The University of New Mexico softball team will take on New Mexico State in Las Cruces on Tuesday night at 5:30 p.m. at the New Mexico State Softball Complex.
The two teams squared off on March 21 in Albuquerque, with the Aggies taking the win by a score of 12-7. The Aggies are coming off of a three game series sweep of the University of Missouri Kansas City, and currently hold a record of 18-14 and have won six straight games, a streak that began with their win over the Lobos.
The Lobos are coming off of a weekend series against Fresno State in which they lost two of the three games, including being no-hit on Saturday in the series finale. UNM is 9-26 on the season so far. For Lobos head coach Paula Congleton, this is a big opportunity to help bring some life back into a rivalry that she says has been lost.
“The game that we had with them, it was a close one right up until the very end,” Congleton said. “I think our kids know that they can compete with New Mexico State, it’s a rivalry, and I think we’re just bubbling that back up again. I think it had been lost to be honest with you. I think the kids are looking forward to it and seeing if we can’t take the game from them down there.”
It’s also a bit of a reunion for Congleton, who made the very same trek as a New Mexico player during her playing days, and says that she’s excited to get back.
“I’m excited, I’m sure they’ve done some things with the stadium since I’ve been down there,” Congleton said. “I have a lot of respect for coach (Kathy) Rodolph, they’ve been in the regional finals the last couple of years and she has run that program quite well for the last 15 years. So for us to gain the compliments from her on her first trip out to us, means a lot to me.”
Offensively, the Aggies are led by sophomore catcher Nikki Butler, who is hitting .393/.470/.726 with 29 runs batted in and six home runs. An All-WAC First Team selection last season, she went 3-for-4 with three RBI in the last matchup between these two squads.
In the circle, junior Kayla Green leads the way statistically for the Aggies, currently sitting on a 10-7 record and a 3.04 ERA in 85.1 innings across 20 appearances (15 starts) this season. She was an All-WAC second team selection last season.
After the matchup with NMSU, the Lobos will head to Fort Collins, Colorado to take on the Colorado State Rams in a three game conference set beginning on Friday.
Cameron Goeldner is a sports beat reporter and photographer for the Daily Lobo. He primarily covers men’s soccer and softball but also contributes content for baseball, basketball, football and track and field. He can be contacted at sports@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @goeldfinger.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
