EL PASO – The UTEP softball team will open its home opener with six games this weekend as it hosts the inaugural Dr. Diana Natalicio Memorial Tournament Presented by Holiday Inn West-Sunland Park at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.
The tournament will be played in honor of UTEP's esteemed former President who passed away in 2021. Joining UTEP in the Dr. Diana Natalicio Memorial Tournament field will be Buffalo, New Mexico, Santa Clara and Texas Tech.
Tournament Ticket Packages
$20/Ticket for Full Tournament
$12/Ticket for Day Pass
Seating Chart
Tickets can be purchased through the Eisenberg Family Ticket Office by calling (915) 747-UTEP, emailing tickets@utep.edu, visiting www.UTEPMiners.com/Tickets or in person at 201 Glory Road (Brumbelow Building, UTEP Campus, Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All games will be streamed for free on the UTEP Athletics YouTube channel with live stats also available. The Miners' tournament schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Feb. 16
vs. Buffalo – 4 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 17
vs. Texas Tech – 4 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 18
vs. Santa Clara – 4 p.m.
vs. Texas Tech - 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 19
vs. New Mexico (DH) - 12/3 p.m.
All Times Mountain
See the full tournament schedule here.
In the Circle
Aalijah Alarcon (2-1) leads the squad with four appearances and two starts in 8.1 innings, throwing one complete-game victory.
Zaylie Calderon (1-1) faced 52 batters in 13.2 innings and opened the season with a 3-0 shutout versus Murray State.
Mackenzee Collins has yet to complete a game but holds up a 1.91 ERA as she struck out seven batters in 11.0 innings pitched.
Notables
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UTEP has started fast for the second straight year. The Miners are above .500 through five games for the second straight season, something that has happened since 2011 and 2012.
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Savannah Favre leads the squad with a .579 betting average and 12 hits. She's slugged .789 with a .579 on-base percentage.
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Five Miners have hit a home run to start the season, Anna Sample, Peyton Angulo, Ajia Richard, Pate Cathey and Savannah Favre (grand slam)
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Favre holds a team-high 17 total base
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The Miners are 3-for-6 on stolen base attempts as Favre leads 2-for-2 two and Ashlynn Allen's follows with 1-for-1.
Buffalo
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Buffalo enters the weekend with a 1-3 record, but the Bulls are being led offensively by freshman Abbey Nagel, who is batting .385 with five, including a double and home run. Madison Fernimen batted .357 during the opening weekend of play, with a team-high slugging percentage of .714.
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In the circle, senior Alexis Lucyshyn is 1-1 with a 3.60 ERA as she struck out 10 batters in 11.2 innings pitched. Fellow pitcher Julia Tarantino started one game during the opening weekend and recorded 11 strikeouts.
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After meeting twice last season, UTEP holds a 4-1 series lead over the Bulls.
Texas Tech
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The Red Raiders (3-2) have eight pitchers on the roster, seven of which saw action during opening weekend. Texas Tech is one of just two teams in the country to have used seven pitchers during opening weekend with Mississippi State being the only other.
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Four hitters tallied a slugging percentage over .700 last weekend – Bailey, Abbie Orrick, Makinzy Herzog and Arriana Villa. The Red Raiders also smashed six home runs this weekend, marking the second straight opening weekend that Tech has tallied six home runs.
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Texas Tech leads the all-time series 13-6. The two teams last met in 2021 where the Red Raiders defeated the Miners in a doubleheader, but UTEP bounced back the next day with a 9-8 win.
Santa Clara
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Through the first four games, Santa Clara (0-4) has recorded seven extra-base hits - four doubles, a triple and two home runs with junior Cameron McGinnis responsible for more than half.
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The team is led by Ashley Trierweiler who is hitting .385 while having only struck out once. She leads the team with a .429 on-base percentage.
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Saturday's matchup will be the fifth meeting between Santa Clara and UTEP as the teams have two wins each.
New Mexico
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At 2-3 entering the tournament, the Lobos had two pitchers combine for 14 strikeouts. The pitching staff has a 6.22 ERA and has thrown three complete games and recorded a shutout. Maddie Boldt leads the squad with three homeruns, 17 total bases, eight RBI and has posted a .357 batting average.
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Additionally, the Lobos are 6-for-6 on stolen base attempts with Peyton Robinson accounting for half.
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New Mexico is 17-12 against UTEP, recently meeting at last season's Lobo Classic where the Lobos defeated the Miners 5-4.
For complete coverage of UTEP Softball, be sure to follow the Miners on social media at @utepsoftball (Instagram/Twitter) or visit the official home of UTEP Athletics at UTEPMiners.com.