ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The University of New Mexico softball team will face a tough test this weekend as they travel to the Texas A&M tournament for five games.
SCHEDULE – All times Mountain
Friday (Feb. 17) – New Mexico vs. Stephen F. Austin (9 a.m.), New Mexico vs. Missouri State (11:15 a.m.)
Saturday (Feb. 18) – New Mexico vs. Stephen F. Austin (9 a.m.), New Mexico vs. No. 19/17 Texas A&M (2 p.m.)
Sunday (Feb. 19) – New Mexico vs. Missouri State (9 a.m.)
GoLobos.com – Game recaps, scores, stats
Twitter – @UNMSoftball – Follow us for recaps and scores on the day
Series History
Stephen F. Austin: Series tied 2-2
Missouri State: Bears leads 1-0
No. 19/17 Texas A&M: Aggies lead 16-5
ABOUT THE LOBOS
The Lobos will look to continue its early season success this weekend. At the Kajikawa Classic, the Lobos went 4-1, which included two shutouts.
Tess McPherson led the Lobos in the circle on the weekend, collecting three wins, including two complete-game shutouts. Jasmine Casados led the Lobos at the plate, hitting .533 on the weekend and recording the game-winning RBI in 1-0 ballgame against UC Riverside.
As a team, the Lobos are hitting .234. They pounded out 30 hits last weekend at the Kajikawa Classic, including five doubles and two home runs for 11 total RBIs.
On the pitching side of things, it was a better start to the season that previous years. On the weekend, the Lobos had an earned run average of 1.85. As a pitching staffing, the Lobos tallied 11 strikeouts and only walked six in 34.0 innings of work. Their opponent batting average for the weekend was .233.
On team the Lobos will face this weekend will be a team that the Lobos face last season. Texas A&M is ranked No. 19/17 in the latest polls. The Lobos almost took down the nationally ranked Aggies last season but fell in the final inning. The Lobos had a 7-3 lead going into the final half-inning of the game but the Aggies scored five runs to claim the win, 8-7.
QUICK HITS
PITCHER OF THE WEEK: Redshirt senior Tess McPherson pitched to her first-ever Mountain West Pitcher of the Week honor. In her first three seasons with the Lobos, McPherson had just six wins. At the Kajikawa Classic, she led the Lobos in the circle with three wins in each of her three starts, including two shutouts.
McPherson only allowed one unearned run in 20.0 innings of work. On the weekend, she walked just three batters and struck out eight. In the season opener, she tossed a complete-game shutout. She gave up no runs on three hits, while striking out two in Lobos’ 5-0 win over Seattle.
Threw her second complete-game shutout of the weekend, going the distance in the Lobos’ 1-0 victory UC Riverside on the final day of the Kajikawa Classic. She struck out three batters and allowed just four hits in the win against the Highlanders.
SENIOR POWER: Along with Tess McPherson, it was another senior who helped the Lobos to victory. Senior Jasmine Casados put together a stellar first weekend, hitting .533. She went 8-for-15 on the weekend with two RBIs and three runs scored. Also drew a walk and stole a base. She finished the weekend with a .562 on-base percentage and a .667 slugging percentage.
Casados went 3-for-3 in the win over UC Riverside, which included one of two doubles on the weekend. She had the game winning RBI in the fifth inning against the Highlanders. Against St. Mary’s, Casados went 3-for-4 with a double.
SAVING HER WAY: Junior pitcher Krissy Fortner came in and added another save to her resume. Prior to the weekend, Fortner had a career total of 11 saves. Last season, she broke the career save record and with a save at the Kajikawa Classic, Fortner pushed the record to 12 career saves. In the past two seasons, Fortner has been in the top 15 of the nation in saves. In her first season, she finished with five. Last season, she finished with a single-season record of six.