MURFREESBORO, TENN. - With 48 games behind them, the Crimson & White have just one series left in the 2024 regular season. The Aggies most recently won 6-0 over a surging LA Tech squad and will look to carry their momentum into the regular-season finale ahead of next week's CUSA Championship. The Aggies will return home for the tournament, but must first play a three-game set at Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders are a familiar foe from the 2001-05 Sun Belt days, with the two sides last meeting in 2021. NM State has its eyes on moving up to the third or potentially second slot in the CUSA standings with one week left to play.
How to Follow
Who: NM State (27-21, 12-9 CUSA) at Middle Tennessee (19-30, 5-16 CUSA)
Where: Blue Raider Softball Field - Murfreesboro, Tenn.
When: Friday, May 3 - Sunday, May 5 (Game 1 at 6:00 PM CT)
Live Stream: ESPN+
Live Statistics: nmstatestats.com
All-Time Series Record: MTSU leads 21-7
Last Meeting: MTSU 2 vs. NM State 4 (March 6, 2021 - Leesburg, Fla.)
LAST TIME OUT
The Aggies took down LA Tech on Senior Day after dropping the first two games of the series. The home side got out to a quick 3-0 first-inning lead after the first five batters reached base and never looked back. Three Aggie home runs highlighted the emotional win on offense, while Emily Dix was masterful in the circle.
With a defense full of nothing but seniors behind her, Emily Dix tossed a one-hitter in a complete-game shutout over LA Tech. The Bulldogs were held hitless through six complete innings, including a stretch of 12 straight batters retired. CUSA rewarded the senior for her exceptional outing with the Pitcher of the Week honor.
The Aggies have now outscored their opponents 33-30 over the past two series, but have won just two games. Excluding the sixth and seventh inning of Friday's affair with LA Tech, the Crimson & White have outscored opponents by 11 over the past six games. Three one-run losses turned what would instead be a 5-1 record over that span into a mark of just 2-4.
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.
Patmon is leading the Aggies with 53 hits, a .396 batting average and 97 total bases while ranking second with 37 RBIs, 11 home runs and an OPS of 1.188 this season.
FRESHMAN PHENOM
Along with Patmon, freshman standout Desirae Spearman has been a shining star in the Aggie lineup. In just her first 34 games at the collegiate level, Spearman is maintaining a .365 batting average while pacing the Aggies in home runs (16), OPS (1.363) and RBIs (38). The El Paso native also ranks second in total bases (94) and fourth on the team in total hits (38) despite missing 14 of the Aggies' 48 games due to injury.
Additionally, the El Paso, Texas, native has been dominant in the circle. She has begun the season with an 8-3 record and 58 strikeouts while maintaining a 3.26 ERA in 13 appearances and 68.2 innings of work.
On Feb. 16, Spearman tossed a complete game, shutout victory over Nebraska when she gave up just one hit and led the Aggies to a 3-0 win. In the series finale versus UTEP, she went another 7.0 innings, punching out 12 Miners and securing a win in her first pitching appearance in 35 days.
Currently, Spearman is posting a team-best ERA, allowing just 62 hits and nine home runs. She is also tied for first in the conference and ranks 21st nationally with her 16 total offensive home runs despite missing nearly a third of the Aggies' games due to injury.
For her efforts, Spearman has been named CUSA Pitcher of the Week once and has earned five CUSA Freshman of the Week awards. On Thursday, April 25th, Spearman was named to the 2024 TUCCI/NFCA Freshman of the Year Top 25 list.
POWER IN THE OUTFIELD
When Spearman is not in the circle, she will regularly tend to left field. Again, the freshman with six CUSA weekly awards has proven to be a threat from anywhere. Joining her in the outfield are Jillian Taylor and Devin Elam.
Taylor and Elam were each named CUSA Player of the Week in April, just 14 days apart. Taylor, the senior in center field, has started 45 of 48 games in center, tallying a .367 batting average to go with eight home runs, 20 extra-base hits, 51 hits and an OPS of 1.084. Across the middle of April, she went on an 11-game hitting streak, crushing her previous career-high mark of five games. The senior leads the entire conference with 47 runs scored on the campaign.
Devin Elam is one of the hottest hitters in the conference, as well as the country. The sophomore is traditionally in right field as of late, and was named Player of the Week on April 15. In CUSA games, she is batting .458, ranking third among league batters. Elam is currently on an 11-game hitting streak, setting a new career high. At the plate, she has 40 hits, a .435 average and a 1.089 OPS on the season. The Long Beach, Calif. native now has 15 RBIs in her past 13 outings.
EM'MACULATE SENIOR DAY
On Sunday, April 28, NM State recognized eight graduating seniors in the 2024 class. All eight entered the starting lineup, including Emily Dix who received the nod in the circle. Dix was remarkable, tossing a complete game shutout, allowing just one hit and five total baserunners in a 6-0 win.
After allowing a leadoff walk, Dix retired 12 straight Bulldog batters. The visitors were held hitless until the top of the seventh inning. The senior surpassed her previous career high of seven strikeouts, punching out nine Bulldogs to take the team lead with 59 this season. The win represented her fourth complete game and third shutout of the season. The second-year Aggie from Albuquerque was named CUSA Pitcher of the Week on April 29th for her immaculate one-hitter.
FEAR NONE
In February, 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.
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.
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. Next week, 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 605-526 record. Making stops at El Paso CC and Angelo State before coming to Las Cruces, Rodolph has an individual mark of 798-621 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.
With their 20th win against San Diego on March 30, the Aggies have won 20 or more games in 18 seasons under Rodolph. The 21st-year head coach became the first coach in program history to surpass 600 wins with NM State after a walk-off three-run home run gave the Aggies a 9-6 win over FIU on Friday, April 12.
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 Aggies 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.
ON DECK
After the conclusion of Sunday's series and regular-season finale, NM State will head home for the 2024 Softball CUSA Championship. The Aggies have already clinched a spot in the four-day tournament, which will be held on their home field from Wednesday, May 8, through Saturday, May 11. The top six teams will compete in a double-elimination format, with Saturday's 12:00 PM Championship Game being one winner-take-all contest. Each day, three games will be played on ESPN+ with scheduled start times of 12:00 PM, 2:30 PM and 5:00 PM. On Saturday, the standalone championship game will be held at 12:00 PM MT on CBS Sports Network.
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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