ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.— The Lobos make a return trip to Texas for a three-game series at Abilene Christian Friday and Saturday. Wednesday's game at UTEP has been rescheduled to March 3 at 3 p.m. MT due to projected high winds.
Only Saturday’s game will be on WAC Network, but all three games will have live stats available.
SCHEDULE
FRIDAY: ACU @ 12 p.m. MT LIVE STATS
FRIDAY: ACU @ 2 p.m. MT LIVE STATS
SATURDAY: ACU @ 11 a.m. MT WATCH | LIVE STATS
MIRACLE AT THE PLATE
Sophomore Miracle McKenzie got the bat going at the Mardi Gras Mambo, finishing the weekend with four hits that included a double and a home run, resulting in three RBI.
McKenzie has a hit in the last three games, including a season-high two hits against Northwestern State behind a double and a home run.
The first baseman is tied for second on the team with six hits, and is second in slugging percentage (.417) and total bases (10), third in RBI (3) and tied for third in batting average (.250).
McKenzie went from two hits her first weekend to four hits last weekend and improved her batting average from .167 to .250 and her on-base and slugging percentage to .417 (slugging) and .308 (on-base).
WILLIAMS AT THE TOP OF THE LINEUP
Freshman Briana Williams has started eight games this season, leading off the lineup in four of the five games at the Mardi Gras Mambo. When the outfielder isn’t hitting leadoff, Williams has been second in the lineup.
Williams leads the team with nine hits, 12 total bases, a .346 batting average, a .414 on-base percentage and a .462 slugging percentage and has two extra-base hits with a double and a triple.
Further, she is 5-9 (.556) when leading off and is 4-10 in advancing runners.
Williams reached base in a team-best seven consecutive games, starting with Mississippi State on Feb. 7 and Northwestern State on Feb. 14, which included two multi-hit games. Her two multiple-hit games is tied for the team lead.
She earned her first start against Northwestern State on Feb. 7 and has started every game since, with three starts in left field and four games as the designated player.
in the first weekend, the Texas native led the Lobos with a .455 batting average, five hits, four runs scored and six total bases
MAKE IT COMPLETE
In her three seasons, McKenna Guest has thrown 21 complete games, recording nine in both her freshman and sophomore seasons and has three this season.
Guest threw a complete-game shutout against Northwestern State on Feb. 7, allowing three hits to go with four strikeouts, and threw her second complete game against Wichita State on Feb. 8. She added a complete game in the opening game of the Mardi Gras Mambo against Louisiana Tech.
She is the only Lobo pitcher this season to throw a complete game.
Guest has appeared in six games with five starts, throwing a team-high 29.1 innings and striking out 14 with a strikeout in every game she’s pitched in and multiple strikeouts in five.
The Lobos threw 12 complete games last season, led by Guest’s nine.
WHAT’S THE LINEUP?
UNM used a different lineup combination in every game this season.
DeNae Vasquez-Dickson has led off in five games with Gabrielle Briones hitting ninth in every game except for Sam Houston, when she hit second. Jewels Hanawahine hit eighth in six games, Briana Williams hit second in four games and leadoff in four games, and Jessica DeLeon hit cleanup in four games and third in five games.
Three different players (Vasquez-Dickson, B. Williams and Caitlin Benningfield) have led off, six different players have hit second, fifth, sixth and seventh and four players have hit third and cleanup.
Allie Williams, Benningfield, Miracle McKenzie and Hayden Luderer have hit in four different spots with Vasquez-Dickson and Estrella Rowe hitting in three different spots. Ella Dawson has had the most movement with five different spots in her five starts.
Last season, the Lobos used 47 different lineup combinations. Vasquez-Dickson led off in 10 games and batting second in 41 games. A. Williams hit second in seven games and third in 31 games. Jessica DeLeon hit cleanup in 31 games with A. Williams hitting cleanup in nine games and McKenzie in six games. McKenzie primarily hit in the fifth spot, doing so in 27 games.
HOLD THE LEAD
UNM is 3-1 when holding a lead after the third, fourth and fifth and 3-0 when leading after six.
The Lobos are outscoring their opponents 8-3 in the third inning and 7-5 in the sixth inning.
UNM was good when holding a lead last season: 9-5 when leading after the first, 13-6 after the second, 15-3 after the third, 16-4 when leading after the fourth, 15-2 after the fifth and 17-3 leading after the sixth.
ANGLES IN THE OUTFIELD
The Lobos have the most experience in the outfield, returning all three outfielders from a season ago. DeNae Vasquez-Dickson and Allie Williams started all 52 games in 2025.
Vasquez-Dickson has made 107 starts in her three seasons: 56 in left, 44 in center, and seven in right. She made 37 starts in left field, 13 in center field and two in right field in 2025 and made 29 starts in center field, 12 in left field and five in right in 2024.
Williams started 52 games as a freshman, with 48 in the outfield: 47 starts in right and one in left. This season, she has started nine games in right.
Hayden Luderer played in 51 games with 43 starts last season, starting 39 games in center. In 2024, Luderer started eight games in center, seven in right field and one in left field. This season, she has started five games in center.
Two freshmen have added to the outfield rotation as Briana Williams started the final three games of the opening weekend, two in left field and one in right field, and Caitlin Benningfield started three games in center at the Mardi Gras Mambo.
WALK IT OUT
The Lobos have 19 walks this season. In the opening weekend, UNM drew 10 walks with a season-high six in the season opener against Baylor and two runs scored on walks.
Of the 19 walks, nine came on full counts, four on 3-1 counts and six on four pitches.
DeNae Vasquez-Dickson led off the game against Northwestern State on Feb. 7 with a walk and Briana Williams led off the Louisiana Tech game with a walk.
Vasquez-Dickson leads the Lobos with five walks with Jessica DeLeon second at three. Eleven different players have at least one walk with four with multiple walks.
The Lobos drew 160 walks last season, drawing five or more walks in eight games with a season-high seven done twice. UNM’s 160 walks were the most since 2022.
Three players finished with 20-plus walks, including 21 for DeLeon and 20 for Vasquez-Dickson.
Conversely, UNM’s pitchers did not allow a walk in five games and was 4-1 when not allowing a walk last season.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
ACU is 0-11 on the season and has played Utah State, then-No. 11 Texas A&M, then-No. 2 Texas, Ohio State, Syracuse, Northern Illinois, South Dakota State and Bryant.
The Wildcats are hitting .225 with Jadyn Dawson leading at .375 behind nine hits, two doubles, a triple, two home runs and seven RBI. Dawson also leads with a .792 slugging percentage, and is tied with Emerson Meggers for the team high in hits. Only two players have started all 11 games in Ari Maxwell and Kyana Lipardo with Meggers starting 10 but playing in all 11.
Ella Beeman and Leah Meyer have the most innings in the circle with Beeman starting five games, throwing in six and throwing 24.1 innings. Meyer has thrown in seven with four starts and two complete games, throwing 23.2 innings. As a staff, ACU has a 7.79 ERA with 53 walks to 43 strikeouts.