UNM to Host UNC and UCSB at Susan Craig Classic
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The University of New Mexico softball team opens up its home schedule this weekend as the Lobos host the Northern Colorado Bears and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos at Lobos Softball Field starting this Friday, Feb. 14 in the Susan Craig Classic.
The tournament will consist of seven games over three days with the first game scheduled for Friday at 3 p.m. MT between UCSB and UNC. The Lobos will face Northern Colorado in the second game of the day at 5:30 p.m. MT.
The remainder of the schedule:
Saturday, Feb. 15
UCSB vs. Northern Colorado: 1 p.m.
Northern Colorado vs. UNM: 3:30 p.m.
UCSB vs. UNM: 6 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 16
Northern Colorado vs. UCSB: 10 a.m.
UCSB vs. UNM: 12:30 p.m.
Fans who purchase tickets to one game will receive admission for all games that day.
UNM NOTES | LIVE STATS (vs. UNC FRI.) | LIVE STATS (vs. UNC SAT.) | LIVE STATS (vs. UCSB SAT.) | LIVE STATS (vs. UCSB SUN.) | LIVE STREAM (ALL UNM GAMES)
NEWS AND NOTES
WEEK 1 RECAP
The 2020 season started at the GCU Kickoff Tournament where the Lobos went 1-1 against (RV) Stanford, 1-1 against host Grand Canyon and 0-1 against Weber State. Two of the games were determined by one run, which both came in walk-off fashion.
With UNM’s win over Stanford, it is the sixth consecutive year that the Lobos have recorded a win over a Power 5 school.
UNM started three freshmen all five games in Rachael Hathoot (third), Briana Martinez (left field) and Gavyn Shafer (one game at first, four at second), while freshman RHP Brianna Sanchez made four appearances in the circle, recording her first collegiate win in a complete-game shutout versus Stanford, 2-0.
The Lobos hit a home run in four of the five games, with five different players hitting at least one. Andrea Howard led the team with three in five games, followed by Sydney Broderick with two. Bailey Klitzke, Martinez and Hathoot each had one, the first collegiate home runs for Hathoot and Martinez.
UNM outscored its opponents 7-0 in the first inning, scoring in the first in all but one game. The Lobos were the first to score in all five games.
Senior shortstop Cameryn O’Grady hit three doubles, with the last one marking the 100th hit of her career.
Martinez led the Lobos in batting average (.385), on-base percentage (.579), walks (six) and stolen bases, going 2-for-2.
In Saturday’s game against Grand Canyon, the Lobos hit four home runs, two of which came on the bat of Howard. It was the first time since April 22, 2017 that the Lobos had hit four in a game and the last time a player hit two home runs was D’Andra DeFlora in that same game.
Four different Lobos recorded five hits for the team high, with Hathoot, Howard, Klitzke and Martinez.
Howard led the team in total bases (15) and runs-batted-in (six).
Two of the games (Friday vs. Stanford and Sunday vs. GCU) ended in 7-6 walk-offs.
LOOKING AHEAD TO WEEK 2
The Lobos (2-3) host the Northern Colorado Bears (1-4) and the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos (1-4) in a seven-game, three day tournament.
Andrea Howard and Rachael Hathoot enter the weekend on a four-game hitting streak, while Briana Martinez, Hathoot and Howard have a five-game streak of safely reaching base. Klitzke has reached base safely in the last four game and has successfully recorded a hit in the last two games.
PATIENCE AT THE PLATE
UNM earned its way on base via a walk in 31 of the 130 (23.8%) at-bats in the first five games. In 34 at-bats (26.2%), the Lobos had full counts and of those, 16 resulted in walks. In addition to the 16 full count walks, six walks were of the four-pitch variety and nine were five-pitch walks.
Against WSU in the first game, the Lobos had eight full counts with six of those resulting in walks.
UNM is second in the NCAA in walks behind Youngstown St. (34).
STICKING WITH WHAT WORKS
The Lobos have utilized the same batting order in spots one through five in all five games. Rachael Hathoot has led off in all five games, followed by Cameryn O’Grady, Briana Martinez, Bailey Klitzke and Andrea Howard.
