ORLANDO, Fla. - The NM State softball (1-6) squad would rally back from a 5-0 deficit but were unable to upend the #24 UCF Knights (6-1) in an 8-2 loss Sunday afternoon in Orlando. 

After the Knights took a 5-0 lead in the first inning, redshirt freshmen Matalasi Faapito and Felicia De La Torre would settle in the circle, combining to throw four scoreless innings to keep the door open for an Aggie comeback. The Aggies would cut the lead to three in the top of the fifth off of a double from freshman Maya Martinez to bring two across. The Aggies would hold the Knights scoreless in the bottom of the inning. The Aggies would have another scoring chance in the top of the sixth, as redshirt freshman Ramsay Lopez would hit a one-out double, but the Aggies were unable to bring her around. 

The Aggies would record four hits on the afternoon, as redshirt senior Nikki Butler and senior Kayla Bowen added hits along with Lopez and Martinez. 

In the circle, Faapito, De La Torre and junior Chloe Rivas all saw action, as the Aggies would surrender eight hits with De La Torre and Rivas each striking out two. 

The Aggies will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 26 with games against #12 Kentucky and Florida International at The Spring Games. The Aggies will face Kentucky and Florida International again on Saturday before ending the weekend with a game against Stetson on Sunday morning. All games can be seen live at FloSoftball with a paid subscription.

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