Lobos Travel to Mississippi State for Bulldog Invitational
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— After three weeks in Texas, the Lobos close out the opening month of the season in Starkville, Mississippi and The Bulldog Invitational presented by C Spire with five games in three days against Alabama State, Northwestern State and No. 20 Mississippi State.
UNM will play Mississippi State for the first time since 1997, Northwestern State for the first time since 2009 and Alabama State for the first time in program history.
Live stats will be available for all five games with the Mississippi State games on the SEC Network+.
SCHEDULE
Friday
Northwestern State @ 11:30 a.m. MT LIVE STATS
Mississippi State @ 4:30 p.m. MT LIVE STATS | WATCH
Saturday
Mississippi State @ 2 p.m. MT LIVE STATS | WATCH
Alabama State @ 4:30 p.m. MT LIVE STATS
Sunday
Alabama State @ 9 a.m. MT LIVE STATS
PUT THE PRESSURE ON
The Lobos have scored in the first inning in six games (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, HCU on Feb. 7, Houston on Feb. 7, St. Thomas on Feb. 14, Texas State on Feb. 16 and Texas Southern on Feb. 22) and scored in the second inning in six games (Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston on Feb. 7, St. John’s, St. Thomas on Feb. 14, North Dakota on Feb. 21 and Texas Southern on Feb. 22), while not allowing a run in the first two innings in the first eight games. UNM is outscoring opponents 17-2 in the second inning and tied 9-9 in the first.
In addition, the Lobos are outscoring opponents 11-9 in the fourth, 18-8 in the fifth and 9-5 in the sixth inning. On the season, UNM is outscoring opponents 76-65.
UNM is 3-1 when leading after the first, 5-1 after the second and the third, 6-2 when leading after the fourth, 5-2 after the fifth and after the sixth. UNM is 4-2 when scoring in the first inning and 5-2-1 when scoring first.
BIG INNINGS
New Mexico has scored four or more runs in an inning in four games this season.
The Lobos scored 13 runs in the fifth inning against Texas Southern on Feb. 23, sending 17 Lobos to the plate and finishing with eight hits, four of which went for extra bases. In the inning, Ashley Archuleta was the first Lobo to reach base on a hit-by-pitch and in her next plate appearance in the same inning hit a three-run home run. DeNae Vasquez-Dickson singled up the middle in her first plate appearance of the inning and then reached on an error by the left fielder, coming all the way around to score. Allie Williams hit a double to score two runs, Keyannah Chavez entered to pinch hit and hit a double to score two runs and Katherine Brunner hit an infield single that tied the game at three and later hit a double that made it 12-3.
UNM scored seven runs on six hits in the third inning against North Dakota, including a pinch-hit grand slam by Ella Dawson that gave UNM a 7-4 lead. Sydney Carithers led off the inning with a home run, Hayden Luderer singled up the middle and Vasquez-Dickson doubled to right field to score Luderer from second. A liner back to the circle by Miracle McKenzie allowed Vasquez-Dickson to score for the third run before Dawson gave UNM the lead with her grand slam.
In the season opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UNM scored five runs in the second inning to build a 7-0 lead, needing three hits to score the five runs. With bases loaded, Vasquez-Dickson cleared the bases with a double to left center, and four at-bats later with runners on second and third, Williams doubled to center to score both runners.
Against St. Thomas, UNM scored four runs in the sixth inning to tie the game.
In the Feb. 22 game against Texas Southern, UNM scored three runs in the first, second and fourth innings to build its lead.
UNM has scored three or more runs in an inning nine times.
IT’S ABOUT THE SACRIFICE
To date, the Lobos have a conference-best 15 sacrifice hits, led by four from DeNae Vasquez-Dickson, three from Sydney Carithers, two each from Emma Bramson, Keyannah Chavez and Hayden Luderer.
Heading into the weekend, the Lobos are tied for fifth in the NCAA in sac bunts, while Vasquez-Dickson is tied for the conference lead and Carithers is tied for third.
In the opening weekend, seven of UNM’s runs scored were as a result of a sac bunt moving the runner over, with two runs in the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi game, two in the first Houston game and two against St. John’s.
WALK IT OUT
The Lobos rank 26th in the NCAA and second in the Mountain West in walks with 58 walks, with 13 different players recording a walk and 11 with multiple walks.
Ashley Archuleta leads the team in walks with 10, tied for fourth in the MW, with Jessica DeLeon closely behind at nine and DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and Allie Williams at eight.
Of the 58 walks, 20 have been on 3-0 counts, 20 on 3-1 counts and 18 have come on full counts.
UNM has started the game with a walk in five games with Archuleta leading off with a walk in four games (three times on four pitches and one time at 3-2) and Vasquez-Dickson once on four pitches.
The Lobos have drawn five or more walks in five games with a season-high seven in the Feb. 23 game against Texas Southern.
TWO OUTS, SO WHAT
Of UNM’s 76 runs, 40 (52.6%) have come with two outs in the inning.
