EL PASO – UTEP (4-5) is back in action this weekend as it will host the 2023 UTEP Invitational presented by Holiday Inn West-Sunland Park Feb. 24-26 at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex. The UTEP Invitational field will be composed of the Miners, Tarleton State, CSU Bakersfield, Creighton, Kansas City and Oklahoma State.
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:
Friday, Feb. 24
vs. Kansas City – 4 p.m.
vs. CSU Bakersfield – 7 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 25
vs. Tarleton State – 4 p.m.
vs. Creighton – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 26
vs. #4 Oklahoma State – 12 p.m.
All Times Mountain
See the full tournament schedule here.
In the Circle
Zaylie Calderon (2-2) and Aalijah Alarcon (2-2) lead the squad with six appearances each. Calderon has collected 21 of the teams 41 strikeouts, while posting a 3.66 ERA. She has faced 112 batters in 28.2 innings and opened the season with a 3-0 shutout versus Murray State (Feb. 10)
Notables
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Lexi Morales leads the squad with a .517 batting average on 15 hits. She's slugged .690 with a .571 on-base percentage.
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UTEP has shredded 10 home runs through nine games with Anna Sample, Ajia Richard, Caitlyn Brockway and Pate Cathey leading the charge with two dingers each.
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Favre holds a team-high 22 total bases
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The Miners are 5-for-8 on stolen base attempts as Favre leads 3-for-3.
By the Numbers
In Conference USA, UTEP is ranked in the top three in seven categories:
1. Doubles per Game (2.22, 3rd NCAA)
1. Slugging % (0.534, 25th NCAA)
1. Batting Average (0.325, 35th NCAA)
2. Doubles (20, 7th NCAA)
2. Double Plays per Game (0.56, 20th NCAA)
2. Home Runs per Game (1.11, 28th NCAA)
3. Scoring (5.22, 76th NCAA)
UTEP has two players leading the conference in six categories and rank among the top-50 in the nation:
*Conference USA Leader
The Opponents
Kansas City
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The Roos have opened the 2023 season at 3-6 with wins over Georgia State and UT Martin (twice).
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Kiki McCrea paces Kansas City offensively with a .393 batting average, three doubles and four RBI, while Lexy Smith holds a .387 batting average on a team-best 12 hits.
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Kansas City is hitting .253 as a team and averages 3.7 runs per game, but in the circle the Roos have allowed opponents to hit .329 and score and average of 6.2 runs a game.
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Camryn Stickel has collected 24 of the teams 37 strikeouts, while posting a 5.11 ERA. As a staff, the Roos own an 8.15 ERA in 59.2 innings of work.
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Kansas City was slotted fifth in the Summit League Preseason Coaches' Poll as head coach Kiki Stokes O'Connor is in her first season with the Roos.
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The Miners will take on the Roos for the first time in program history on Friday.
CSU Bakersfield
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CSU Bakersfield sits at 2-9 to start the season and is currently on a two-game losing streak.
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The team is led by Reina Castillo with a .321 batting average with nine hits. She is slugging .393 with a .387 on-base percentage.
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CSUB has utilized five pitchers through 11 games, with Brianna Sanchez leading the charge with a team-high 34.1 innings in five appearances and four starts. Sanchez has a 3.47 ERA with 11 strikeouts and 17 walks, 29 hits and 22 runs allowed (17 earned) and is 1-2. As a staff, the 'Runners carry a 8.40 ERA, allowing 92 hits and striking out 23. They have given up 11 home runs, and 13 doubles.
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UTEP is 1-0 against CSU Bakersfield with the lone meeting back in 2008. The Miners produced a 4-0 shutout victory over the 'Runners at the Louisville Slugger Desert Classic (Las Vegas, Nev.).
Tarleton State
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Tarleton State (9-3) finished fourth in the WAC standings last season, posting a 14-10 conference record, while going 30-25 overall. The Texans are currently on a nine-game winning streak after dropping the first three, two versus Texas A&M and Michigan State.
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Mark Cumpian became just the seventh head coach of any sport in Tarleton State Athletics history to win 200 games for Tarleton. He notched career win No. 200 in his 316th game at the helm of Texan Softball.
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Grace Garcia became the second pitcher in program history to throw a perfect game. She went 18 up and 18 down over six innings to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce 8-0. She joins Caryn Holbrook (3/29/97) as the only Texans with a perfect game in program history.
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Katy Schaefer and Grace Garcia were named the WAC Hitter and Pitcher of the Week. Schaefer couldn't be stopped at the plate and led the Texans with a .650 (13-20) batting average while driving in nine RBI, including one home run and four doubles. Garcia threw 13.2 innings and went 3-0, including her perfect game.
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Tarleton State holds a 3-1 series lead over UTEP. The two programs met three times last season when Tarleton State defeated the Miners 6-4 in the Lobo Classic (Albuquerque, NM) and a few weeks later split a double header in Stephenville, Texas.
Creighton
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The Bluejays are 3-6 through the first nine games of the 2023 season, including wins over Detroit Mercy, St. Thomas, and Northern Colorado.
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Creighton is coming off a 1-4 showing at the Texan Invitational in Stephenville, Texas. The Bluejays lone win of the weekend was an 11-2 run-rule victory of Northern Colorado on Feb. 18.
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Overall, Creighton is hitting .295 with 39 runs scored (4.33 runs per game) and 18 extra-base hits.
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In the circle, Creighton holds a 3.28 ERA through the first nine games of the season.
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Creighton was picked fifth in the preseason BIG EAST Coaches poll.
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UTEP leads 3-1 in the all-time series versus Creighton with the lone loss back in 2019 as the Bluejays defeated the Miners 13-5 in six innings. UTEP bested Creighton in the 2022 edition of the UTEP Invitational winning 7-4 on Feb. 11 and 8-7 on Feb. 12.
#4 Oklahoma State
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#4 Oklahoma State (8-1) finished last season going 48-14, losing to Texas in the College World Series. OSU has been ranked in the NFCA poll in each of its past 212 games, dating back to the start of the 2019 season
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OSU has outscored its opponents 70-30 through its first nine games of 2023 and has run-ruled four of its last five opponents.
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OSU has totaled double-digit runs in each of its last four games and tallied double-digit hits in four of its last nine contests
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Rachel Becker has pieced together an eight-game hitting streak – the team's longest active streak and the longest by any Cowgirl this season – dating back to February 11 vs. North Carolina.
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The Miners will take on the Cowgirls for the first time in program history on Saturday.
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.
