LAS CRUCES, N.M. – New Mexico State softball closes out the regular season when the Aggies host Florida Atlantic on Thursday, May 4, with the first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m. (MT).
Thursday is also Star Wars Night at the NM State Softball Complex. The first 100 fans will receive a free Star Wars shirt.
GET CONNECTED
To stay connected with the softball team and catch all of the up-to-date information and breaking news, follow the Aggies on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, @NMStateSoftball.
WHERE TO WATCH
NM State's regular season finale against FAUÂ can be viewed live on Fox Sports Arizona, Fox Sports Southwest Plus, Fox College Sports Pacific, Altitude, and ESPN3.
WHERE IN THE WAC
New Mexico State finished conference play as the Western Athletic Conference Regular Season Co-Champions. Both NM State and Grand Canyon finished the season with an 11-4 in record in conference play.
New Mexico State posts a 24-22 overall record this season. As a team, NM State leads the WAC with 45 home runs and 58 stolen bases. Kelsey Horton leads the conference with a .434 batting average, .825 slugging percentage, and a .515 on-base percentage. Â She also leads the league with 14 home runs and 118 total bases.
#WACsb
New Mexico State hosts the 2017 WAC Tournament beginning on May 11. With an 11-4 conference record, the Aggies come in as the overall No. 1 seed. Utah Valley and Seattle U had 7-8 records in league play, but UVU earned the No. 2 seed since they won the tiebreaker by taking the series from SU, who received the No. 3 seed. UMKC is the No. 4 seed with a 5-10 record and CSU Bakersfield is the No. 5 seed with a 4-11 record in WAC play.
HORTON HEARS A BOOM
Kelsey Horton left her mark in the conference record books during the 2017 season. She set the single season record for batting average (.535) and slugging percentage (1.258) in league play. She also tied the home runs per game record (0.60), which was set by Fiana Finau in 2015.
RODOLPH REIGNS SUPREME
Head coach Kathy Rodolph won her 500th game at the NCAA level in the Aggies 7-6 victory over New Mexico. Rodolph won her 600th overall game in 2016 and currently has 627 career wins. She also posts a 431-363 record at New Mexico State.
LAST TIME OUT
NM State completed the season sweep of in-state rival New Mexico on Tuesday. The Aggies defeated the Lobos 7-6 in their last road game of the regular season. Fahren Glackin went 1-for-3 at the plate and earned her first save of the season in the win.
KNOW YOUR FOE: FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Florida Atlantic enters the series with a 33-18 overall record and a 13-8 record in Conference USA play. The Owls swept UTSA this past weekend. FAU posted back-to-back shutouts before taking the series finale 6-5.
In the circle, FAU posts a 1.87 team ERA. Amanda Wilson holds a 1.89 earned run average in her 159.2 innings pitches. Tatum Buckley comes in with a 9-6 record and a 1.87 ERA. Emily Lochten has played 49 games this season and posts a .409 batting average. She leads the team with 17 home runs and 37 RBI this season.
The Aggies are 1-1 overall against the Owls. When the two teams met last season, NM State fell 5-3 to FAU. Victoria Castro hit a two-run homer against the Owls and Kelsey Horton went 2-for-4, hitting a double and a home run in the loss.
COMING UP
Following the regular season finale, New Mexico State hosts the WAC Tournament. The overall No.1 seeded Aggies take on the winner of the game between No. 4 seeded UMKC and No. 5 seeded CSU Bakersfield. NM State's quarterfinal matchup will be played on May 11 at 4 p.m.
