Cowgirl Softball Plays First Games and Series At Home

Las Vegas, New Mexico - The Cowgirls Softball team will play at home in front of the home crowd for the first time this season.

COACH PUGH: For Coach Kali Pugh in her New Mexico Highlands Cowgirls career, she collected her first career win on January 31, 2026, against Sul Ross State in a run-rule victory in Los Lunas, New Mexico. New Mexico Highlands University named Kali Pugh the new coach of the Cowgirls' softball program on May 28, 2025. Pugh comes to NMHU from Arizona's Yavapai College, where she led the Roughriders to the 2025 Arizona Community College Athletic Conference playoffs for the first time since 2022. Pugh has eight years of experience coaching at the junior college level, including five years at her alma mater, 

Last Season: The Cowgirls were 15-38 overall and 9-35 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference last year.

RMAC Poll:  New Mexico Highlands was selected to finish ninth in the 2026 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Preseason Softball Coaches' Poll. 

Gauntlet of Schedule: The Cowgirls open their season with five ranked programs in their out-of-conference schedule, including the defending national champions, and open their conference play with the defending RMAC conference champions and their sixth-ranked program thus far this season.

#3 West Texas A&M
#20 Oklahoma Baptist
#13 Oklahoma Christian 
#17 Central Oklahoma 
UT Tyler (defending national champions) 
#18 Colorado Christian (RMAC) (Defending Conference Champs)

*Rankings based on NFCA rankings as of 2/17/2026

Last Time Out:

Game 1:Colorado Christian (CCU) 11 - NMHU 1
The first game of conference play was not kind to the Cowgirls, as their lone run came in the second inning on an error and an RBI for Jolissa Valdez.

 Game 2: CCU 7 - NMHU 6 (9 Inning)
The second game of the day was tight, as the Cowgirls' runs came in the first and the second, and three in the third made it a tied game, and it would continue. Each team would get a run later in the game to send the game to extra innings, and a run from CCU in the 9th would end it, and the Cowgirls would fall.



Game 3: Colorado Christian (CCU) 7 - NMHU 0
The Cowgirls' bats struggled in game three of the day as they were blanked in the third game of the series. The Cougars, however, were only able to put up crooked numbers in two innings: five runs in the first inning and two more later in the game. They would secure the series victory with the win.

 Game 4: CCU 2 - NMHU 1
'Twas the final game of the conference opening series, and all through the game, no runs were scored by either offense for six innings. Then a Hallie Watkins double scores Giana Marez to give the Cowgirls the lead. However, in the bottom half of the inning, CCU picked up two runs and got three outs in the top of the 7th to get the win. 

Cowgirls Stat Leaders: 

Hitting:(20 AB Min.)
 Homeruns: Jazmyn Griego (3)
Hits: Hallie Watkins and Liliana Vigil German (13)
Stolen Bases: Andrea DeLaTrinidad (2-2) (SB-ATT)
RBI: Jazmyn Griego (11)


Pitching: (15 IP Min)
ERA: Jolissa Valdez (7.62)
Strikeouts: London Lamb (19)


Scouting The Opposition: 

Chadron State:
The Eagle softball program announced the hiring of Skye Koehl as head coach on June 2. Koehl brings two seasons of head coaching experience from Otero College, a junior college in La Junta, Colorado, where she led the Rattlers to impressive results. During her tenure at Otero College, Koehl's teams compiled a combined conference record of 34-14. In 2024, the Rattlers finished second in NJCAA Region 9 and advanced to the regional championship game. The following season, they finished second in the regular season before placing third in the conference tournament. Chadron State is 2-2 in the RMAC capturing two wins over CSU-Pueblo last weekend.



Game Day at NMHU:  Tickets for New Mexico Highlands baseball can be purchased at NMHUAthletics.com/Tickets.  

No outside food or drinks will be allowed.

No pets allowed.
 
NMHU has implemented a Clear Bag Policy for all on-campus events.

Fans enter the complex using the north gate.

Follow The Cowgirls: All RMAC Conference games air on the RMAC Network. This weekend's game will be broadcast on the RMAC Network, featuring play-by-play commentary by Scott Galleti and color analysis by Jace Hinton.


Up Next: The Cowgirls will be on the road as they head to Spearfish, South Dakota, next weekend to take on Black Hills State