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Aggies fall short to #17 Nebraska, Northern Colorado in Troy Cox Classic opener.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Matthew Knope
Photo: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies returned to action on Friday for the first of four days at the Troy Cox Classic. The hosts took on nationally-ranked Nebraska before battling Northern Colorado, but fell short in both outings. The home bats were shut out for the first time all season against the Cornhuskers. The offense came to life in the nightcap, but the Bears’ 13 runs were too much to match as the Aggies suffered back-to-back defeats for the first time all season. NM State ended the night at 4-4 overall with five games remaining on the weekend.
GAME ONE | Nebraska 10, NM State 0 (6 inn.)
Rhonda Revelle opted to rest her ace Jordy Bahl in the day’s first game against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Instead, the 33rd year head coach saved the junior star for the contest against NM State. Bahl left her mark all over the contest, blasting two home runs and pitching nearly the entirety of a two-hit shutout.
The afternoon’s first out came as Desirae Spearman struck out the Oklahoma transfer, but Nebraska posted a pair of runs in the opening frame. The former two-way standout put up a solid fight in a first-inning at-bat against Bahl, but was ultimately met with the same fate.
Three more runs came to cross for Nebraska in the second inning, via back-to-back-to-back home runs, capped off by the visiting starting pitcher. No more runs were produced until two frames later when the same batter launched a two-run shot to left-center field, expanding the lead to 7-0.
The Aggies did not record their first hit until the bottom of the fifth inning on a Lauren Garcia knock to the left field line. Kendal Lunar followed suit two batters later with a single through the left side, advancing Garcia to second base. The duo each scampered into scoring position on a wild pitch, but failed to come across as the inning closed on two straight groundouts.
A double, home run and eventual sacrifice fly scored the final three runs for Revelle’s bunch and NM State was unable to extend the affair. Nebraska prevailed by a score of 10-0 in six innings.
GAME TWO | Northern Colorado 13, NM State 10
The bleeding showed no signs of slowing early on, as Northern Colorado quickly found a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning. In the home half of the frame, Kenzie Nicholson jolted the Aggie faithful with a three-run home run onto the top netting of the left field batting cages. The deep fly brought the home side within one run at 4-3 after two full innings.
In the bottom of the third, a Desirae Spearman walk was followed up with a Faith Aragon double, placing both in scoring position. Kristiana Watson found her way to first on a Bear fielding error, scoring Spearman to knot the contest at four runs apiece.
A scoreless fourth proved to be the calm before the storm for both dugouts. A game that produced 23 runs saw over half of them tallied in the fifth inning, with six for each side. A single, two doubles, three home runs and an error plated a half dozen for UNC in the top half, as Dedeann Pendleton-Helm’s bunch pulled ahead 10-4.
After a leadoff strikeout, the next four batters all recorded hits, including Kenzie Nicholson’s RBI double to score Lauren Garcia. Kayla Lunar brought home fellow senior Riley Carley on a single up the middle for her first two-hit game of the season, drawing her side within four runs. Johnna Aragon drew a walk before a wild pitch plated another Aggie, setting up Kendal Lunar to score her older sister Kayla on a right-field single. Desirae Spearman brought the home team within one on a double to score Payton Nicholson and the inning came to a close shortly after. A Kristiana Watson single brought Kendal Lunar across the plate to roaring fans that overlooked a 10-10 deadlock on the outfield scoreboard.
Three Bear runs in the top of the sixth reopened a lead for the visitors as they pulled away for good with two more home runs. Kenzie Nicholson’s spectacular game continued with a sixth-inning hit, but no other Aggies were able to reach base safely in the sixth or seventh frames, ending the contest at 13-10 in favor of UNC.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Kenzie Nicholson recorded her first home run as an Aggie with a three-run blast in the second inning versus UNC.
- Against the Bears, The Jacksonville State and Arizona State transfer tallied the first three-hit outing of not only her Aggie tenure, but also her three-year career (66 games).
- Zantelle Rodriguez saw 2.1 innings of action versus UNC, setting a new individual high for innings pitched in a single game.
- NM State posted its second 10-run outing in the nightcap, tallying its seventh game with at least six runs in eight attempts.
- Nebraska now holds an all-time series advantage of 21-9 over the Aggies, including a 15-8 mark in Las Cruces.
- NM State fell short in a chance to even its all-time series against UNC, as the Bears improved their record to 20-18 all-time, with 12 wins and 10 losses in Las Cruces.
FROM THE FIELD
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the Aggies’ showing: “Nebraska is a top-25 team and they definitely played like it. They pitch it, swing well and there’s something to aspire to in terms of being able to bring that to our own game every single day. Northern Colorado fought tooth and nail through the entire game and we’ve got to find a few moments to get better.”
UP NEXT
The 35th annual Troy Cox Classic rolls on tomorrow, with five more games starting at 9:00 a.m. MT. Three neutral affairs will kick off the Saturday slate, before the Aggies hit the field against Northern Colorado and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. The two home games are scheduled to begin at 4:30 and 7:00 p.m., respectively. All five contests will be available to follow via nmstatesports.com, while the Aggies’ bouts will also be broadcast on 91.5 FM KRUX.
For complete coverage of NM State Softball during the 2025 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Softball), Twitter (@NMStateSoftball) and Instagram (@NMStateSoftball).