Hathoot reached base in her first plate appearance in four games with a walk, a single back up the middle, a home run and a single through the left side, scoring in three of those games. When leading off in any inning, the freshman infielder is 5-for-8 (.625).
Howard is 2-for-3 in situations in which there is a runner on third and less than two outs, including a RBI double in the last game against Grand Canyon which tied the game at six.
GOING THE DISTANCE X2
While the Lobos have more depth at the pitcher position than in recent years, the Lobos utilized just two in their two wins on Saturday.
Freshman right-hander Brianna Sanchez pitched a complete 7.0 innings in her first collegiate start against (RV) Stanford, allowing just four hits and striking out one, while throwing 47 strikes on 86 total pitches for the shutout. The freshman found herself in trouble just once with a bases-loaded situation in the second, but for the most of the morning, the Lobo pitcher kept the Cardinal off of the base paths, retiring the order in the third and fourth. The four hits were scattered through four innings and each time the defense kept the runners stranded, with the Cardinal leaving a total of five runners on base in the game.
In the next game against host GCU, senior left-hander Kiana Spencer finished with a final stat line of 7.0 innings of work, six hits, four runs (all earned), two strikeouts, four walks and 55 strikes on 93 pitches thrown. It was the 12th complete game for Spencer as a Lobo.
LEADOFF LIFT OFF
UNM has hit five home runs to lead off an inning, with three coming in the first game against Grand Canyon. Sydney Broderick hit a home run in the top of the seventh in the 7-6 loss to Stanford, Rachael Hathoot opened up the bottom of the first in the 2-0 win over Stanford with a home run, and Bailey Klitzke (bottom third), Broderick (bottom fifth) and Andrea Howard (bottom sixth) all hit home runs in the 9-4 win over Grand Canyon to start the inning. In the case of Klitzke’s home run, Howard followed that up with a home run of her own, with both coming on the first pitch of the at-bats.
Overall, in the five games, the Lobos had 14 leadoff hitters reach base, with the most coming in the first game against Stanford on Saturday at four.
FRESHMEN STEP UP IN WEEK 1
UNM had three freshmen start all five games in Briana Martinez, Rachael Hathoot and Gavyn Shafer at the GCU Kickoff Tournament, with four making an appearance overall, and were put in key roles in which they delivered.
Martinez leads the team in several offensive categories including batting average, on-base percentage, walks, stolen bases and tied for the team high in hits, and is among the top five in several more categories. Martinez is fourth in slugging percentage, tied for second in RBI and runs scored and tied for third in home runs and total bases. The outfielder reached safely in all five games and has one multiple hit game and one multiple RBI game. She went 7-10 in advancing runners.
Hathoot leads the team in runs scored, is tied for third in total bases, fourth on the team in batting average, fifth in slugging percentage and tied for the team high in hits.
Shafer has spent time at both first and second, mostly at second, in her five starts and produced her first double play against Stanford in the 2-0 win. Her first RBI came on a sacrifice fly in the season opener against Weber State.
Sanchez has made a team-high four appearances in the circle but also has a team-low ERA of 2.92. Opposing teams have the lowest batting average against the pitcher at .250 as well as the fewest hits (11) and she leads the pitching staff in strikeouts (four). The right-hander has thrown 12.1 innings, and also accounted for a double play to close out the 2-0 win against Stanford in which she caught a line drive and threw it to first for the final out.
ROOM TO IMPROVE
In the three games that the Lobos lost, there was one common theme: runners left on base.
In the season opener against Weber State and the next game against Stanford, UNM left 11 runners stranded in each game. In the loss to GCU, UNM left 10 runners on base.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Through the first five games of the season, UNM is ranked among the top 20 in a couple of categories.
The Lobos rank second in the NCAA in walks with 31 and 15th in the country in home runs per game with 1.60, and lead the Mountain West in both categories.
Individually, Cameryn O’Grady ranks 12th in the NCAA in doubles (three), 28th in doubles per game (0.60) and 36th in walks per game (1.00). Andrea Howard is tied for seventh in home runs (three), 15th in home runs per game (0.60), tied for 13th in sacrifice flies (one), tied for 34th in total bases (15), and tied for 51st in slugging percentage (1.000). Gavyn Shafer is tied with Howard in sacrifice flies, Sydney Broderick is tied for 33rd in home runs (two), Briana Martinez is tied for 22nd in walks per game (1.20) and Brianna Sanchez is tied for eighth in shutouts (one).
