LAS CRUCES, N.M. - Maya Martinez's three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning led the New Mexico State softball team (17-16, 2-3) to an 8-6 victory over the Grand Canyon Antelopes (15-17, 4-1) Friday night at the NM State Softball Complex. The Aggies took game two of the doubleheader after falling 8-6 in game one. 

Game One
There was no shortage of offense in game one, but a grand slam in the sixth inning and two-run home run in the seventh inning gave Grand Canyon an 8-6 win over the Aggies. 

The Aggies jumped out to the early lead, as Nikki Butler smashed her second home run of the year over the left field wall to give the Aggies a 2-0 lead. The Antelopes answered with a solo home run of its own, but the Aggies exploded for three runs in the third inning thanks to RBIs from Butler, Martinez and Gabby Aragon. Grand Canyon responded again in the fourth inning with a solo home run to cut the deficit to three. Neither team was able to push across any runs in the fifth inning, but the Antelopes took a one run lead on the grand slam in the sixth inning. Matalasi Faapito hit her WAC-leading 11th home run of the year to tie the game in the sixth inning. Grand Canyon responded with a two-run home run in the top of the seventh, and the Aggies were unable to muster a comeback. 

Game Two
The offenses didn't slow down in game two, but the Aggies got the last laugh thanks to Martinez's walk-off home run in the 8-6 win.

Grand Canyon jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning, but the Aggies were not going to go down quietly. Aragon reached on an error in the bottom of the second inning to score Nikki Butler, and Martinez hit her first of two home runs in the game to tie it up at three. The teams traded runs in the fifth inning before the Antelopes used its power again to get solo home runs in the sixth and seventh innings. Faapito and Ramsay Lopez led off the bottom of the seventh inning with back-to-back singles to begin the Aggies' rally. Kayla Bowen drove home Hope Banales to cut the lead to one. Martinez stepped in with two outs and hit a moonshot over the right field wall to give the Aggies the win in walk-off fashion. 

Martinez knocked in a career-high five RBIs for the Aggies while Bowen and Lopez each added an RBI. Faapito was credited with the win after pitching her fifth complete game of the year. 

The teams will play the rubber match tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the NM State Softball Complex. First pitch is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be streamed live on the WAC Digital Network.

Notes

• Friday's games marked the first time the Aggies have played at home in 387 days. The last game played at the NM State Softball Complex was on March 11, 2020, when the Aggies defeated New Mexico 4-3.
• The Aggies have won five games this season when they have gone into the final inning behind on the scoreboard.
• Game two was the third game this season the Aggies have won on a walk-off.
• The Aggies improved to 11-5 this season in games decided by two runs or less.
• Maya Martinez picked up her first multi-home run game of her career. Martinez hit her third and fourth home run of the year in game two. 
• Kayla Bowen extended her career-long hitting streak to 12 games.