ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The wait is almost over. The 2020 softball season for The University of New Mexico begins on Friday and the Lobos are scheduled to face a trio of quality teams in Phoenix, Ariz. at the GCU Kickoff Tournament.
Scheduled to play five games in three days with two apiece against host Grand Canyon and (RV) Stanford, and a game against Weber State for the season opener, the Lobos’ first pitch is set for Friday at 11:30 a.m. MT.
UNM GAME NOTES | STANFORD GAME NOTES
LIVE STATS (FRI. VS WEBER STATE) | LIVE STATS (FRI. VS STANFORD) | LIVE STATS (SAT. VS STANFORD) | LIVE STATS (SAT. VS GRAND CANYON) | LIVE STATS (SUN. VS GRAND CANYON)
LIVE STREAM VS GRAND CANYON
When the Cherry and Silver take the field for the first time, they will do so with a large number of newcomers, with 11 (exactly 50%) of the roster comprised of players suiting up for UNM for the first time. Eight of those are freshmen, with one redshirt-freshman who sat out last season in Skylar Jenkins, and three transfers in Taryn Young (Arizona), Reyan Tuck (Towson) and Alexis Buddenhagen (Bethany College).
“We feel like our 2019 newcomers will be exciting to watch,” said third-year head coach Paula Congleton. “Tyler (Heil), Bre (Breanna Peterson) and I feel that this 2019 class is the start of the future for Lobo softball. We all feel like their impact will be recognized immediately and that is very exciting.”
However, the Lobos return reliable and signature staples from the 2019 lineup in senior shortstop Cameryn O’Grady, senior catcher and first baseman Lauren Wilmert, senior pitcher and often designated player Bailey Klitzke and junior outfielder Andrea Howard. All four Lobos started over 40 games last season with O’Grady the only Lobo to start in all 53 games in 2019.
O’Grady is once again expected to be a key contributor after leading the Lobos in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.603), on-base percentage (.474), runs scored (32), hits (49), doubles (16), total bases (85) and walks (31) and was second in home runs (six).
UNM also has key pieces returning in catcher Sydney Broderick and infielder Taylor Jones, who each started over 30 games last season.
Additionally of note, there will also be a large representation from “The Land of Enchantment” with 10 players on the 2020 roster hailing from New Mexico, seven of which are from Albuquerque. It is the most New Mexico players on the roster since 2008, when there were seven, and doubles the number from the 2017 and 2018 rosters.
Speaking of doubling the number, the pitching staff offers depth this season after returning all three pitchers from 2019 and adding three more pitchers to the 2020 roster to bring the total to six. Of the six, the Lobos are balanced with three left-handed pitchers and three right-handed pitchers.
Returning to the Lobos are sophomore Kennedy Ferguson, who led the team with a 4.98 ERA with 21 starts, 33 appearances and nine complete games; senior Kiana Spencer, who also appeared in 33 games with 23 starts and 11 complete games including two shutouts; and Klitzke, who appeared in 27 games with nine starts and threw two complete games. In the offseason the Lobos signed two freshmen in Brianna Sanchez and Jayden Gandert and a junior transfer in Buddenhagen.
NEWS AND NOTES
The 2020 schedule will test the Lobos as UNM will play 12 teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2019, with two teams reaching the Super Regional (Arizona and Texas) and one going all the way to the Women’s College World Series (Arizona).
Of the 29 teams that the Lobos will face, four teams compiled 40 or more wins in 2019 and 17 posted 30-plus wins last season. Combined, the teams recorded 878 wins last year and represent 13 different conferences. Of those, UNM will face seven schools from the Power 5, including four from the Pac-12, two from the Big 12 and one from the SEC.
UNM is scheduled to play four teams that were ranked in the USA Today/ NFCA Coaches Preseason Poll and five teams receiving votes. Two of the teams on UNM’s schedule (Arizona and Texas) ranked in the top six in the USA Today/ NFCA Coaches preseason rankings (with U of A receiving a first-place vote), as well as No. 18 Texas Tech and No. 22 Arizona State. Missouri, Boise State, Stanford, Fresno State and San José State were all receiving votes.
In the ESPN.com / USA Softball Collegiate Top 25 Preseason Poll, four teams on the schedule were ranked with four more receiving votes. Arizona was the highest ranked at fifth followed by Texas sixth. Texas Tech ranked 19th and Arizona State 22nd. Receiving votes were Missouri, Stanford, Boise State and San Diego State.
As an added bonus, the Lobos are scheduled to face the USA Olympic Team on Feb. 20 at the Mary Nutter Classic.
STARTING OFF STRONG
UNM is 26-16 in season openers, including 4-1 in the last five years. The last time the Lobos won their season opener was Feb. 8, 2019, a 15-6 win over UTEP. In the last 10 years, the best start on opening weekend for the Lobos has been 5-0, achieved in 2012, and a 3-0 start in 2011.
