The New Mexico State softball team walked away with three wins from the NM State Round Robin over the weekend, concluding their second home tournament in two weeks. The Aggies won the Battle of I-10 on Saturday with 12-3 and Sunday with 4-1. They could not keep up the momentum as they lost 4-6 to Northern Colorado on Saturday. NMSU was able to bring it back, starting Sunday with a win 6-4 against Northern Colorado.      

The Aggies did not show struggle in their first game against UTEP on Saturday. Aydenne Brown pitched her first full match of the season with six strikeouts throughout five innings. In the first inning, Brown left no time for the Miners before she threw two strikeouts. Three players accomplished two RBIs each, Riley Carley, Kayla Bowen, and Hannah Lindsay. Bowen also hit her second home run of the season to put the NM State up two in the first inning. Jillian Taylor was the first base runner of the third inning, followed by a home run from Carley. Making her third home run of the year, Lindsay sent a hit out of the park before UTEP got two Aggies out. However, Kaylin Jackson was not finished with the third inning as she hit a double, achieving the first of her career at NMSU. The fourth inning consisted of a double by Kendal Lunar, adding her eighth two-base hit of the season.  

Northern Colorado and NM State were unsuccessful in putting any points on the board in the first inning on Saturday. They started going back and forth until Jackson hit a home run through the dead center. The sixth inning became pitching-dominant after neither team could get more than two hits in three separate innings. The NMSU squad could not come back from UNC’s three consecutive runs, leading by four. Gabby Aragon assisted the Aggies to reduce the gap as she brought home two teammates with a slow single.  

Sunday morning began with three runs from UNC in the first inning. A home run out of right center by Jackson in the second inning lessened the difference. The sixth inning produced a tie with four runs for both teams, subsequent to Kristen Boyd’s single and multiple steals with the help of Lunar at bat. Aggie pitcher, Laurali Patane, allowed UNC no room for improvement. Taylor also forced the Aggies to pull through with a home run during the seventh.  

In the final game of the weekend, NMSU took on their rivals once again on Sunday. The Miners had the first run of the game in the third inning. With an immediate response, Taylor made her second home run of the game and fifth of the season. Putting the Aggies in the lead, Bowen hit a single, stole second and ran home during her teammate’s bat attempt in the fourth. Bowen went on to claim the fourth run in the sixth inning after Boyd carried out her third hit of the tournament. Emily Dix found her place on the mound for New Mexico State to close out the seventh inning, putting away the Miners in nine pitches.  

The weekend included more wins than losses for the Aggies which was what this Kathy Rodolph campaign has always shown potential for. NM State (10-7) holds back-to-back victories over their I-10 rivals, the UTEP Miners (8-12). Catch the Aggies softball campaign again as they are scheduled for the Bulldog Classic, traveling to Fresno, Cali. on Thursday, March 9 at 4:30 p.m., to play against Fresno State, CSU Bakersfield and UC Santa Barbara.