McNeese and in the second game against Marist, 5-7 in the game at GCU and 4-6 in Friday and Sunday’s game against USU.
MIDDLE (WO)MEN
The Lobos are anchored in the middle infield with the stability and experience of Ashley Archuleta (second) and Rachael Hathoot (shortstop).
This season, Hathoot leads the Lobos in hits (60), runs scored (34) and in batting average (.395), and is second in sac bunts (six), on-base percentage (.437), slugging percentage (.480) and in total bases (73), and third in doubles (five). She is 30-66 (.455) as the leadoff hitter in an inning and 31-60 (.517) in advancing runners. The Lobo is fourth in the MW in hits, seventh in batting average and second in assists (108). Nationally, Hathoot is 32nd in the NCAA in hits.
Hathoot enters the week on a career-best 27-game streak of reaching base. She has also recorded a hit in 26 of the last 27 games, including the last nine. She has a team-high 18 multiple-hit games (16 with two hits, two games with three).
Archuleta leads the Lobos in stolen bases (seven), is second in doubles (six), third in on-base percentage (.313), fourth in batting average (.240) and total bases (40), fifth in slugging percentage (.331), and in RBI (15). She went a career-best 4-4 in the March 22 game against UNLV.
To date, Archuleta has started in 140 games with 135 starts at second and Hathoot has started all 48 games this season and all 50 games last season at shortstop, and has started all 170 games during her UNM career.
ABOUT BOISE STATE
Boise State is led at the plate by Sophia Knight, with the freshman hitting .411 with 69 hits and a .465 on-base percentage. Knight is also 15-15 in stolen bases to lead the team, with the Broncos 28-33 in stolen bases. Sydney Groves has a team-best 50 RBI with 16 home runs, 93 total bases, 30 walks and a .732 slugging percentage. Groves is tied with Mykenzie Hanna for the team lead in home runs with BSU hitting 65 as a team.
The pitching staff consists of five pitchers, led by 33 appearances, 23 starts, 15 complete games and a 2.59 ERA from Taylor Caudill. Caudill has thrown a team-high 148.2 innings and has recorded 139 strikeouts to 41 walks. Jenna Bloom has made the second-most appearances with 24 games and in starts with 17, throwing two complete games and 76.2 innings.
Opponents are 42-53 in stolen bases and are hitting .278 against BSU.