STAYING HOME
There are 10 New Mexico natives on the 2020 roster, seven of which are from Albuquerque.
Included in the 10 is the 2019 New Mexico Gatorade Softball Player of the Year Briana Martinez from Rio Rancho High School.
The 10 representing the “Land of Enchantment” are Lauren Wilmert (Albuquerque), Rachael Hathoot (Albuquerque), Andrea Howard (Albuquerque), Taylor Jones (Albuquerque), Alexis Buddenhagen (Albuquerque), Jennifer Hernandez (Albuquerque), Jocelyn Ulrich (Aztec), Kiana Spencer (Gallup) and Martinez (Albuquerque).
This year’s team has the most representatives from New Mexico in the last at least seven years, doubling the number of in-state players on the roster from 2017 and 2018. Previously, the most on a roster was seven in 2008.
PUTTING THE PIECES OF THE PUZZLE TOGETHER
For the second-straight year, the UNM roster underwent a major renovation with the departure of eight letterwinners and an addition of the aforementioned 11 newcomers.
The Lobos also have 13 underclassmen on the roster, with a team-high eight freshmen and one redshirt freshman who will have an opportunity to see playing time this season.
However, in the circle, the Lobos retained all three pitchers from 2019 and doubled their options with the addition of freshmen RHP Jayden Gandert and RHP Brianna Sanchez and junior LHP Alexis Buddenhagen.
Kiana Spencer recorded the most starts (23) and complete games (11) for the Lobos in 2019, including pitching a complete game against then- No. 7 Alabama, allowing one run on six hits in a 1-0 loss. In addition, the LHP recorded at least one strikeout in 23 games.
Kennedy Ferguson had a solid rookie campaign for UNM with a team-leading 4.98 ERA, starting in 21 games, making 33 appearances and completing nine games. The RHP appeared in the circle a team-high 125.0 innings. Highlights for her on the season included striking out 11 batters against North Dakota and pitching a complete game against then- No. 3 Florida, giving up one run in extra innings on five hits while striking out five.
In addition, the Lobos return six mainstays in the lineup, including senior shortstop Cameryn O’Grady who started all 53 games last season, the only Lobo to do so. O’Grady led the team in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.603), on-base percentage (.474), runs scored (32), hits (49), doubles (16), total bases (85) and walks (31). Another staple is senior Lauren Wilmert, who started in 47 games in 2019, 23 behind the plate and 24 at first. Wilmert threw out seven runners last season, was second in slugging percentage (.500) and total bases (67) and tied for second in hits (35) and doubles (9), and hit two grand slams on the season.
HOME COMFORT
Unlike last season in which the Lobos began the season with five non-conference tournaments on the road, UNM will host two tournaments at Lobo Softball Field in 2020.
The Lobos play 24 of their 57 games at home starting with the Susan Craig Classic on Feb. 14.
All in all, UNM will not travel more than one time zone away, with the farthest distance to travel being San Jose, Calif. (1044 miles) to open Mountain West play March 13-15.
ONE FINAL GO AROUND FOR O’GRADY
Cameryn O’Grady enters her final season in the Cherry and Silver with several milestones achieved.
The shortstop currently has a streak of 102 games in the starting lineup dating back to Feb. 18, 2018, all at shortstop. In the last two years, the California native has started all but one game.
In addition, O’Grady currently sits at 100 career hits, which she recorded against Grand Canyon on Feb. 8.
Entering her fourth season, O’Grady has started 129 games, played in 137. She had her best season as a Lobo in 2019 with a hitting percentage of .348 with 49 hits, 16 doubles, six home runs, 85 total bases, and tied her season-best total of 26 RBI.
In 2019, O’Grady had 11 multiple hit games, seven multiple RBI games and had a streak of nine games with a hit and 15 games reaching base safely. Last season, O’Grady recorded a hit in 35 games (66%).
O’Grady hit in the three spot in 31 games, in the cleanup spot 16 games and led off for the Lobos six games last season.
