Albuquerque, N.M. – New Mexico State (13-14, 2-4 WAC) dropped a tough one to I-25 rival New Mexico (16-18, 3-3 MW) earlier this afternoon, ending their 13-game win streak over the Lobos in Albuquerque and bringing them to 28-15 on the all-time series.
 
The Aggies bats didn't provide very much production in the game, amounting to only two runs on three hits, whereas the Lobos were able to turn 11 hits into eight runs for the ballgame, including a pair of home runs in the latter half of the contest.
 
Emily Dix gave Kathy Rodolph a solid 4.1 innings of work in the circle, giving up only two runs before being replaced by Aydenne Brown. But a big five-run fifth inning by the Lobos put the Aggies in a difficult spot heading down the stretch as they trailed by six runs, ultimately proving to be too insurmountable of a lead for a comeback.
 
First Inning
Jillian Taylor singled into left field to lead off the game for the Aggies. A few fielders' choices helped get a few more Aggies on the bases, but they could not produce any runs in the first, bringing the Lobos to the plate in the bottom half of the inning.
 
UNM's leadoff hitter, Peyton Robinson, got the Lobos rolling in the opening frame with a leadoff double to right center field following an 11-pitch at bat. She later came around to score off an RBI single up the middle by the Lobos' batting leader, Rachael Hathoot. Emily Dix would get out of the inning with minimal damage, allowing just one run, after a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play turned by the Aggies' defense put a halt to the Lobos' scoring efforts.
 
Fourth Inning
Aggies power-hitting freshman Kendal Lunar led off the fourth inning with a five-pitch walk, bringing veteran slugger Kayla Bowen to the plate. Bowen grounded out to the shortstop but advanced Lunar into scoring position on the play. Riley Carley then hit a hard grounder to the third baseman for a single, advancing Lunar to third and bringing Paige Knight to the plate. Knight tied the game up with a sacrifice fly to center field, bringing in Lunar from third base and giving her 18 RBIs for the season. Next, Devin Elam roped a ball to left field that bounced just in front of the warning track, scoring Riley Carley from third and giving the Aggies their first lead of the game after the RBI double from Elam.
 
Another leadoff hit by UNM put another runner on the base paths to begin the Lobos' attack in the fourth. Later in the inning, Maddie Boldt regained the Lobos' lead with a two-out Homerun to center field, giving UNM a 3-2 advantage over the Aggies.
 
Fifth Inning  
A one-two-three inning by the Aggies in the fifth allowed the Lobos to tack on some insurance in the bottom half. Yet, another leadoff hit by UNM put a runner on early for Dix to begin her fifth inning of work. However, Rodolph would not allow her starter to go any further, as she made a move to her pen, bringing in Aydenne Brown to relieve Dix of her pitching duties. Brown did not last very long after she gave up a walk and three-run homerun to the only two batters she faced, as UNM extended their lead to four runs, forcing Brown out of the circle and bringing Jordin King in. The Lobos tacked two more runs in the inning with a sac-fly and solo homerun, further widening the Aggies deficit to six.
 
Numbers to Note

• 6 – Riley Carley extended her hitting streak to six games Tuesday with her one out single in the top of the sixth.
• 5 – Kendal Lunar has reached base safely in her last five contests after recording two walks in todays game.
• 14 – With three strikeouts today, Emily Dix has now struck out a batter in 14 of her 17 pitching appearances this season.
• 18 – Paige Knight recorded her team leading 18th RBI of the season with a sac-fly to center field in the fourth inning.

Up Next
The Aggies return home for the first time in 26 days this Friday to take on Grand Canyon for their conference home opener. The two sides are scheduled to play games one and two of the series on Friday for a double-header starting at 4 p.m. MDT with game three coming on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. MDT.