PORTALES, N.M. – The Eastern New Mexico softball team will host Cameron in a three-game series over the weekend at the Greyhound Softball Complex.
The Hounds and Aggies will square off in a single game on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and then a doubleheader at 1 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Eastern New Mexico is coming off three straight losses at the hands of Texas A&M-Commerce and will look to win the fourth straight game at home in Lone Star Conference play on Friday night.
This weekend will also serve as Military Appreciation Weekend for the Eastern New Mexico softball program and will feature a special message to active and retired military personnel before each game.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES
Cameron enters this weekend's series in eighth place in the Lone Star Conference standings despite possessing an overall record of 14-10. The Aggies sport a non-conference record of 11-4 on the season, going 4-2 in the nationally recognized Arkansas Tech Classic to begin the season and 4-1 in the always competitive OC/UCO Tournament. Cameron has struggled in LSC play however, losing all three of their conference series 2-1 with their most recent loss coming at the hands of Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Freshman Khmari Edwards has burst onto the scene in her first collegiate season, ranking eighth in the LSC with a batting average of .413 and has seven multi-hit games in her 24 starts so far this year. Edwards along with shortstop Brenna Busby, who has seven home runs so far this season, lead a Cameron lineup that enters the weekend in Portales with a batting average of .288. The Aggies are tied for first in the LSC with 50 steals as a team, but have totaled the most strikeouts at the plate as a team as well. Cameron has the fourth best team ERA in the league at 3.19 for the season and has used four different starting pitchers for the season, three of which have produced an ERA of 3.03 or lower.
HISTORY WITH THE AGGIES
Cameron leads the all-time series with Eastern New Mexico 24-4-1 and has gotten the better of the Greyhounds in each of the last 10 meetings. The Hounds haven't won in the series since Mar. 22, 2015 and have averaged just 2.6 runs per game throughout those last 10 games.
Eastern is 1-7 against Cameron at the Greyhound Softball Complex and lost the last three games against the Aggies at home by final scores of 11-8, 12-3 and 11-3.
HIT THE RESET BUTTON
Last weekend proved to be a tough one for the Greyhounds, as they have now seen all four of their LSC series decided by 3-0 sweeps, coming out on the winning side of the result against Texas Woman's and UT-Permian Basin, and the losing side against Angelo State and Texas A&M-Commerce. This weekend's series against Cameron will be pivotal as the Hounds begin to set their focus on qualifying for the LSC Postseason Tournament for the first time since 2002.
The Hounds are currently tied for the fifth and sixth spots in the LSC standings with Angelo State and have a two game advantage over Midwestern State in the seventh spot. With the top six teams qualifying for the LSC Tournament, it will be imperative for the Hounds to keep distance between themselves and Midwestern State and Cameron, who have still yet to face Eastern and trail the Greyhounds in the conference standings. Despite their current place in the LSC standings, the Aggies have strong tradition, a quality non-conference schedule and tournament experience having earned their way into last year's postseason tournament as the number five seed all on their side heading into the weekend. The Greyhounds have undoubtedly been the surprise team in the LSC this season and can continue to separate themselves from the teams outside of that top-six spot with a series win this weekend.
THE MAGIC NUMBER PERHAPS
It has been no secret that the offensive attack for the Hounds has been the catalyst to just about all of their wins so far this season. Eastern is 0-8 this year when scoring 3 or less runs, but has a record of 10-2 when scoring four or more runs. The Hounds are also 6-2 when allowing five runs or less, making it imperative for Eastern to find a balance between scoring runs in bunches and having strong performances in the circle this weekend.
THE NIGHT NINJAS
Head coach Kira Zieter's squad has taken the victory in each of their two games at night this season against Adams State at the very beginning of the season and against UT-Permian in the first home conference series of the season. The first game this weekend against Cameron is scheduled for a 6 p.m. start, setting the stage for the Hounds to remain undefeated under the lights on the season and prove to Cameron that the recent history between the two teams will have no effect on this weekend's games.