THE OPPONENTS
WEBER STATE
The season opener will mark the 15th all-time meeting between the two teams, with Weber State leading the series 9-5. UNM and Weber State have six common opponents this season in UNLV, Texas, San Diego State, San José State, Nevada and Northern Colorado.
Weber State concluded the 2019 season with a 27-21 record, 14-2 in conference, and won the Big Sky Championship to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. There, the Wildcats recorded the Big Sky’s first NCAA Tournament win with a 7-3 victory over Cal State Fullerton but were eliminated with losses to Missouri and eventual champion UCLA. In addition, their 14-2 conference record was the best winning percentage in league history (.875).
Last season, the Wildcats hit .311 as a team, scoring 216 runs. Weber State allowed 222 runs, 183 of them earned, and had a team ERA of 4.19. The pitching staff gave up 340 hits, 28 home runs, and walked 134 batters while striking out 138. The Wildcats return just one pitcher, Kate Donaldson, from last season. Additionally, the Wildcats return the 2019 Big Sky Player of the Year in outfielder Takesha Saltern. Weber State ranked 19th in the NCAA in batting average, 29th in triples per game (.27), 36th in hit batters (18) and 44th in on-base percentage (.382) at the conclusion of last season.
Coming off of its third Big Sky Tournament title, WSU was picked to win the conference in the preseason poll. They received five first-place votes and 35 points. Weber State returns seven starters while adding 10 newcomers.
STANFORD
UNM has faced Stanford four times previously, holding even at 2-2 with the Cardinal. The Lobos won their last meeting in 2016, 8-4. UNM and Stanford have six common opponents this season in Fresno State, Nevada, California, Arizona, BYU and Arizona State. The Cardinal are coming off of a 33-20 season, going 8-13 in conference, but were 9-3 in neutral games. The 33 wins were the most in a season since 2013, and the winning record was the first for the Cardinal since 2014. Highlights of their season included a 7-5 win over No. 7 LSU, a 1-0 win over No. 23 Northwestern and a 2-1 win over No. 2 UCLA. Stanford advanced to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large, where the Cardinal lost to Boise State 9-1, won 13-2 in five over Boston and lost 2-0 to Boise State to conclude their season. It was their first tournament appearance since 2013. Stanford returns 15 players, including nine position starters, and four of the five pitchers from last year’s team.
In 2019, Stanford hit .276 as a team with 247 runs, 369 hits, 63 doubles, 25 triples, 29 home runs, 207 RBI, 165 walks and 210 strike outs. In the circle, Stanford had a team ERA of 3.30 with 352 hits and 208 runs allowed, 163 earned, walking 121 and striking out 220.
The Cardinal ranked second in NCAA in triples per game with 0.47 and individually, Teaghan Cowles and Emily Young each had five to tie for 25th in the nation. Kiana Pancino ranked fourth in the nation in saves with eight.
Stanford was projected to finish sixth in the Pac-12 preseason poll, picking up 38 points.
The Cardinal are receiving votes in both the ESPN.com/ USA Softball and USA TODAY/ NFCA COACHES preseason polls.
GRAND CANYON
The Lobos and Lopes will be meeting for just the second time all-time, with GCU taking the previous meeting 4-2 in 2014. The Lopes were picked to finish second in the WAC with two first-place votes and 30 points. Three players were named to the Preseason All-WAC team in pitcher/ utility player Brianna Aguilar, pitcher Ryan Denhart and infielder Savannah Tourville. Denhart was also chosen as the Preseason Pitcher of the Year. Grand Canyon and UNM share 10 common opponents in Utah State, Colorado State, Texas Tech, California, Boise State, UNLV, South Dakota, New Mexico State, Arizona State and Arizona. GCU is coming off of a 33-24 record in 2019, 12-6 in conference, and was 26-13 at home. Among its wins last season, GCU defeated No. 1 and then-defending champion Florida State 5-3 to hand the Seminoles their first loss of the season.
GCU hit .281 with 419 hits, 61 doubles, seven triples and 37 home runs with 98 walks. In the circle, the Lopes had a 2.46 ERA, allowing 186 runs, 136 earned, while walking 95 and striking out 201. GCU turned 77 double plays with Savannah Tourville accounting for 22.
The Lopes were ninth in the NCAA in double plays per game (0.53), 28th in shutouts (14) and 40th in earned run average (2.46) in 2019. Individually, Yessie Morrison was 22nd in walks allowed per seven innings (1.16) and Lexy Coons and Brianna Aguilar tied for 29th in saves (four).
SEASON TICKETS
Fans can purchase Lobo Pride Passes for access to all home games this season for $50 by clicking HERE. Other ways are directly through the Lobo Ticket Office in person or on the phone (925-LOBO). The Lobo Ticket Office is located in Dreamstyle Arena and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Additionally, fans can purchase single-game tickets for all games this season at Lobo Softball Field HERE.