LAS CRUCES, N.M. – Four games, four wins. Following a perfect Friday with two wins over Monmouth, NM State Softball carried its excellent start into Saturday. The Aggies played host to former WAC foe Abilene Christian, winning both games. The home team won 9-1, and waited out a rain delay to take a 3-1 victory in the weekend finale. Kathy Rodolph has her squad at 4-0 ahead of next week's Troy Cox Classic.
NM State was led in the opener by a pair of home runs by Riley Carley and Desirae Spearman, leading to a 9-1 victory over their former league rival. In the circle, Jaileen Mancha picked up her first win as an Aggie – throwing 4.0 innings
GAME ONE
NM State was led in the opener by a pair of home runs by Riley Carley and Desirae Spearman, leading to a 9-1 victory over their former league rival. In the circle, Jaileen Mancha picked up her first win as an Aggie – throwing 4.0 innings
FIRST INNING
Las Cruces native Jaileen Mancha made her first start as an Aggie and produced a three up, three down inning in the circle to get things going for Kathy Rodolph's squad. Then, the Aggies' 2023 home run leader Riley Carley tallied her first bomb of the new season as she plastered a ball that flew over the wall in left center to give the Aggies an early 2-0 lead.
SECOND INNING
Following another scoreless inning in the top half, the Aggies quickly loaded the bases and set up Jillian Taylor who delivered a two RBI single to extend the lead to five runs and only one out away. The ACU pitcher then reloaded the bases with a walk which led to a pitching change after tallying just four outs.
The Aggie onslaught did not subside with the new pitcher as freshman Desirae Spearman later hit her second home run of the weekend to push NM State's advantage to nine.
FOURTH INNING
Facing a potential shutout, Abilene Christian finally found some success at the plate as Kaydee Bennett hit a solo shot to inch into the Aggie lead.
FIFTH INNING
After finding a run in the fourth, ACU threatened again in the top half of the fifth as the first two Wildcat batters of the inning hit a single and a double, respectively, to put a pair in scoring position. This also led to an Aggie pitching change – bringing on Emily Dix for her second appearance of the season.
The Aggie defense began helping Dix out of the jam as Karli Manney got stuck in a pickle down the third base line and was eventually tagged out by Savannah Bejerano. Dix then got the next two batters to fly out to give the Aggies their first run-rule victory of the season.
GAME TWO
Desirae Spearman took to the circle, as she did in the nightcap a day prior. The true freshman was phenomenal in six innings, striking out 10 Wildcats and allowing zero runs to cross the plate. Spearman is now 2-0 on the season, claiming wins in the finale of both Friday and Saturday.
FIRST INNING
Following a scoreless first, the game was forced into a rain delay as a combination of wind and rain sent fans to their cars and players to cover. The delay would last about 45 minutes, but play would ultimately resume.
THIRD INNING
Both teams struggled to get back into the flow of things until NM State was able break the seal in the bottom of the third as Jillian Taylor recorded her third RBI of the day via a single into right field – putting the Aggies ahead 1-0.
FOURTH INNING
The Aggies added to their lead in the fourth as Kayla Lunar added to her impressive weekend with a stand-up, bases-clearing triple that brought home two runs to give the Aggies some breathing room.
SEVENTH INNING
Laurali Patane entered the ballgame to start the seventh inning, but the senior allowed several baserunners, and most notably one run to cross. The home dugout turned to Emily Dix, who came in needing just one out to seal the win for NM State. Dix, who started the first game of the year, forced an out on her first batter faced, sending the Aggies home with a 4-0 record.
For complete coverage of NM State Softball during the 2024 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Softball), Twitter (@NMStateSoftball) and Instagram (@NMStateSoftball).
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