2021 NM State Softball 1815 Wells Street | Stan Fulton Athletic Center | Las Cruces, NM 88003 | @NMStatesoftball | • WAC Regular Season Champions: 2011, 2015, • NCAA Regionals: 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018 2016, 2017, 2018 • WAC Tournament Champions: 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018 DATE OPPONENT TIME Feb. 12 Middle Tennessee^ 0-3, L. NM State vs. Tarleton State Grand Canyon Feb. 12 Pittsburgh^ 6-3, W Feb. 15 Liberty^ 2-7, L 14-16 (3-0) Feb. 15 Liberty^ 2-11 (5 inn.), L WAC Feb. 19 #24 UCF 1-18 (5 inn.), L. Friday, Apr. 16 (Game One) Feb. 20 #24 UCF 2-11 (5 inn.) L. 3:07 p.m. Feb. 21 #24 UCF 2-8, L. Comcast New Mexico | WAC Digital Network Feb. 26 #12 Kentucky^ 1-11 (5 inn), L Bally Sports Arizona (Tape Delay, Airs at 11:30 p.m.) Feb. 26 FIU^ 4-3, W Feb. 27 #12 Kentucky^ 1-10 (5 inn.) L Feb. 27 FIU^ 5-11, L Friday, Apr. 16 (Game Two) Feb. 28 Stetson^ 5-3 (8 inn.) W 40 minutes after the conclusion of game one Mar. 3 #5 Florida 2-6, L WAC Digital Network Mar. 5 Central Michigan^ 3-1, W NM State Tarleton State Mar. 5 North Dakota^ 4-1 (8 inn.), W 18-18 (3-3) Saturday, Apr. 17 (Game Three) 14-25 (3-3) Mar. 6 Florida Gulf Coast^ 2-1 (9 inn), W WAC 1 p.m. WAC Mar. 6 Middle Tennessee^ 4-2, W WAC Digital Network Mar. 7 South Dakota^ 2-1, W Mar. 7 Toledo^ 4-2 (8 inn), W Mar. 10 USF 3-4, L Mar. 10 USF 3-4 (12 inn.), L Mar. 19 Idaho State! 12-13 (9 inn.), L Mar. 19 Southern Utah! 10-0 (5 inn), W Mar. 20 Southern Utah! 6-3, W Mar. 20 Idaho State! 15-2 (5 inn.), W Mar. 21 Idaho State! 9-1 (5 inn.), W Mar. 23 Portland State 3-2, W Mar. 23 Portland State 5-4, W Notes Mar. 26 Seattle U* 4-6, L First Pitch Mar. 26 Seattle U* 1-4, L. The Aggies return to WAC play this Friday and Saturday when they take on Tarleton Mar. 27 Seattle U* 6-5, W Apr. 2 Grand Canyon* 6-8, L State. The teams will play a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 3 p.m. before finish- Apr. 2 Grand Canyon* 8-6, W ing out the series at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Apr. 3 Grand Canyon* 8-1, W Apr. 9 Team Mexico# 5-6, L. Where to Watch Apr. 9 #8 Arizona 5-11, L. There are several ways fans can watch this weekend’s games. All three games will be Apr. 10 Team Mexico# 5-12, L Apr. 10 #8 Arizona 0-8, L. streamed live on the WAC Digital Network. Comcast New Mexico and the Bally Sports Apr. 16 Tarleton State* 3 p.m. App will carry game one of Friday’s doubleheader live on their respective channels. Apr. 16 Tarleton State* 5:30 p.m. Bally Sports Arizona will also air the first game of Friday at 11:30 p.m. on Friday night. Apr. 17 Tarleton State* 1 p.m. Fox College Sports Pacific will also air the game on a tape delay at 4:30 p.m. on Friday. Apr. 23 Dixie State* 2 p.m. Apr. 23 Dixie State* 4 p.m. Apr. 24 Dixie State* TBA Returning Home Apr. 30 Utah Valley* 3 p.m. The Aggies returned home on Apr. 2, as they played their first game at the NM State Apr. 30 Utah Valley* 5:30 p.m. Softball Complex in 387 days. The Aggies played 21 games to start the season in the May 1 Utah Valley* 1 p.m. state of Florida due to the restrictions by the state of New Mexico which prohibited May 7 California Baptist* 6 p.m. May 7 California Baptist* 8:30 p.m. games being played within the state. Once the Aggies returned, they were right back May 8 California Baptist* 1 p.m. on the road again for a five game road trip in the Pacific Northwest. The Aggies have May 13-15 WAC Tournament* TBA just two more home series left this season Bold Denotes Home Game * Western Athletic Conference Game Going Through the Gauntlet ! GCU Invitational (Phoenix, Ariz) The NM State Aggies faced one of the toughest starts in program history. In the first 13 # Exhibition games, the Aggies faced a nationally-ranked opponent in six of those games. This is the ^The Spring Games (Leesburg, Fla., Clermont, Fla.) only time in program history that the Aggies will have played six games against nation- All Times Mountain ally-ranked opponents in its first 13 games of the year. In 2018, the Aggies opened up Dates And Times Subject To Change the season with five ranked opponents