Senior pitcher Courtney Auger struck out 10 batters in game one of a doubleheader against Marist Friday afternoon. (Image: Brian Kanof).

EL PASO, Texas – Momentum is contagious and after a good home stand this past weekend, the Miners are hopeful that they can continue the positive energy they have built when they face No. 14 Nebraska today for a doubleheader at the Helen of Troy Softball Complex.

UTEP, who finished a four-game series against Marist this past Friday, was able to win three of the four games thanks to some timely hitting and good pitching from the Miner rotation and improved their season record to 15-13.

The wins this weekend helped get the team above .500 for the season, but more importantly have given the squad a bit more positive experience. In what can be considered a retooling year for the Miners, there have been some bumps in the road, but the team has been playing better as of late winning four of their last seven games.

Nebraska travels to El Paso after finishing a weekend series against New Mexico State where they went 3-1 on the weekend with the Aggies. Their record improved to 24-3 for the season and when they reach El Paso, they’ll be facing a UTEP team excited about playing them and focused on winning against a nationally ranked team.

“It’s exciting,” junior Chelsea Troupe said of the matchup. “We’re going to come out here and play our game.”

That game that Troupe talks about has included an interesting combination of pitching and hitting. In certain situations this season, the Miners have been able to light up the scoreboard thanks to a steady group of batters. The Miners have four players batting above .300 in Troupe (.421), Kia Moore (.352), Kayleigh Walts (.329) and Becky Smith (.329) combining for 88 runs amongst them. As some observers would say, the UTEP bats have begun to awaken as of late and are reminiscent of seasons past where the Miners would produce runs at every opportunity.

UTEP pitching, while not as dominant as in past years, has been able to find consistency in the committee format that has emerged and shaped the staff. Senior pitcher Courtney Auger leads the staff in wins with seven while freshman Megan Atchison has begun to find her niche with a 3-4 record in 17 appearances thus far. Freshman Kayla Black, a Clint High School graduate, saw her first action in the circle Saturday and walked away with a win and once again helped show promise in a young pitching staff.

Meanwhile, Nebraska has been riding the coattails of Ashley Hagemann who has a 1.66 earned run average and a 17-2 record. Stellar hitting from Taylor Edwards (.450 batting averge) and Nikki Haget (.420) have helped the Huskers produce runs, a total of 53 runs between the two. The Miners will need to find a way to mitigate the three quality Nebraska players.

“We knew this would be a good challenge when we scheduled it,” UTEP coach James Rodriguez said. “Nebraska is an outstanding team and an outstanding program, and there is a reason why they are in the top 15 in the nation. We knew they were a good program coming in and that’s why we scheduled it. This is a good opportunity for our girls.”

Earning a win against the nationally ranked Huskers would not only help keep the momentum going for the Miners, but could be a catalyst for their conference matchup with Memphis with weekend.

First pitch will be at 2 pm this afternoon with the second game scheduled to begin at approximately 4 pm.