This weekend the Bobcats head to Lubbock, Texas to participate in the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic. They will play a total of four games, two each against the UTEP Miners (10-4) and the New Mexico State Aggies (9-5).

The Bobcats (14-5) are coming off of a 1-0 loss to the #2 ranked Texas Longhorns that ended their 7-game winning streak. Pitcher Jessica Mullins pitched all 7 innings and only allowed 1 run off of 6 hits and struck out 5, a pretty impressive outing despite the loss. Mullins is now 7-2 on the season and her ERA is 0.99.

The Miners are currently on a 2-game losing streak with both losses against the Arizona State Sun Devils, a team that the Bobcats beat 12-2 in last weekend’s tournament. Offensively the Miners are led by Ajia Richard who is batting .404 with 12 RBI’s, 19 hits, and 2 home runs, Bri Garcia (.387, 12 RBI’s, 12 hits, and 2 home runs), and Halle Hogan (.341, 12 RBI’s, 14 hits, and 3 home runs).

On the mound the Miners are led by the pitching duo of Faith Aragon and Taja Felder. Aragon is 5-2 on the season with an ERA of 2.33 in 39 innings pitched and has 36 strike outs, while Felder is also 5-2 on the season with an ERA of 4.37 in 33.2 innings pitched and has 9 strike outs.

The Miners are averaging 5.6 runs per game while giving up 3.6 runs per game, while the Bobcats are averaging 4.7 runs per game while giving up 2.1 runs per game. The first game between these two teams will take place on Friday, March 1st at 4:30pm and the second game will be Saturday, March 2nd at 11:30am.

The Miners and Bobcats have played each other a total of three times with the Miners up on the series 2-1. The last time they met was on February 25, 2012, where the Bobcats picked up the win 3-0.

The Aggies are coming off of a win against the Arizona State Sun Devils 10-8 in a game that was tied at 7 heading into the final inning. Offensively the Aggies are led by Dezianna Patmon who is batting .444 with 11 RBI’s, 16 hits, and 3 home runs, Kirsten Boyd (.385, 7 RBI’s, 10 hits, and 1 home run), and Jillian Taylor (.341, 5 RBI’s, and 15 hits).

On the mound the Aggies are led by Desirae Spearman who is 3-0 on the season with an ERA of 0.33 in 23 innings pitched and has 25 strike outs. Jaileen Mancha (2-0, 2.92 ERA, 26.1 innings pitched, and 16 strike outs) and Emily Dix (4-4, 4.05 ERA, 36.1 innings pitched, and 18 strike outs) round out the trio of pitchers that the Aggies regularly use.

The Aggies are averaging 5 runs per game while giving up 4.8 runs per game. The first game between these two teams will take place on Friday, March 1st at 7pm and the second game will be Saturday, March 2nd at 2pm.

The Aggies and Bobcats have played each other a total of 22 times with the Bobcats ahead in the series 12-10. The last time they met was on February 19, 2023, where the Aggies won 4-0.

Weekend Notes
•Hannah Earls is currently on a 11-game hit streak and is the only Bobcat with an active hit streak going.
•Ciara Trahan (19), Earls (14), and Anna Jones (4) all have on base streaks.
•Vandy Bomb Watch: Sara Vanderford currently has 32 career home runs and is second all-time on the Bobcats list trailing only Ariel Ortiz, who has 39.
•Jessica Mullins has 76 career wins and is currently fourth all-time on the Bobcats list. She is trailing Chandler Hall (80), Nicole Neuerburg (107), and Randi Rupp (110).