LUBBOCK, Texas – The Aggies' first day of action in Texas was a tale of two games as they split results with their opponents – defeating Merrimack 8-0 in five innings to begin play of the Jeannine McHaney Memorial Classic before falling 8-0 to Texas State in the final tilt of the day.
 
In Friday's pair of games, Jillian Taylor led the way at the plate – finishing the day 3-for-6 while notching a double and a team-best two RBIs. Kayla Lunar also chipped in with a pair of extra base hits and an RBI. In the circle, Emily Dix pitched a stellar game against Merrimack as she threw her third complete game of the season while limiting the Warriors to just one hit during the shutout win.
 
GAME ONE | Merrimack 0, NM State 8 (5 inn.)
In its first outing, the Aggies fed off the pitching from Emily Dix in the circle as the senior right-hander struck out five Warrior batters through the first three innings, including striking out the side in the top of the third.
 
With Dix dealing in the circle, the Aggie bats gave her some help in the bottom of the third as they drove in four runs thanks to a sac fly from Jayleen Burton, a two-RBI double from Jillian Taylor and a hard-hit single through the left side from Kendal Lunar.
 
After another scoreless inning in the top of the fourth, NM State quickly got to work again – driving home two more insurance runs in the bottom half. This time around, the RBIs were tallied by Kayla Lunar and Marleigh Manns. Lunar got things going as her second hit of the day went into the books as an RBI double – bringing home Kristen Boyd. Later, Marleigh Manns shot a ball to the pitcher with runners on second and third, allowing Lunar to cross home to put NM State ahead by six runs.
 
Once again, Dix made quick work of the Warriors in the top of the fifth – working through a three-up, three-down inning, including striking out the final two she faced to equal her career high in strikeouts. In the bottom of the fifth, the Aggies closed out the game to claim their first run-rule victory of the season. The final two runs came off of hits from Riley Carley who hit a rocket to third and from Brianah Hamilton who tallied the first double of her career to bring home the game-winning run.
 
GAME TWO | NM State 0, Texas State 8 (5 inn.)
With nearly a nine-hour gap in between games at Rocky Johnson Field, the Aggies came out a little sluggish against a talented Texas State squad who was coming off its sixth loss of the season. After leaving runner in scoring position to lead to a scoreless first from the Aggie offense, the Bobcats put up a five-spot in the bottom of the inning which was highlighted by a two-run home run to left center from Anna Jones.
 
Later, the Bobcats extended the lead to six runs as a slow roller to Kawehi Ili at shortstop presented an opportunity for the runner standing on third to come home. For the first time since their first at-bat, the Aggies threatened to score as back-to-back hits from Jillian Taylor and Brianah Hamilton eventually put the pair of Aggies on second and third with one out remaining. Unfortunately, the Aggies were unable to bring anyone across, leaving the door open for the Bobcats to end the game early. Texas State took full advantage as they scored the game's final two runs to end the game in five innings.