INDIANAPOLIS - NM State, which won its third WAC Tournament title Saturday after a seventh inning win in the first championship game and a run-rule victory over Seattle U in the second game, will travel to the Tucson Regional for the NCAA Tournament this Friday.
The Aggies (29-23) will face host and No. 2 overall seed Arizona (48-7) at 6:30 p.m. (PT) this Friday, May 19. South Carolina (32-23) will face St. Francis (48-9) on the other side of the bracket in the double elimination regional.
The Aggies are led by WAC Player of the Year Kelsey Horton, who is batting .424 with an .816 slugging percentage, 16 home runs and 59 RBIs this season. WAC Tournament MVP Rachel Rodriguez is second on the team in batting average (.377) and has 22 stolen bases. NM State pitcher Samaria Diaz was also an all-tournament honoree at the WAC Tournament. She is 16-8 on the season with a 4.27 ERA, 78 strikeouts and two saves.
The Wildcats have eight starters that hit over .300 and are led by USA Softball Player of the Year Finalists Katiyaba Mauga and Danielle O'Toole and NFCA/Schutt Freshman of the Year Finalist Jessie Harper. Mauga is batting .343 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs. O'Toole boasts a 27-4 record in the circle with 191 strikeouts to 37 walks over 195.1 innings. Harper is batting .354 with 13 doubles, 19 homers and 52 RBIs.
The Aggies fell 8-0 and 11-1 to then-No. 3 Arizona on April 18.
To view the complete bracket, click here.