-and-
Hilltoppers answer with five-run frame to take series opener.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NMSU | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 |
| WKU | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | X | 6 | 6 | 0 |
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – NM State Softball struck early in the series opener at Western Kentucky on Thursday. Following a two-run home run from Lauren Garcia in the first inning, the hosting Hilltoppers responded with a five-run frame in the bottom half and never looked back en route to a 6-2 victory. With the loss, the visitors dipped into outright seventh place in the CUSA standings, leaving the squad on the outside of the postseason picture as of Thursday night.
The loss dropped NM State to 9-10 in CUSA play, marking its second time under .500 in 2025 league play. After Saturday’s defeat against No. 25 Liberty, the Crimson & White found themselves at 8-9 before an upset victory on Sunday.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After Desirae Spearman drew her CUSA-best 41st walk of the season on the series’ first at-bat, Lauren Garcia followed up with two away later in the opening frame. The New Mexico transfer capitalized on a 2-1 pitch, launching it over the wall in left field and granting her side a two-run lead before the home side could grab its bats.
Once WKU did enter the batter’s box, it didn’t take long for damage to be done. Back-to-back hits led off the inning before a stolen base placed both runners in scoring position. A one-out single scored the Hilltoppers’ first run before a walk loaded the bases. Faith Aragon earned her first strikeout of the day to record the inning’s second out, but another pair of consecutive hits scored a trio of runners, taking a 5-2 lead into the second inning.
Aragon responded well from her rocky opening frame, retiring out nine of the next 10 batters, only hitting one batter to allow a free base during the span. Unfortunately for the Crimson & White, their offense also failed to match its success from inning one. Across innings two through six, the Aggies amassed just three hits, a walk and one hit-by-pitch.
The Hilltoppers added on with a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, increasing their cushion as they took a 6-2 lead into the seventh frame and the final chance for NM State. After a leadoff hit from Johnna Aragon on the first pitch of the frame, the Aggie bats went down in order as they suffered their 10th loss of CUSA play.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- NM State fell into sole possession of seventh place in the CUSA standings at 9-10.
- Thursday’s contest was the 13th game this season in which NM State walked one or fewer batters.
- The Crimson & White fell to 9-19 all-time in matchups with the Hilltoppers, holding a 6-9 record in Bowling Green.
- Kathy Rodolph‘s squad is now 6-13 when its opponents score in the first inning.
- The Aggies are 1-12 when trailing after the opening frame this season.
- NM State (22-20) fell to 4-19 when opponents score five or more runs.
- The only loss of the Aggies’ season when allowing less than five came in a 3-2 loss at FIU on March 23.
- The Crimson & White are now 0-10 when scoring less than three runs.
- Lauren Garcia clinched her 11th multi hit game of 2025 and her sixth in the past nine outings.
- The two-run blast was Garcia’s fifth in an Aggie uniform and the first since the opening weekend of the season.
- Desirae Spearman was walked once on Thursday, driving her campaign total to 41.
- Entering the weekend, only five players in all of Division I had drawn more than 40 free bases this season.
- Johnna Aragon tallied a pair of hits in her second start of the season at third base.
- The first-year Aggie’s two-single day solidified her second multi-hit day of the season.
- Thursday’s loss was the ninth game for NM State with five or fewer hits at the plate.
- The series opener was the first Thursday affair of the season for the Aggies, dropping them to 0-1 in such games.
UP NEXT
The midway point of the three-game bout is scheduled for the same time tomorrow, Friday, April 18. The visitors vie to set a Saturday rubber match while the hosts aim to secure their third series win. Friday’s contest will be available to follow via WKU’s SIDEARM live statistics page, while Saturday’s bout will also air on ESPN+.
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).
