LAS CRUCES, N.M. – NM State hits the road for its first Conference USA series away from the NM State Softball Complex. Friday, the Aggies will begin a three-game stretch in Huntsville, Texas, where they will meet up with Sam Houston - a former member of the Western Athletic Conference which also made the move to CUSA ahead of the 2024 campaign.
 
The Aggies are coming off a back-and-forth series at home versus Western Kentucky as they fell on Friday in nine innings before trading run rule victories to enter this weekend's series with a 1-2 record in league play.
 
Meanwhile, Sam Houston was the lone team in the conference to get swept on opening weekend as they dropped all three games while visiting LA Tech. However, the Bearkats will be entering Friday on a high note after taking two from Texas A&M Commerce during a Tuesday double header.

RAIN IN THE FORECAST
This weekend the Aggies will be battling the elements as there is rain in the forecast on both Friday and Saturday. That rain has already impacted the weekend before the Aggies have even stepped foot in Huntsville as Friday's game which was originally scheduled for 5 p.m. MT has been moved to 10:30 a.m. MT. As of Thursday afternoon, the games on Saturday and Sunday are still scheduled for their original start times, however, that is subject to change.
 
PATMON POWER
The Aggies' first ever CUSA win in program history came on Saturday, March 9. The benchmark victory was highlighted by one of the best individual performances by an Aggie in recent history as Dezianna Patmon finished the day 2-for-3 at the plate, including a grand slam to help produce six of the Aggies' nine runs.
 
The six-RBI day for the transfer from North Carolina A&T marked the most RBIs by an Aggie in a single game since Nikki Butler recorded a half-dozen RBIs on April 16, 2021.
 
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Along with Patmon, freshman standout Desirae Spearman has been a shining star in the Aggie lineup. Just 10 days within making her collegiate debut, Spearman had already racked up two Conference USA Freshman of the Week honors after opening the season with 12 hits, six home runs and 12 RBIs in her first eight games.
 
Additionally, the El Paso, Texas, native was dominant in the circle during her first two weeks of play as she began the season with a 3-0 record and 25 strikeouts while maintaining a 0.30 ERA in four appearances and 23.0 innings of work. This included a complete game, shutout victory over Nebraska when she gave up just one hit to help lead the Aggies to a 3-0 win.
 
Currently, Spearman's ERA ranks second in the nation while also ranking fourth in the conference in total home runs despite missing despite missing nearly half of the Aggies' games due to injury.
 
FEAR NONE
Three weeks ago, the Aggies opened the annual Troy Cox Classic with a victory over Big Ten foe Nebraska to mark the program's first win over a Power Five program since the 2020 season when the Aggies defeated the same Nebraska program twice.
 
The following week, the Aggies added to their list of impressive early victories as they defeated (RV) Grand Canyon on Friday evening before knocking off Arizona State on Sunday morning to tally their second Power Five win of the season and first win over a Pac-12 program since 2020.
 
ALLERGIC TO SEVEN INNINGS
Two weeks ago, the Aggies played in five games and did not see a single game reach seven innings. In the opener, the Aggies dismantled Merrimack in five innings before falling via run rule in each of the ensuing four games.
 
The Aggies then followed this up by playing in a nine-inning series opener against Western Kentucky before playing in back-to-back five-inning contests to wrap up the series and extend their streak of non-seven-inning games to eight in a row.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW CONFERENCE
In 2023, the Aggies finished 21-25 overall, with a 10-14 mark in WAC play. On July 1, 2023, NM State joined Conference USA, and will be a first-year member of the league in 2024. Also new to the conference are Jax State (ASUN), Liberty (ASUN) and Sam Houston (WAC). FIU, LA Tech, Middle Tennessee, UTEP and Western Kentucky are the five returning members of the conference. The Aggies will officially begin league play next weekend when they play host to Western Kentucky.
 
GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY
NM State Softball played its first season in 1975. Now, in 2024, the Aggies entered season No. 50, with 1,144 wins and a much loftier reputation. The program was the class of the WAC for over a decade, earning six regular-season crowns and four conference tournament championships. Softball was NM State's second women's team sport and has brought 10 championship trophies home to Las Cruces. This May, the Aggies will look to win the CUSA Tournament Championship on their home soil.
 
LEGENDARY STATUS
Entering her 21st season as the Aggies' leader, Head Coach Kathy Rodolph is already easily the winningest coach in program history. Before Rodolph, the program had not won a championship (regular-season or tournament). Under her direction, the Aggies have claimed 10 pieces of hardware, and boast a 589-516 record. Making stops at El Paso CC and Angelo State before coming to Las Cruces, Rodolph has an individual mark of 782-611 as a head coach. At NM State, she has recruited and coached 17 NFCA All-Region members and eight WAC Player of the Year winners. The Aggies have won 20 or more games in 17 seasons under Rodolph.
 
BEST OF THE BEST
In the program's first year in a new conference, two Aggies have already stood out among the league. Last month, CUSA unveiled its Preseason All-Conference Team, highlighted by Riley Carley and Kendal Lunar. The pair of seniors each put forth stellar campaigns in 2023 and will look to lead their team into new territory in 2024.
 
Riley Carley started all 44 games she appeared in last season, leading the team with 16 home runs and 14 walks. In her junior year, she ranked second among all Aggies in RBIs (30), batting average (.346), slugging percentage (.750) and OPS (1.012). Carley was named to the All-WAC Second Team in 2023.
 
As a true freshman, Kendal Lunar made quite the impression in 2023. The first-year Aggie posted six home runs and 20 RBIs with an OPS of .870. Starting 38 games in total, including each of the final 30 a season ago, Lunar is poised for a productive 2024 campaign behind the plate as a sophomore, and was selected to the CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team accordingly.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
While this weekend's games will not be available to watch or listen to, Aggie fans can follow along with all the action via NMStateStats.com.
 
ON DECK
After the three-game road series versus the Bearkats, the Aggies will return home for a five-game stretch of rivalry games as they host UTEP on March 22-24 before welcoming New Mexico for a midweek doubleheader on Tuesday, March 26.

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).