With freshman Jordin King in the circle, the New Mexico State Softball team, 9-22, out played the Seattle University Redhawks, 8-1, after a late start Friday evening. King started and closed for the Aggies as they were only the third WAC team to dominate the Redhawks. King also earned a career high of seven strikeouts. 

The ball didn’t get rolling for the Aggies until the bottom of the second, when redshirt sophomore Maya Martinez hit a shot up the middle to get on base. Riding the momentum, Riley Carley and Paige Knight both nailed a home run to right center to give NM State an early 3-0 lead.

King remained strong in the top of third and struck out the two lead batters. After giving up only one hit, King shut the Redhawks down. Without letting off the gas, NMSU continued to battle offensively in the bottom half. Then with a single from Hannah Lindsay, the Aggies boosted their lead to 4-0 after pinch hitter Hailey Tanori scored from second. However, NM State didn’t stop there. After an error from the Redhawk second baseman, Knight took the opportunity to score from third. 

With the 5-0 lead, King remained steady and powerful in the circle and didn’t allow for any runs. On top of that, the Aggies continued to swing and get in scoring position when Jillian Taylor scored after a dropped fly ball hit by Martinez. Refusing to let up, Knight drove in Bowen with a groundout to put NM State up 7-0 heading into the fifth. 

After a scoreless fifth inning, the Redhawks were finally able to plate a run in the sixth. The effort started with a fielding error and then the runner scored off a wild pitch. In response, the Aggies were able to get runners on base after hits from Bowen and Martinez but they failed to bring in any runs. 

Sitting comfortably in the seventh, the Aggies fielded the next two hits which yielded two fast outs. After the Redhawks recorded only one hit, King forced Hill to hit a pop fly and NM State earned their ninth win. 

Following the game, head coach Kathy Rodolph was proud of her team’s big win. “I felt like it all started with Jordin in the circle, not only did she pitch well, she helped herself out defensively quite a few times as well,” Rudolph began. “I thought Riley Carley and Paige Knight going back to back home runs also established an aggressive, assertive offensive tone for the game,” Coach finished. 

Despite the powerful opening game of the series, the Aggies would go on to drop the next two in a double header the following day. The first game finished 3-7 and the second 0-8. 

The Aggies now look to take on Dixie State as they hit the road for their double header Friday April 15, at 2:00 p.m. The teams will face off again the following day at noon.