New Mexico
Softball prepares for slugfest against New Mexico State – PantherNOW
Brian Olmo | Investigative Director
The FIU softball team will go blow-for-blow against the New Mexico State Aggies in a three-game series starting on Friday, April 12, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In their last series against UTEP, the Panthers won two of three games. They closed out the series with a tough 3-5 loss after going to eight innings, but FIU still secured its first conference series win of the season.
FIU currently sits seventh in Conference USA standings with a 4-8 record. The Aggies are the fourth-best team with a 7-5 record.
New Mexico State has the second-highest batting average in CUSA (.296), sitting right behind Western Kentucky (.309).
You can thank junior Dezianna Patmon for that number.
Patmon has been electric for the Aggies, leading the team in every single major batting statistic. 42 hits, eight home runs, 27 RBIs. You name it, Patmon is leading in it.
Outside of the team, both her batting average and on-base plus slugging percentage are the fourth best in the conference.
The Aggies may be strong at bat, but they are dead last in fielding percentage with a 0.937%. That is far below all other teams in CUSA.
Fielding percentage is a measure of how well defensive players are handling batted or thrown balls. A 0.937% means that out of 1,000 chances, NMSU is only making 937 error-free plays.
For reference, the second-lowest percentage is FIU with a 0.957%.
Fielding isn’t the only problem the Aggies have.
As a team, they also aren’t pitching the ball too well, giving up 4.51 earned runs per nine innings.
At first, this may seem to suggest that NMSU is prone to being taken advantage of on defense. The problem for the Panthers is that they aren’t much better with a 4.22 ERA.
Two teams with solid batting averages but lackluster fielding and pitching indicates a potentially high-scoring game.
Senior Bailey Grossenbacher is FIU’s best hitter, leading the team with a 0.362 batting average. Her 21 RBIs and five home runs tie her for most on the team with graduate Casey Goguts and junior Ashton Lansdell respectively.
If the Panthers want to make this game close, they’ll need to overcome their kryptonite this season: playing on the road.
FIU has been absolutely abysmal when not playing at Felsberg Field, holding a 1-8 record. The team will need to power through that if they want to win.
First pitch is set for 8 p.m. at the NM State Softball Complex in Las Cruces, New Mexico and the first two games of the series will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
Follow Brian Olmo on X at @Brian_Olmo11
Grant’s Monday Night Forecast
A few evaporating rain showers are possible again Tuesday with warmer temperatures. Windier weather later this week will bring a high fire danger back to New Mexico.
It’s been a warm day with a few isolated showers and thunderstorms across central and northern New Mexico. Some of that rain has made it to the ground, while other showers have evaporated before reaching the surface. Temperatures have climbed into the 70s and 80s for most of the state. Showers will fade after sunset, with mostly clear skies overnight and mild temperatures.
Even warmer weather is on the way Tuesday with lighter winds. More areas will reach the 80s by the afternoon. A few spotty showers will develop again, especially near the mountains, with some of that rain evaporating before reaching the ground.
Winds pick up Wednesday afternoon, with gusts between 25 and 45 mph. This will begin another stretch of high fire danger across the state. The strongest winds arrive Thursday, with westerly gusts of 35 to 55 mph. That will expand the fire danger statewide. A dry cold front will move through Thursday as well, but temperatures will only drop slightly, ending up closer to average.
Breezy conditions continue Friday through the weekend as the jet stream pulls more moisture into New Mexico. That will bring increasing chances for rain and thunderstorms this weekend, with a few lingering into early next week.
New Mexico
Landlord AC ordinance, Rio Grande water levels, Spotty rain, New legislative office, New Mexico Motorfest
Monday’s Top Stories
Monday’s Five Facts
[1] ABQ City Councilor aims to bolster protections for renters amid unseasonable warmth – Albuquerque city councilor is looking to make sure city landlords are not only providing cooling systems, but also ensuring they actually work when they’re needed. City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn spearheaded an ordinance in December of 2024, requiring all Albuquerque rental properties to have a cooling system. Now, Fiebelkorn is taking it a step further, hoping to establish cooling system performance requirements. The ordinance is expected to be voted on in final action at Monday’s city council meeting.
[2] Rio Grande showing dry spots in Valencia County amid record-low snowpack – Portions of the Rio Grande are now seeing dry spots earlier than expected. Officials say the timing is not normal. In Valencia County, parts of the river are already running dry. Near the river crossing in Los Lunas, the river has open pockets. Further south, it is being reported as dry as well. There is a slight positive outlook for the monsoon season, with forecasters and officials predicting a strong season in the Middle Rio Grande Valley.
[3] Very spotty rainfall, warmer, & mostly calm week – Warmer weather will continue building in across the state throughout the upcoming week. A few isolated rain chances will return Monday in parts of New Mexico, but some of that rain may evaporate before reaching the ground. Temperatures will continue to increase through the middle of the week.
