-and-
NM State topples Portland State, falls to Iowa State.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Photo and Story By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
PHOENIX – NM State Softball hit the road for the first time on Friday, playing two neutral games on the campus of Grand Canyon. In the day’s opener, the Aggies took down Portland State by a score of 8-3. They took on Iowa State in the finale, but fell by a score of 11-3 in five innings. The two-game split moved the Crimson & White to 9-5 on the season with three games remaining on the weekend.
Game 1
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Mexico State | 2 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 2 |
| Portland State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
GAME ONE | NM STATE 8, PORTLAND STATE 3
By the third pitch of the morning, two Aggies reached on a hit off back-to-back singles from Faith Aragon and Desirae Spearman. Kristiana Watson brought them each around to score via a one-out double, quickly putting her side ahead 2-0. The top half would end with the same score, sending Spearman into the circle to start the day.
After two straight walks, the second-year Aggie tightened up her zone, striking out the next two batters with a runner caught stealing in between, ending the inning before suffering any damage.
A walk and Riley Carley’s first stolen base of the season put her in scoring position, but the Aggies were unable to enter the scoring column. Spearman’s no-hitter rolled on in the second inning, as only an error allowed a single Viking to reach. In the top of the third, Devin Elam slapped a double to right field before Kristiana Watson matched to left, driving in Elam for her third RBI of the day.
A leadoff walk eventually turned into a runner on third base after a pair of Aggie wild pitches in the third. However, nothing came of the threat as Spearman struck out three more consecutive batters. As the Aggies entered the fourth, Riley Carley opened up with a double to right center. A pinch-running Payton Nicholson was eventually scored by her older sister, Kenzie, on a first-pitch single to right field. Two batters later, Desirae Spearman plated Nicholson with a two-bag blast on the seventh pitch of her at-bat, extending a 5-0 lead.
In the bottom half, Spearman’s season-high sixth strikeout highlighted a 1-2-3 inning. The Aggies went down in order to open the fifth inning, setting up the only frame in which Portland State scored. It only took four pitches for the Vikings to tally a double and an RBI single, scoring their first run of the afternoon. Two batters later, a costly throwing error led the ball to the right field wall, bringing in a runner and the batter, cutting the deficit to 5-3.
Spearman made up for the three runs allowed as soon as she could, though. Kayla Lunar opened things up with a single down the left field line and Faith Aragon advanced her to second with a walk. After watching two balls go by, Desirae Spearmancapitalized on a pitch, sending it well over the left field wall to score three runs. The frame ended with the Aggies in front 8-3.
Two more strikeouts brought Spearman’s tally to 10 after six innings, setting up a decisive seventh frame. On just five pitches, the Aggies were retired, bringing Portland State back out. After a leadoff groundout, the Vikings produced a double and a walk. With a 3-2 count, Tamara Carranza located and dove at the seventh pitch on a popup, but it fell just out of her glove. Quick to recover, the true freshman shortstop tossed it to veteran Kayla Lunar, who rifled the ball to second base for a victory-sealing double play.
Game 2
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa State | 3 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 14 | 1 |
| New Mexico State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
GAME TWO | IOWA STATE 11, NM STATE 3 (5)
The second game of the day got out to a shaky start for the Crimson & White, as a pair of errors and an unorthodox triple plated three runs before the Aggies could grab their bats. After a quiet first frame from NM State, the Cyclones got back into the scoring column in the second. Two singles through the middle bookended the Aggies’ third error of the game, loading the bases. Iowa State’s Angelina Allen launched the first pitch she saw to left field, bringing in four runs on a grand slam.
While the Aggies struggled to find their first hit, Iowa State tallied on another run via a second triple to left field. In the home half of the third, Bella Clapp broke up the no-hitter on a second-pitch single, but nothing came of the inning.
Two hits and a stolen base granted Iowa State its ninth run of the contest in the fourth frame. Desirae Spearman found a hit before stealing second base. While Riley Carley followed up with a seven-pitch walk, the Aggies once again failed to score.
Two doubles and a single brought the final two Cyclones around as they took an 11-0 lead. Taryn Bennett, who came in after 3.0 innings of relief from Jaileen Mancha, got out of the jam with three straight outs, capped off by a swinging strikeout.
Kayla Lunar’s second hit of the day got things going, before a throwing error put runners on first and second. Desirae Spearman’ssecond hit of the game was a high floating ball to center field that snuck over the 220-foot-deep barrier to score three runs. Despite the spark, NM State was unable to continue the momentum, suffering a run-rule defeat for only the second time this season.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- The Crimson & White pulled further ahead in their all-time series against Portland State, now holding a 9-5 record against the Vikings (6-3 neutral).
- Iowa State evened up the all-time series against NM State, now knotted at six wins apiece after the contest. In neutral games, the series is now 3-3.
- NM State has now recorded a home run in 13 of 14 games this season, only failing to do so against Nebraska.
- The Aggies have launched a deep ball in every game they scored in, as the Nebraska contest was the lone shutout for the group this season.
- Eight Aggies recorded a hit on Friday. The 11th occasion this season of 7+ hitters in a single game came against Portland State, with seven. Bella Clapp was the only different Aggie to record a hit against Iowa State.
- The Portland State game marked the 11th time this season and the sixth straight contest with at least nine hits. The streak was snapped with four against Iowa State.
- Since its contest against No. 17 Nebraska, NM State is averaging 9.17 hits per game.
- With 105 runs across 14 games, NM State is averaging 7.5 runs per contest this season.
- In 2024, that mark was exactly 5.0, scoring 275 across 55 contests.
- Kendal Lunar extended her career-best hitting streak to 11 games against Portland State, before it was snapped against Iowa State.
- Kristiana Watson’s 2-RBI double in her first at-bat of the day extender her hitting streak to six for the first time in her collegiate career, but it was snapped in Friday’s finale.
- Kenzie Nicholson’s RBI single against Portland State not only scored her sister, but it extended her personal hitting streak to six games, setting a career high that was snapped versus the Cyclones.
- Desirae Spearman’s five-hit day extended her hitting streak to seven games, matching her career high.
- The sophomore has recorded multiple RBIs in five straight games, tallying 16 over the period.
- Spearman now has 24 runs batted in across 13 appearances, putting her on pace to tally 94.2 in the regular season.
- Kristiana Watson has posted 15 RBIs across the past five games, including three on Friday.
- Watson, with 20 through 14 games, is on pace to finish with 74.3 RBIs in 2025.
- Last year, the Aggies had two leaders in RBIs for the season, both finishing with 43.
- Spearman’s 7.0 inning showing was the eighth of her two-year career and her second this season.
- The win was the ninth career complete game for Spearman and her second this season.
- Jaileen Mancha made her first appearance since the team’s opening weekend, returning from injury and pitching 3.0 innings.
UP NEXT
The Aggies will return to GCU Softball Stadium tomorrow for another pair of games at 1:15 and 4:00 p.m. First, NM State will battle California Baptist (5-9) in search of its 10th win of 2025. Immediately after, the Crimson & White will face their toughest test yet; the No. 3 Florida Gators. Both matchups will be available to follow via StatBroadcast.
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).