As the leadoff hitter, O’Grady was 18-for-33 (.545). With a runner on third and less than two outs, O’Grady was 4-for-9 (.444), was 13-for-38 (.342) with runners in scoring position and was .500 (45-for-90) in successfully advancing runners.
O’Grady has already made the UNM record book in career walks with 66, which ranks ninth all-time. If she were to replicate her 2019 total of 31 walks, she would move up to third with 97. To date, she has five walks this season. The shortstop could also crack the top 10 in career doubles, which she currently has 28. If she were to match her 2019 total of 16, she would finish with 44 to rank fourth all-time. To date, O’Grady has three.
THE OPPONENTS
NORTHERN COLORADO
The Lobos are 29-13 overall against the Bears and enter the weekend having won their last two meetings against UNC.
UNM and Northern Colorado have two common opponents this season in Weber State and Colorado State. The Bears will also be in the Lobo Classic in two weeks and will face common opponents in South Dakota and La Salle.
Northern Colorado went 1-4 in its opening weekend with its lone win coming in a 6-5 victory over Memphis. They lost their last two games, with overall losses coming against Hawai’i (11-2 in five), Iowa State (11-0), Memphis (8-3) and Hawai’i (9-0 in five) at the Hawai’i Paradise Classic.
The Bears concluded the 2019 season with a 14-39 record, 5-12 in conference. They were 5-16 on neutral fields and 5-16 as the away team.
To date, UNC is hitting .186 with 11 runs, 21 hits, five doubles and one home run with a slugging percentage of .257. They have drawn seven walks and have struck out 13 times. In the circle, they are throwing a team ERA of 9.41, allowing 51 hits, 44 runs (39 earned), while walking 19 and striking out nine. Opponents are hitting .375 off of the staff.
Mady Young leads the team in batting average (.375) and slugging percentage (.500) with three hits and four total bases on the season. Emma Brockmann is responsible for the lone home run and Reyna Caudillo has two doubles to lead the Bears. Seven different players have accounted for one walk and Lauren Strathearn has the only stolen base and attempt on the team.
In the circle, the Bears have used five different pitchers with Maggie Thurston holding a 4.38 ERA to lead the rotation. Lainey Hanehan has made the most starts and appearances for the Bears with three starts and four appearances and has a record of 1-3 with an 11.16 ERA in 10.2 innings pitched. She has allowed a team-high 11 walks and struck out a team-high six, but has also given up 16 hits and 22 runs, both team highs.
UNC returns six starters and has 13 newcomers and was picked to finish sixth in the Big Sky with 13 votes.
UC SANTA BARBARA
UNM has faced UCSB six times previously, holding an even 3-3 record with the Gauchos. The last meeting was Feb. 8, 2015, a 6-3 win for UNM.
UNM and UCSB have six common opponents this season in UC Riverside, San Diego, San Jose State, Utah State, Fresno State and Boise State.
The Gauchos are 1-4 this season with a 2-0 win over Santa Clara. Their losses are to Idaho State (4-3), California Baptist (7-2), Boise State (8-0) and Sacramento State (5-1). Last season, the Gauchos were 10-42, 4-17 in conference but return two from the All-Big West team in Sammy Fabian and Teah Thies (All-Freshman Team).
UCSB returns 13 players, including six seniors, and has seven newcomers.
Ally Nodohara leads the team with a .667 batting average (6-for-9), on-base percentage and slugging percentage with Fabian accounting for the only triple on the season as well as a team-high eight total bases. Four different players have hit a double. Fabian and Nodohara each have six hits to tie for the team high.
The Gauchos have used four pitchers this season with three (Alyssa Molina, Lexi Campbell and Emily Schuttish) each making three appearances. Campbell (0-2) has started three games with Felisha Noriega (0-1) and Molina (1-1) starting one. Molina leads with 11.2 innings in the circle and has a 4.20 ERA. Schuttish leads with a 3.23 ERA in 8.2 innings of work. As a staff, the Gauchos have a team ERA of 4.69, allowing 34 hits, 24 runs and have walked 16 batters while striking out 21.
UCSB was picked to finish eighth in the Big West Conference with 14 points.
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.