At the Tarleton Invitational, the Lobos scored seven runs with two outs in the 13-run fifth inning against Texas Southern on Feb. 23, scored five runs with two outs in the first game against Texas Southern and five runs with two outs in the second game against UND.
In the first game against St. Thomas, six of UNM’s eight runs scored came with two outs with three in the second, one in the fourth and two in the sixth.
Five of UNM’s eight runs in the season opener came with two outs, with four of UNM’s runs in the first game against Houston coming with two outs. UNM scored three runs in the second game at Houston with two outs, two in the second game at HCU and one in the first game at HCU and one in the seventh inning in the second game at Texas State.
In the 1-0 win against Houston Christian, Miracle McKenzie’s hit that scored the only run of the game came with two outs in the inning.
With two outs and trailing 3-2 in Saturday’s game at Houston, Jessica DeLeon had her first clutch hit of the game with a single to the outfield to score DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and tie the game.
Ella Dawson leads the team with eight, two-out RBI with Allie Williams second with seven and DeLeon third with five.
Freshmen have contributed to 26 of the team’s 36 two-out RBI.
Of UNM’s 111 hits, 42 have come with two outs (37.9%), with Williams 10-19 with two outs and McKenzie 6-12.
STRIKE ‘EM OUT
The Lobo pitching staff ranks 32nd in the NCAA in team strikeouts per seven innings at 6.81, which ranks second in the Mountain West.
As a staff, the Lobos have 108 strikeouts to 58 walks, led by 48 from McKenna Guest and 38 from Natalie Fritz. The duo are second (Guest) and third (Fritz) in strikeouts, but first (Guest, 22) and second (Fritz, 19) in batters struck out looking in the MW.
Lexi Atcitty is 16th in the MW in strikeouts (15) and tied for eighth in batters struck out looking (nine).
For comparison, last season the Lobos finished with 166 strikeouts on the season with Guest leading with 90.
NO SOPHOMORE SLUMP
DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and McKenna Guest have dispelled the notion of the sophomore slump, starting their sophomore campaigns strong.
Vasquez-Dickson leads the team with a .510 slugging percentage and four sac bunts, and is second in batting average (.347), on-base percentage (.467), hits (17), doubles (four), total bases (25). She’s had three multiple-hit games and two multiple-RBI games as well as a nine-game hitting streak and is currently on a 10-game streak of reaching base, career bests in both categories.
Through the first 17 games, she’s already surpassed her number of walks from last season (eight) and has improved her batting average (by .110), slugging percentage (by .162) and on-base percentage (by .202) and has scored 14 runs, five less than she did all of last season.
In the circle, Guest has a 2.49 ERA with 48 strikeouts to 21 walks, and has finished with five or more strikeouts in five games, including the last three. She’s has five appearances not allowing a run in 45.0 innings and 11 appearances with six starts. She threw her first two shutouts this season and combined with Natalie Fritz for another shutout.
She currently leads the Lobos in ERA, innings pitched, starts and strikeouts.
In the Bobcat Tournament, she struck out 18 to five walks allowed and had a season-high seven strikeouts in 4.0 innings against Fordham. She followed that up with six strikeouts in 3.0 innings and 10 batters faced against St. Thomas, while also not allowing a hit.
In the first week of play, she was one of nine pitchers in the NCAA to record two shutouts.
The Lobo is second in the Mountain West in strikeouts and in innings pitched, fifth in ERA and leads the conference in batters struck out looking with 22 (Fritz is second with 19).
Nationally, Guest is 32nd in the NCAA in innings pitched, 20th in strikeouts and 31st in wins with five.
FRESHMEN IN NAME ONLY
Through the first three weeks of the season, the freshmen class have stepped in to the lineup and contributed.
Of UNM’s 69 RBI on the season, 41 (59.4%) have come from freshmen and of the 111 hits, 52 (46.8%) have been by freshmen.
Two freshmen had pivotal contributions in their first collegiate game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi with Allie Williams going 3-3 at the plate with two doubles and three RBI, while Ella Dawson pinch hit in the bottom of the fifth and delivered the game-ending run on a single to the outfield for her first collegiate hit and RBI.
Miracle McKenzie drove in the game-winning run in the first inning at Houston Christian on a hit back up the middle for her first collegiate hit and RBI.
In the second game at Houston Christian on Saturday, Natalie Fritz threw 4.2 scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing one hit on 16 batters faced and 59 pitches, 40 of which went for strikes. In addition, she retired 11 consecutive hitters between the fourth and seventh innings. Holding a one-run lead, Fritz struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the seventh before allowing a walk. However, Fritz struck out the next batter to secure her first win as a Lobo.
Dawson hit a pinch-hit, three-run home run in Friday’s game at Houston to lead the Lobos in RBI, while Williams went 2-4 with two RBI to lead the Lobos in hits, including a hit to centerfield in the top of the fourth to score a run and give UNM back the lead at 4-3.