[4] NM representatives celebrate grand opening of new office with open house – A new state legislative office made its debut for representatives Eleanor Chavez and Yanira Gurrola. The new location is just one of the handful of new legislative offices now open across the state. They hosted a grand opening for the building that was open to the public. Representative Gurrola says it’s just one step towards modernizing the state’s legislature. The new office will allow residents to stay more connected to each representative.
[5] New Mexico Motorfest 2026 takes place in celebration of Route 66 Centennial – Another Route 66 celebration took place over the weekend and this one was all about cars. The New Mexico Motorfest happened at the Expo New Mexico racetrack. Over 300 vehicles from classic hot rods to lifted trucks were featured at the event. Some of the proceeds went to New Mexico veterans.
New Mexico
Los Alamos Public Schools Students Compete At 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair
Students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School, and Los Alamos High School at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair at New Mexico Tech. Photo CourtesyLAPS
LAHS junior Tate Plohr and freshman Linus Plohr qualified to attend the 2026 Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair in May in Phoenix, Ariz. Photo Courtesy LAPS
Los Alamos Middle School student Branden Keller was awarded the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000 at the 2026 New Mexico State Science & Engineering Fair. Photo Courtesy/LAPS
LAPS NEWS RELEASE
Twenty students from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Mountain Elementary, Los Alamos Middle School (LAMS) and Los Alamos High School (LAHS) competed, with several garnering awards at the 2026 New Mexico State Science and Engineering Fair held at New Mexico Tech in Socorro.
LAHS junior Tate Plohr qualified to attend the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) next month in Phoenix, Ariz. He was awarded the 3rd-place Grand Award. Freshman Linus Plohr qualified as an alternate and will also be attending the Regeneron ISEF.
Students who participated in the state competition include, from Barranca Mesa Elementary, Sydney Chen, Mary Beth Kelsey, Lily Neale, Aurora Roberts Voss and Henry Rodarte; and Glyn Lo and Ernest Maupin, Mountain Elementary.
Students from LAMS who competed include Evelyn Fobes, Mason Garcia, Andrew Gilbertson, James Junghans, Sequoya Ke, Brandon Keller, Nejan Liyanage and Daniel Yampolsky.
LAHS students Julia Neale, Linus Plohr, Tate Plohr, Lilia Veteva, Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch competed at the senior level.
2026 Award winners:
Category Awards – Junior Division
- Animal Science, Cellular & Molecular
- Biomedical & Health Science
- Honorable Mention: Sequoya Ke
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, Software & Technology
- 2nd place: Nejan Liyanage
- Physics & Astronomy
- 1st place: Sydney Chen
- 2nd place: Mason Garcia
- Honorable Mention: Marybeth Kelsey
- Plant Science
Category Awards – Senior Division
- Behavioral & Social Science:
- Honorable Mention: Linus Plohr
- Earth & Environmental
- Honorable Mention: Lilia Viteva
- Embedded Systems, Math, Robotics, & System Software
- 3rd Place: Helena Welch and Kalliope Welch
- Physics & Astronomy
Grand Awards
- ISEF finalist 3rd place: Tate Plohr
- Brandon Keller received the CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Scholarship in the amount of $2,000. James Jungans and Marybeth Kelsey garnered Thermo Fisher Awards.
Other special award winners include:
- CO2 & Greenhouse Reduction Awards (Junior Division)
- Daniel Yampolsky, 2nd place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Sequoya Ke, 1st place, Biomedical & Health Science
- Brandon Keller, 1st place, Energy & Materials Science
- Andrew Gilbertson, 1st place, Physics & Astronomy
- CO2 & Greenhouse Gas Reduction Award (Senior Division)
- Lilia Viteva, 1st place, Earth & Environmental Sciences
- Office of Naval Research Award
- David Shortess Award
- New Mexico AVS Award
- Citadel Award
- Naval Research Award
- NM Network for Women in Science & Engineering Award
- Yale Science & Engineering Award
- Rose Baca Rivet Award
Related
-
Dallas, TX1 second ago
Johnston scores twice, Stars hold off Wild in Game 2 to even West 1st Round | NHL.com
-
Boston, MA13 minutes agoBetween Providence And Boston Is A Vibrant Massachusetts Town Bursting With Diverse Entertainment – Islands
-
Denver, CO19 minutes agoMinnesota Timberwolves vs Denver Nuggets Apr 20, 2026 Game Summary
-
Seattle, WA25 minutes agoAthletics Beat Mariners in Seattle 6-4
-
San Diego, CA31 minutes agoEl Cajon crisis unit opens, bringing county’s total to eight
-
Milwaukee, WI37 minutes agoWhat to know about Michael Lock as police execute warrant on his former home
-
Atlanta, GA43 minutes agoHavana in Atlanta: 6 Cuban restaurants we keep craving
-
Minneapolis, MN49 minutes ago10 years later, our Prince superfan shares his Prince Pilgrimage