The well-traveled UNM softball team plays outside the confines of Lobo Field again this weekend, hitting the road to compete in the California State University at Fullerton/Worth Tournament in Fullerton, Calif.
UNM, which is 9-9 overall, has already made trips to San Diego, Calif., and Columbus, Ga., this season, and it wil travel to Santa Clara, Calif.; Corpus Christi, Texas; and Las Cruces, N.M., after this weekend’s tournament, before finally returning home March 30 for five straight games to begin Mountain West Conference play.
Head coach Susan Craig said the players are not having as tough a time traveling as some may imagine.
“I think they’re used to it,” Craig said. “But we are going through a tough time illness-wise. Different people have problems with colds, congestion, sinus problems, and that is keeping our energy level down. But this is definitely the toughest part of the year in terms of travel.”
Though UNM owns a .500 record, its competition has been formidable.
Six losses have come against teams currently ranked in the top 25, and UNM has beaten fourth-ranked University of Washington and 14th-ranked Cal-State Fullerton this season. The Lobos will face 20th-ranked Long Beach State University this weekend to continue its string of strong opponents.
“People look at your record and don’t think you’re doing too well, but we’re playing a lot of top teams,” Craig said. “You go in with the expectation of beating these teams, but sometimes you’re going to win, and sometimes you’re not.”
Craig said she felt that since UNM had an easier nonconference season last year, it may have hurt the team’s chances of playing in the postseason, though it finished second in the Mountain West. So, the team lined up more nationally recognized teams for this year’s pre-conference slate.
“We kept hearing how, if we would have won some early games, we would have gone to nationals,” Craig said. “We know that we have to win some, and so far we have.”
UNM has struggled some offensively this year, in contrast to last year’s team that hit .296 collectively and hit 46 home runs on the season.
So far this year, the Lobos are hitting .265 as a team and have hit only three home runs, while being shut out in four games. Melissa Fetman, Krissy Keene and Tiffani Chambers are all hitting better than .300, but Craig said the team needs more offensive output.
“We came off the fall being strong offensively, but we’ve had games where we don’t know where we’re going,” Craig said. “In the first three weeks, we’ve gotten pretty consistent pitching and defense, but, on offense, we’re Jeckyll and Hyde — we’re not just playing up to our abilities.”
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Craig said she has been impressed with some of the team’s newcomers, namely freshmen pitchers Amy Dumas, who is carrying a 1.24 ERA, and Hayley Punter, who has pitched more innings — 46 — than any other UNM pitcher.
“I think in the category of surprise players, we feel that both our freshman pitchers are learning at a faster rate and contributing at a faster clip than we expected,” Craig said. “The freshmen are playing on excitement and everything’s new to them.”
In this weekend’s tournament, the Lobos will play six games against six different teams.
Today, UNM faces Portland State University and Pacific University at noon and 4 p.m., respectively, while the team goes up against the University of California at Berkeley Saturday at 10 a.m. and Harvard University at noon. Sunday, UNM meets Oregon State University at 11 a.m. and Long Beach State at 3 p.m.
“The two best teams, Cal and Oregon State, are very good teams,” Craig said. “They’re in our area so it’s important for us to play well. It’s one of those times that we need an overall team effort.”
