EL PASO, Texas – The UTEP softball team will open its regular season with six games this weekend as it hosts the 2022 UTEP Invitational at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. All UTEP games will be streamed on CUSA.tv with a paid subscription and all non-UTEP games will be streamed for free on the UTEP Athletics YouTube channel.
 
The Miners will begin competition Thursday, Feb. 10 with a doubleheader versus Idaho State. The game times have been moved up to 2 p.m./5 p.m. MT. The rest of the UTEP schedule is listed below.
 
Friday, Feb. 11
Abilene Christian – 4 p.m.
Creighton – 7 p.m.
 
Saturday, Feb. 12
Creighton – 4 p.m.
 
Sunday, Feb. 13
Abilene Christian – 1 p.m.
 
See the full tournament schedule here.
 
"We are super excited to start at home in our newly renovated facility," head coach TJ Hubbard said. "This will be back-to-back years that we have opened the season at home. We are excited to see our players get out there. They have been doing an excellent job with their training and development. We have a good group of kids, and we are looking forward to see what they are able to do against the competition that we have coming in for our tournament."
 
Returning Miners to Watch
Redshirt senior utility Ilena Santos is one of the key returners that started in 36 games and played in all 37 last season. Santos was second on the Miners in batting average (.301), on-base percentage (.422), doubles (seven) and walks (13).
 
Senior infielder Pate Cathey started in all 37 games for the Miners and slashed .278/.319/.407 with two home runs and 17 RBI. Cathey tied for first in the team lead with eight doubles and second on the squad with 30 hits. She was tied for second in C-USA with three sacrifice flies.
 
New Faces in the Dugout
The other half of the Miners' roster is made up of five freshmen and four transfers: three infielders (Fr. Ajia Richard, Fr. Kaylin Jackson, So. Hunter Harkrider), two freshmen pitchers (Annika Litterio, Aalijah Alarcon), two sophomore catchers/utilities (Cheyenne Stark, Marijn Crouwel), and two outfielders (Fr. Jordyn Lopez, So. Savannah Favre).
 
Tickets
 Season Ticket - $60
 Doubleheader - $12
 Single Game - $8
 Groups 10+ -$5
 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.
 
Scouting Idaho State
The Bengals are led by senior pitcher/infielder Mailee Newman. Newman Appeared in 30 games and recorded a team-high .333 batting average, .407 on-base percentage, and a .410 slugging percentage. She collected 30 strikeouts and 39 walks while posting a 5-8 record in the circle. In the field, she had a .950 fielding percentage. Newman was a Big-Sky Honorable Mention selection.
 
The Series vs. Idaho State
UTEP is 4-1 against Idaho State, with the first meeting taking place in 2018. Under head coach TJ Hubbard, the Miners are 2-0 against the Bengals.
 
Scouting Abilene Christian
ACU has an abundance of youth and a new-look roster as they step into the 2022 season. The Wildcats' battery will feature a good mixture of returning impact players with incoming talent. The biggest addition for ACU was the return of Sidney Holman-Mansell, a graduate transfer from Baylor who spent her freshman season with the Wildcats. The pitching staff will also see the return of sophomore Riley White, who threw nearly 100 innings for ACU last spring. The Wildcats also added another grad transfer in Laurén Scheik to pair with freshman Hannah Benavides.
The Series vs. Abilene Christian
UTEP is 0-2 against ACU, recently meeting for the first time in last season's Miner Invitational.
 
Scouting Creighton
Coming off a COVID-19 shortened 14-14 season in 2021, the Creighton softball team is primed for a full and successful 2022 campaign. On Feb. 3, the Bluejays were picked to finish fourth in the BIG EAST Preseason Coaches' Poll, which would send Creighton back to the BIG EAST Tournament for the first time since 2018. Creighton returns the bulk of its 2021 team, led by Kailey Wilson's .398 average at the dish. Wilson had a team-best eight hits and seven RBI with two outs during conference contests. The left-handed slugger played in 27 games overall and led the Bluejays with eight home runs and 26 RBI, while holding a .747 slugging percentage. In the circle, the Bluejays will lean on junior Mikayla Santa Cruz to anchor the rotation. Santa Cruz is Creighton's leading returner with a 5-4 record in 57 2/3 innings. She closed the 2021 season with a 4.73 ERA, making 10 starts and appearing in 15 contests.
 
The Series vs. Creighton
UTEP is 1-1 against Creighton, first meeting in 2019 at the NM State Invitational.
   
Help support UTEP student-athletes by making a gift to the Miner Athletic Club. Visit givingto.utep.edu/mac today!
 
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.