ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New Mexico State softball took on Battle of I-25 rival New Mexico at the Lobo Softball Field on Wednesday. The Aggies picked up the 12-7 victory on the road against the Lobos.
"There were a lot of contributions by new individuals tonight and it was exactly what we needed at the midpoint of the season," head coach Kathy Rodolph said. "Each of the individuals that I asked to do certain things absolutely bought in and put the team first. We're starting to get our feet back under us at the perfect time as we get ready for conference."
NM State's (13-14) Kayla Green earned the start in the circle and the junior struggled against UNM (7-22) in the bottom of the third when she hit a pair of batters. With two outs on the board, a single up the middle scored the first run of the contest. Following the score, Rodolph brought in Analise De La Roca to relieve Green and the freshman closed out the inning without allowing a run but New Mexico State trailed the Lobos 1-0 after the third.
The New Mexico lead did not last as NM State rallied with two-outs in the fourth, beginning with a single through the left side by Jeanelle Medina. Rachel Rodriguez followed by reaching on a fielder's choice, bringing Kelsey Horton to the plate. The junior popped up to the infield but a fielding error by UNM brought Medina home to tie the game. Fahren Glackin continued the rally with a triple and a single by Nikki Butler scored the senior from third and gave NM State the 4-1 lead.
In the bottom of the inning, De La Roca hit the first batter she faced and the Lobos' Andrea Howard followed with a two-run homer, cutting New Mexico State's advantage to 4-3. Rodolph brought in Samaria Diaz to relieve the freshmen in the circle. The junior gave up a single and back-to-back doubles and at the end of the fourth, New Mexico State trailed 5-4.
After a scoreless fifth for both teams, NM State came out hot in the sixth when Nikki Butler hit a two-run homer to centerfield to give the Aggies the lead. After Victoria Castro hit a double to right center and advanced to third on a passed ball, Caity Szczesny brought the junior home with a single up the middle.
New Mexico State continued to dominate at the plate and after a walk and a pair of singles loaded the bases, Rodriguez reached on an error that scored another run to give New Mexico State a 9-5 advantage. A double to left field by Glackin extended NM State's advantage and heading to the bottom of the inning, the Aggies held on to a 11-5 lead.
Diaz came back to the circle in the bottom of the inning and after striking out the first two batters, the sophomore hit trouble as she walked three-straight. A single down the left field line scored a pair of Lobo runs and following a hit batter by Diaz, Mikayla Bongi entered the circle for NM State, striking out a UNM batter to end the inning.
In the top of the final frame, a single and an error put a pair of runners on without an out recorded. A single by Medina scored Szczesny, giving NM State the 12-7 advantage. The sophomore was the final runner for either team to score giving the Aggies the 12-7 victory on the road.
Diaz moved to 2-6 with the victory. She pitched 2.1 inning and allowed four runs on four hits while striking out five. Green pitched 2.2 innings and allowed one run and one hit while striking out two. Bongi struck out a pair of batters while De La Roca struck out a single Lobo batter.
For the team's next contest, New Mexico State returns to the NM State Softball Complex to host Battle of I-10 rival UTEP in a doubleheader beginning at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, March 27.
