-and-
NM State drops seventh in last eight contests; falls to 9-11 in CUSA play.
Source: NMSU Athletics
Story and Photo By Matthew Knope for NMSU: Courtesy
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – NM State Softball suffered its second run-rule defeat of Conference USA play on Friday, falling 11-3 in five innings at the hands of Western Kentucky. The Aggies put up a pair of home runs in the second inning, but were never able to bounce back from a Hilltoppers’ opening-frame grand slam.
With the loss, the Crimson & White (22-21, 9-11) dropped their fourth series of CUSA play with two remaining. WKU (23-19) clinched its third series victory of 2025 while further dropping the Aggies in the league standings at 9-11.
HOW IT HAPPENED
NM State went down quietly in the first inning, unable to match its explosive opening frame from Thursday’s series opener. While WKU also fell short of its five-run first from the day prior, the home team posted four early on Friday. A pair of walks loaded the bases before a grand slam opened up the contest and gave the home side a quick 4-0 advantage.
Lauren Garcia and Kristiana Watson answered immediately, cutting into the deficit before a single out was recorded in the top of the second. The New Mexico transfer sent a ball over the left-field wall on the first at-bat of inning two, mirroring the four-bagger she launched in her first at-bat on Thursday. Just three pitches into the ensuing plate appearance, Kristiana Watson joined Garcia with a blast to center field, securing a solo home run as the margin was trimmed to two.
The Hilltoppers immediately returned to the scoring column, reaching with a pair of one-out walks in the bottom of the second. A walk and a wild pitch scored two home baserunners, erasing the damage done in the top half by NM State. In the third, another walk was followed up by two more hits to score the seventh run of the night for Amy Tudor’s bunch.
After another quick offensive frame, the Aggie defense trotted out with a new pitcher. Both Jaileen Mancha and Zantelle Rodriguez relieved a starting Desirae Spearman in the frame as WKU tacked on four more runs on as many hits, triggering a potential run-rule victory. The home side led 11-2 after four frames, with NM State possessing one final opportunity to extend the affair.
Johnna Aragon led off the fifth with her fourth base knock of the weekend and her second of the day before being pinch ran for by Payton Nicholson. The oldest Nicholson, Taylor, then came in to pinch hit for the middle child, Kenzie, reaching safely and pushing her youngest sister into scoring position. After a fielder’s choice, Devin Elam singled to left field, scoring a re-entering Kenzie and tallying the Aggies’ second run via a non-home run since their UTEP series two weekends ago. Unfortunately for the visitors, a game-extending run would fail to cross as WKU walked away with an 11-3 run-rule victory in the fifth.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
- NM State fell into sole possession of eighth place in the CUSA standings at 9-11.
- Friday’s contest was the sixth game this season in which NM State walked six or more batters.
- The Crimson & White fell to 9-20 all-time in matchups with the Hilltoppers, holding a 6-10 record in Bowling Green.
- Kathy Rodolph‘s squad is now 6-14 when its opponents score in the first inning.
- The Aggies are 1-13 when trailing after the opening frame this season.
- NM State (22-21) fell to 4-20 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 4-11 when scoring less than four runs, including doing so in each of the past five contests (1-4).
- The solo shot was Garcia’s sixth in an Aggie uniform and the second since the opening weekend of the season.
- The New Mexico transfer picked up her 20th RBI of the season, making Garcia seven short of her career high with nine regular-season contests left.
- Johnna Aragon tallied a pair of hits in her third start of the season at third base.
- The first-year Aggie’s two-knock day solidified the third multi-hit day and the first double of her season.
- Friday’s loss was the 10th game for NM State with five or fewer hits at the plate and the third in its past four.
- NM State fell to 5-10 on Fridays this season, including a 2-5 mark in CUSA play.
- For the seventh time this season, the Crimson & White suffered a loss with multiple home runs in a game.
- Kristiana Watson’s 12th home run of the season also marked the 18th of her career.
- Lauren Garcia’s sixth home run of 2025 was the 13th of her career.
UP NEXT
This weekend’s third and final contest is slated for Saturday at 10:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. local). The visitors have their eyes on their 10th CUSA win of the season, while WKU looks for its first sweep of league play. Tomorrow’s contest will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via WKU’s SIDEARM live statistics page.
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).
