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Aggies take down Colorado State and Kansas City to wrap up first weekend at 4-2.
Source: NMSU Athletics
By Matthew Knope
Photo by Emilio Garcia for NMSU: Courtesy
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The 2025 NM State Invitational came to a close on Sunday, with the Aggies earning a pair of wins in as many games. The home bats were lively once again, driving in 18 runs across the afternoon to defeat Colorado State and Kansas City. With the victories, the Crimson & White improved to 4-2 on the young season.
GAME ONE | Colorado State 4, NM State 7
Desirae Spearman returned to the circle for her second start of the weekend to begin Sunday morning, earning three outs to put the NM State bats into play. Fellow two-way player Faith Aragontallied a leadoff single for the Crimson & White, with Spearman batting in the two-hole – reaching on a fielder’s choice – though no runs would cross home plate.
Las Cruces native Jaileen Mancha took to the circle in the second inning, putting up the second shutout inning of the contest for the Aggies. In the bottom of the frame, Riley Carley sent a ball deep into foul territory down the right field line to score Kristiana Watson on a sacrifice fly. The next batter was Kendal Lunar, who drove in Lauren Garcia to give the home side a two-run advantage.
The Rams tacked on their first run of the day in the third inning on a sacrifice fly of their own, drawing within one after three innings. After starting the game in center field for NM State, Faith Aragon entered at pitcher in relief of Mancha, sitting down three of the four batters she faced including a strikeout to end the fourth.
In the bottom of the fifth, a standup double by junior infielder Kenzie Nicholson set the stage for her sister Payton Nicholson to drive her home on an RBI single; expanding a 3-1 lead for the Aggies.
Tallying just one run and three hits through the first five innings of the game, Colorado State cut the NM State lead to one following a two-run homer by Kyra Smith (4-3), though Aragon would get out of the inning shortly after.
Not to be outdone, Kristiana Watson began the bottom half of the inning with a single before El Paso native Lauren Garcia belted a home run to center field and reinstalled the Aggies’ three-run cushion (6-3). Veteran outfielder Riley Carley drew a walk in the next at-bat, setting up junior Kendal Lunar to power a four-bagger to left field in what was her fourth of the weekend.
The Rams would tack on a run in the top of the seventh inning, but Faith Aragon forced a pop out to end the contest 7-4 in favor of NM State, posting her first career win in the circle for the Crimson & White.
GAME TWO | Kansas City 5, NM State 11
For the first time this season, Kathy Rodolph went with Hampton transfer Taryn Bennet to start the game. A first-inning double opened the scoring for the visitors, but the first-year Aggie escaped the inning down by just a run.
In similar fashion to Friday’s affair, NM State dealt a large chunk of its damage during the opening moments of the contest. After a walk to open the home half of the first, a pair of baserunners set up New Mexico transfer Lauren Garcia to belt a three-run home run. The blast was her second of the day following one in the opener, as the redshirt junior reclaimed a 3-2 margin in favor of NM State.
True freshman Jade Valladares made her first appearance for the Crimson & White, swinging at the first pitch of her collegiate career and turning a three-bagger. Fellow freshman Bella Clapp stepped into the batter’s box next, knocking a double to score Valladares and give the Aggies a 4-2 advantage.
Two more Aggies would round the bases in the bottom of the second, with the push sparked by singles from Desirae Spearmanand Devin Elam. Lauren Garcia would rack up two of her 10 RBIs on the day with a bases-clearing double to center field that scored each of the Aggies’ Preseason All-CUSA Team selections. Having recorded just five outs, the Roos had already given up six in the first column of the scoreboard.
A pitcher’s duel ensued over the next two innings, as neither team would score a run in the third and fourth – until Roos’ third baseman Derika Castillo launched a two-run blast in the top of the fifth to pull within three (6-3).
With Kansas City drawing within a run in the sixth inning (6-5), the Aggie bats returned to form in the bottom half as Devin Elamdoubled on the first pitch of the inning before Kristiana Watson drew a walk to put two on the basepaths. Having already launched a three-run blast in the first inning, Lauren Garcia approached the plate and showed her power once again, boosting a ball over the left field wall to score another trio of runs and push the lead to 9-5.
A pair of NM State base hits set the stage for Faith Aragon, who sent a ball to left field, scoring the fourth Aggie run of the inning. The 2024 All-CUSA Freshman Team selection was immediately followed by Desirae Spearman’s RBI single to make it an 11-5 contest.
Needing just three outs to end the contest, Head Coach Kathy Rodolph leaned on senior Jaileen Mancha to bring in the second win of the day. The Las Cruces native did just that, clinching a home victory on only seven pitches. Through three appearances this season, Mancha leads all Aggies in ERA (1.05).
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- Taryn Bennett secured her first win with the Crimson & White after throwing five innings on Sunday, allowing three runs across 23 batters faced and tallying a strikeout.
- 17 hits were the most in a single game for the Aggies since April 9, 2024, at Jacksonville State (18; won 10-2)
- It only took the Aggies five tries to amass 11 runs in a single game. In 2024, the Crimson & White only did so once (May 9, 2024 vs. Liberty; won 11-3 in five innings)
- Lauren Garcia’s 8 RBIs against the Roos tied the most in a single game for an Aggie since Kayla Bowen drove in eight runs on Feb. 23, 2020, against IUPUI (now known as IU-Indianapolis).
- Launching two home runs in the contest, Garcia became the second Aggie to post two blasts in a single game this season
- Kendal Lunar also rocketed a pair of home runs against UC Santa Barbara on Friday.
FROM THE FIELD
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the Aggies’ Sunday performance: “I have felt all along that we have critical mass at hitting. As a pitching coach, I like it when the other team only has three kids that i’m trying to work around to not hurt me. With myself now doing the lineup, I can put critical mass in the lineup who can take [the ball] over the fence. If you walk them, then the next girl has even more runners on. I’m very proud of the offense. We gave up a few more runs than I would’ve liked this weekend and we’re going to get back in the bullpen and work on that.”
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the defensive energy over the weekend: “Kenzie [Nicholson] and Devin [Elam] have been going all out and giving everybody else on the field the courage to do the same. We were coming off our final few days of practice and I told them that I think defense is played with your heart. If every ball is critical to you, then there won’t be very many that get through there. That’s what we showed this weekend.”
Redshirt sophomore first baseman Lauren Garcia, on her offensive success: “Coming from the portal while I dealt with an injury, the main reason I came here was that I wanted a coaching staff that believed in me. I think that had to do with me having success at the plate. Having a group that believes in you and a team behind you with a good setup all made it easy for me to go right away. [Coach Rodolph] said to just swing so I did! It’s been a while since I’ve been this healthy, and staying in New Mexico helps, too. It feels like a second home, and I just feel very comfortable here.”
UP NEXT
Next weekend, NM State will host four visiting teams for the annual Troy Cox Classic. Over the four day invitational, 13 games will be played – including seven for the hosting Aggies – between Friday, Feb. 14, and Monday, Feb. 17. Nationally-ranked Nebraska headlines the group that also includes Northern Colorado, Montana and Texas A&M – Corpus Christi. Every game will be available to follow via nmstatestats.com and the Aggies’ contests will 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).