In the second game at Houston, and trailing 3-2 in the top of the seventh, Jessica DeLeon had her first clutch hit of the game with a single to the outfield to score DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and tie the game. DeLeon broke the tie in the top of the 10th on a leadoff home run to left for her first of the season.
Williams led the Lobos with 11 hits, five RBI, a .458 batting average, .500 on-base percentage (1.042 OPS) and 13 total bases opening weekend, while tying for the team lead in doubles (two) and second in slugging percentage (.542). The outfielder also recorded a hit in all seven games with a team-best three multiple-hit games and two multiple-RBI games.
Dawson delivered a pinch-hit grand slam against North Dakota to give UNM a 7-4 lead on Feb. 22 and DeLeon hit a three-run home run in the first inning of the Feb. 22 game against Texas Southern.
Williams currently leads the team with a .400 batting average, .469 on-base percentage, 22 hits and 27 total bases, while tied with DeLeon for RBI (12). DeLeon is third in batting average (.326), hits (14), second in walks (nine) and tied for third in slugging percentage (.488). Williams is second in slugging percentage (.491) and Dawson is tied for the team lead in home runs with DeLeon (two) and third in RBI (nine).
Further, Williams has reached base in 16 games and had a hit in the first 11 games of the season, and has had a team-high six multiple-hit games (four with two and two with three) and four multiple-RBI games (two with two and two with three).
In the circle, Fritz has thrown 30.1 innings in 11 appearances and has the second-most strikeouts among the pitching staff with 38. Fritz is third in the MW in strikeouts and second in strikeouts looking at 19, with her number of appearances tied for the most in the conference.
Fritz is averaging 8.8 strikeouts per seven innings, which is 49th in the NCAA and third in the conference. Her 38 strikeouts rank 55th in the NCAA.
Fritz had 11 strikeouts in the Feb. 22 win against Texas Southern, the most for a Lobo in a game since 2023, as well as the most by a freshman since 2019 and tied for the second most by a Lobo freshman pitcher since 2013 when Lauren Soles struck out 14. Between the third out of the first inning and the third inning, the freshman struck out five consecutive hitters and six of the seven Tigers faced with Sydney Carithers making a diving catch to get the foul out, accounting for nine straight Tigers retired before a single to start the fourth inning.
In four of Fritz’s appearances, she has held opponents scoreless and in three appearances allowed only one hit. She has twice finished with five strikeouts.
Freshman Caprice Barela inherited three runners with one out in the third inning of the first game against St. Thomas and got the Lobos out of the inning with a flyout to right and a strikeout looking.
Williams has started all 17 games with DeLeon playing in all 17 with 15 starts and Dawson appearing in 12 with two starts.
Williams currently ranks tied for 29th in hits in the NCAA with her 22 hits, the third most by a freshman in the NCAA.
ABOUT ALABAMA STATE
Out of the SWAC, the Hornets went 1-4 in the Mercer Tournament last season, picking up their first win of the season against UConn (10-8). ASU is averaging 2.7 runs per game and 5.5 hits per game, led by 13 hits from Leah Richardson and 12 hits from Brooke Ramsey. Richardson has a team-high two home runs and is tied with Ramsey for the team lead in RBI with eight.
As a pitching staff, Alabama State is led by Kaitlyn Hill’s 12 appearances and seven starts, throwing a team-high 35.2 innings. The staff is allowing 146 hits, 137 runs (117 earned) and has walked 88 batters compared to 27 strikeouts.
ABOUT MISSISSIPPI STATE
The Bulldogs enter the weekend ranked 21st in the NCAA by the NFCA, 19th by D1 Softball, and 20th by Softball America and USA Softball and are coming off an 11-1 win over UAB on Wednesday.
Seven different players have over 10 hits with Morgan Bernardini and Sierra Sacco leading the team with 18 hits. Sacco has a .727 slugging percentage and .567 on-base percentage as well as 32 total bases behind six doubles, one triple and two home runs. Lexi Sosa leads with five of MSU’s 17 home runs with eight different players with at least one home run.
The Bulldogs are prone to stealing bases, going 23-25 with nine players with at least one stolen base. Sacco leads with nine stolen bases on 11 attempts.
MSU has used five pitchers this season with Raelin Chaffin 8-1 with a 1.01 ERA in 48.2 innings pitched between nine appearances, eight starts and six complete games. As a staff, the Bulldogs have a 2.31 ERA with 106 strikeouts to 29 walks.
ABOUT NORTHWESTERN STATE
Northwestern State is coming off of a 13-0 loss to ULM on Wednesday in five innings. The Lady Demons are led by Sophia Liver’s 12 hits and four RBI, the only player in double figures in hits. Livers also leads in walks (six), and on-base percentage (.367).
In the circle, Brooklynn Stohler leads with 56.2 innings throughout 11 starts and has thrown five complete games. She leads the team with a 6.05 ERA. NSU has used four pitchers to date, and as a staff, carries a 7.47 ERA, allowing 3.8 walks per game to 1.9 strikeouts per game as well as 8.6 hits and 7.1 runs per game.