in its first 12 games. WAC Standings WAC Overall The Aggies also took on No. 8 Arizona last weekend. The Aggies dropped both games Seattle U 4-2 17-19 to the Wildcats GCU 5-4 16-21 Dixie State 5-4 17-19 NM State 3-3 18-18 Tanori and De La Torre Win WAC Player of the Week Awards Tarleton 3-3 14-25 Hailey Tanori and Felicia De La Torre swept the WAC Hitter of the Week and Pitcher of Cal Baptist 4-5 16-23-1 the Week awards for their performances the WAC announced on Mar. 22. Tanori and De Utah Valley 3-6 15-19 Tarleton State @NMStateSoftball Preseason WAC Coaches’ Poll NotesNotes (cont.) Rank Teams (1st-Place Votes) Points La Torre are the first Aggies to win either award this season and are the first to win 1. Seattle U (4) 32 either award since Nikki Butler won Hitter of the Week on Feb. 24, 2020. 2. NM State (3) 31 3. Utah Valley 25 Tanori led an offensive attack that scored 52 runs in five games at the GCU Invita- 4. California Baptist 20 tional. Tanori put up phenomenal numbers, as she hit .579 with five RBIs over the 5. Grand Canyon 19 weekend. Tanori gave the Aggies a boost on the base paths going a perfect 5-for-5 6. Dixie State 12 in stolen base attempts. Tanori is currently on a 15-game hitting streak and has 7. Tarleton 8 recorded a hit in 27 out of the 31 games for the Aggies. Preseason All-WAC Team De La Torre posted a perfect 3-0 record last weekend. De La Torre had her first complete game shutout on Southern Utah and had a season-high nine strikeouts in Player School just five innings. De La Torre allowed just three runs in 12 innings pitched over the Carissa Burgess Dixie State course of the weekend. Nikki Butler NM State Aggies Picked to Finish Second in the WAC Georgia Capell Tarleton The NM State Aggies were picked by the coaches to finish second in the WAC in Madison Cathcart Seattle U 2021. The Aggies were just behind Seattle U who received four first-place votes Ally Choate Seattle U while NM State received just three first-place votes. Devyn Cretz Utah Valley Destiny Crumpley Tarleton Butler and Faapito Named to Preseason All-WAC Team Ryan Denhart Grand Canyon Redshirt senior Nikki Butler and redshirt freshman Matalasi Faapito were named to Kaylee Dietrich Grand Canyon the 2021 Preseason All-WAC Team. Butler was the 2019 WAC Player of the Year and Abby Doughty Utah Valley so far in 2021, she is hitting .247 with one home run and 13 RBIs. Faapito leads the Matalasi Faapito NM State team with a .422 batting average, 10 home runs and 24 RBIs. Brittany Galvez Cal. Baptist Hannah Hughbanks Dixie State Late Inning Magic The Aggies have played a staggering seven extra inning contests so far in 2021 and Katelyn Mangrello Cal. Baptist are 4-3 in those games. The Aggies have had three walk-off wins this season. The Aggies’ most recent walk-off victory came last Friday against Grand Canyon when Maya Martinez hit a three-run home run with two outs to give the Aggies the 8-6 win. The Aggies are 11-5 in games decided by two runs or less this season. Aggie Rundown The Aggies returned its top five hitters from the 2020 season, and they have all shined so far in the 2021 season. Matalasi Faapito continues to have a terrific season, as she leads the conference with a .429 batting average, 11 home runs, a .838 slugging percentage and a .500 on-base percentage. Faapito has recorded a hit in 24 out of the last 26 games and is on a 13-game hitting streak. Slap hitter Hailey Tanori continues to be one of the most consistent Aggies in the batter’s box, as she has recorded a hit in 29 out of the Aggies 34 games this season. Tanori also leads the team with 12 steals. Junior Kayla Bowen has been a nice surprise for the Aggies, as she is hitting .293 on the year with six home runs and a team-high 28 RBIs. Redshirt senior Nikki Butler usually finds her way on base, but it may not be in the most conventional way. Butler is well on her way to break her own single-season hit-by-pitch record. Butler set the record in 2018, as she was hit 18 times, and so far in 2021, she’s been hit 14 times. Butler is hitting .278 on the year with two home runs and 17 RBIs.