EL PASO, TEXAS – UTEP Softball will hit the road this weekend to compete in the UC Riverside Highlander Classic beginning Friday, Feb. 14 at Amy S. Harrison Softball Field in Riverside, California.
The Miners will take on both Santa Clara and Idaho State twice each before facing off against the host UC Riverside Highlanders on Sunday afternoon.
UTEP (0-5) will face Santa Clara (10 a.m. MT) and Idaho State (12:30 p.m. MT) on Friday, while Saturday's game will feature a rematch with the ISU Bengals at 10 a.m. MT. Sunday's slate has UTEP battling Santa Clara (10 a.m. MT) for the second time before closing out the tournament versus UC Riverside at 12:30 p.m. MT.
SERIES HISTORY
- SANTA CLARA – UTEP leads the all-time series over the Broncos, who enter the weekend with a 2-3 overall record. The Miners have never lost to Santa Clara and hold a 2-0 advantage in the all-time series heading into Friday's game. Both wins came during the 2012 season.
- IDAHO STATE – The Miners lead the all-time series, 2-1, over the Bengals, with the last meeting coming a season ago when Idaho State edged UTEP, 3-1. The two wins over the Bengals came during the 2018 campaign.
- UC RIVERSIDE – The Highlanders hold the advantage over the Miners with a 5-3 lead in the all-time meetings, including a 4-0 win over UTEP in 2019. That same tournament, UTEP defeated UC Riverside, 8-7. The Highlanders have won three of the last four meetings over the Miners entering this weekend's tournament.
MINER NOTABLES
- UTEP enters the weekend hitting .245 as a team, while the Miners are led by senior Bryanna Molina, who is hitting .364 with a double and two RBIs in five games. Sophomore third baseman Kasey Flores leads UTEP in slugging (.846) after hitting .308 with two home runs in last weekend's season-opening tournament.
- UTEP is tied for second in Conference USA with six home runs on the season, while Flores is tied for second among league individuals with two long balls in five games thus far. Ariana Valles, Idalis Mendez, Pate Cathey and Ilena Santos each have one home run apiece entering the weekend.
- Freshman Isabella Kelly leads the Miner pitching staff heading into this weekend's tournament after making three appearances last week, including two starts in the circle. Kelly pitched 11.2 innings in three games last weekend in Las Cruces.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats for every game this weekend will be available through www.GoHighlanders.com.
For complete coverage of UTEP Softball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepsoftball (Instagram) and @UTEPSoftball (Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.