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Bulldogs take 10-4 win on Sunday as Aggies miss out on road CUSA sweep.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photo: Courtesy
RUSTON, La. – On a cold, overcast and drizzly Sunday morning, NM State Softball suffered its first CUSA loss of the season. The Aggies fell by a score of 10-4 at LA Tech, dropping the series finale after taking the first two battles on Friday and Saturday. Five errors from the Crimson & White were their most all season, allowing 10 runs for just the fifth time in 2025. The loss dropped NM State to 14-11 overall and 2-1 in league play. LA Tech improved to 12-11 overall with a 1-2 mark in CUSA.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies went with Jaileen Mancha in the circle to counteract LA Tech’s Allie Floyd. Desirae Spearman got the morning started with a double down the left field line before Lauren Garcia’ssingle put runners at the corners with two outs. Skye Johnson, who picked up the start in right field, turned on the second pitch she saw for a right-side single that scored Spearman. The hit drove in the first run across any of the opening innings all weekend, giving NM State its earliest lead of the series.
LA Tech would not take long to respond, however. A pair of hits and a walk loaded the bases with one out, which prompted Kathy Rodolph to make several changes to her defense. Faith Aragon trotted in from center field to pitch, forcing Desirae Spearman to fill her void. Payton Nicholson entered the contest in left field for defense only, while Johnna Aragon flipped with Kenzie Nicholson at second base. The next five pitches saw a single up the middle and a run-scoring fielder’s choice that gave the home side the lead at 2-1 after one inning.
Kristiana Watson answered in frame three, getting every bit of a 2-2 pitch and driving it well over the left-field wall. The drive was the sixth of the first-year Aggie’s season and knotted the contest at two runs apiece.
The bottom half began with a throwing error that gave the Bulldogs a runner at third base. Two batters later, the home side capitalized with a sacrifice fly, regaining a lead by a score of 3-2 through nearly half of the battle.
Johnna Aragon reached with a single on the first pitch of her fourth inning at-bat, preceding a pinch-hitting Taylor Nicholson. After a ball and two strikes passed, the oldest of the Nicholson trio honed in on a ball, launching it to straightway center and over the outfield wall. The blast was the first of Nicholson’s career, giving her side a 4-3 advantage.
The fifth frame began a two-inning stretch in which LA Tech outscored NM State 7-0 to pull ahead for good. An Aggie error exacerbated an inning which already included four hits that plated as many runs for LA Tech in the fifth, highlighted by an RBI double and two walks.
In the sixth, three more hits scored three Bulldogs, while NM State added one more to its error column of the scoreboard. The home side had done far too much damage, taking the win in the seventh inning by a score of 10-4.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- NM State now leads the all-time series against LA Tech 21-16.
- After falling in the third-ever CUSA meeting between the two in Ruston, La., NM State fell to 6-10 on the road in the series.
- The loss dropped the Aggies to 2-3 in true road games this season.
- Through the first 21 contests this season, NM State had won just once when scoring less than six runs. The Crimson & White have now scored five or fewer runs in each of the last four, posting a 3-1 record.
- Eleven Aggie hits were their third most in a loss this season.
- The Crimson & White set a season high with five errors in the loss.
- At least one Aggie has recorded a multi-hit game in 22 of 25 games this season.
- In 22 non-conference games, NM State allowed its opponents to score 127 runs for an average of 5.77 per contest. In three CUSA games thus far, the Aggies have allowed 11 runs to the tune of 3.33 per night.
- The loss was the eighth game of the season in which NM State tallied multiple home runs and the second since Feb. 16 against Texas A&M Corpus-Christi.
- Five of those eight games with more than one home run have come on Sundays.
- NM State has hit 10 of its 30 home runs on Sundays, despite playing only six of 25 games on the final day of the weekend.
- Kristiana Watson tallied two of the three blasts for the Aggies on the weekend.
- Taylor Nicholson notched the other home run, blasting a ball to center field in the fourth frame.
- The four-bagger was the first of her NM State career and made her the only Aggie to record a two-RBI day across the weekend.
- Faith Aragon extended her hitting streak to a career-best six games, now holding the longest active streak among all Aggies.
- Aragon has now reached base safely in nine straight outings, pacing the team and establishing a new career high.
FROM THE FIELD
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the loss: “I think we have to do hard better. I think Louisiana Tech is a very talented team, and I feel like we gave away outs on plays that we had been absolutely making. I think we have to raise our expectations internally to be able to play at a high level in Conference USA. Otherwise, the game is going to find you and expose you. We have to get better at doing hard well.”
UP NEXT
Before hosting Jax State next weekend for their CUSA home opener, the Aggies will host New Mexico in a mid-week rivalry. NM State will play the only matchup in the 2025 edition of the Battle of I-25 during a single game on Tuesday, March 11. at 5:00 p.m. The Crimson & White, with wins in 19 of the past 22 meetings, have their sights set on a second straight undefeated season against the Lobos. The home team aims to build on an all-time 45-31 record versus UNM from the NM State Softball Complex. The contest will be broadcast on 91.5 FM KRUX and nmstatestats.com.
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on Tuesday’s game versus New Mexico: “First and foremost, every time we get to play UTEP or UNM, it’s a rivalry game. The pride of Las Cruces is on the line, so I would expect us to rebound and be excited to be at home. We’re going to have to really clean up defense and not give away outs before we play Jax State, or it’s not going to be a favorable outcome. I believe that we’re hungry and humble, so we’ll continue to get better this week.”
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).
