ABOUT NEVADA
Nevada is 20-9 on the season after going 3-0 last weekend and beating Colorado State in a single game on Wednesday ... Nevada has won a school-record 22 straight games at home dating back to the 2007 season ... Overall, Nevada is riding an eight-game winning streak with all eight victories coming during this 11-game homestand ... The Wolf Pack has the reigning WAC Pitcher of the Week and Hitter of the Week in Mallary Darby and Danielle Patric, respectively. Darby went 2-0 with a 0.78 ERA and 11 strikeouts during the week for her second career award while Patrick batted .700 with four runs, five RBI and a pair of doubles for her first career honor ... Nevada is receiving votes in both major polls ... The Wolf Pack returned 13 letterwinners from last year, including seven starting position players and one pitcher ... Of the returners, seven earned first- or second-team All-WAC honors in 2008 ... Topping the list of returnees is sophomore catcher Noelle Micka, a second-team NFCA All-American in 2008; junior pitcher Katie Holverson, a second-team NFCA All-West Region honoree in 2008; and senior outfielder Brittany Puzey, an honorable mention NFCA All-West Region selection in 2007 ... Nevada went 44-18 overall in 2008 and captured its first WAC regular season crown with a 16-2 record ... The Wolf Pack advanced to the NCAA Regionals, where it fell in the title game at UCLA ... Nevada is led by first-year coach Matt Meuchel, who was an assistant here for four years (2003-06) before spending two years at Oklahoma State ... His staff includes fourth-year assistant Melanie Meuchel and first-year assistant coach Lisa Dodd.
ABOUT THIS WEEKEND
Nevada enters conference play this weekend presumably with somewhat of a bull’s-eye on its back after winning the Western Athletic Conference regular season title a year ago. The Wolf Pack will welcome New Mexico State to Reno for the three-game series, which begins Saturday with a doubleheader and concludes Sunday with a single-game
Admission to Hixson Park is $7 for adults and $4 for children (12 and younger) and seniors (65 and older). The entrance to Hixson Park is located off Valley Road by turning east on Manogue Road. All three games will be available via live stats at www.nevadawolfpack.com.
SCOUTING NEW MEXICO STATE
The Aggies enter conference play with the second-best non-conference record among WAC teams at 19-10. New Mexico State is one of the top offensive teams in the nation so far this year. The Aggies lead the WAC in most offensive categories, including batting average, runs, hits, home runs and stolen bases. Freshman Tiare Jennings is tops among WAC players during non-conference play in average, runs, RBI and home runs.
In the circle, New Mexico State’s top arm is Kim Watson, who is 8-6 with a 2.28 earned-run average this season.
NMSU comes in on a brief two-game skid after dropping a doubleheader to Arizona on Wednesday. Nevada leads the all-time series with the Aggies 8-7 and took two of three from the Aggies last season in Las Cruces.
