On the first day of a three-game series against the Florida International University Panthers, New Mexico State softball belted out a 9-6 victory over the Panthers. The game went down to the bottom of the seventh inning, where redshirt junior Riley Carley blasted a three-run walk off home run to seal the victory. Riding the momentum of the first game, the Aggies pulled off a 3-0 series sweep and now sit in third place in Conference USA standings.
The Aggies were quick to get off the field after a powerful defensive display as they retired the Panthers’ first three batters. Stepping up to the plate, the Aggies got it going when junior Dezianna Patmon nailed an RBI double to center field to give the Aggies the early 1-0 lead.
Following a slow offensive start in the first, the Panthers quickly found their groove. After giving up a walk and a single, Zamya McBurrows bested the Aggies defense by hitting an RBI single up the middle to tie the game at one apiece. The scoring did not stop there as the Panthers took the lead with another RBI single, this time from Ashton Lansdell.
Going into the bottom of the second, the Panthers defense shut down the Aggies. Despite a solid start with a base hit from redshirt senior Kristen Boyd, the inning ended with senior Kayla Lunar grounding into a double play.
After preventing the Panthers from tacking on any runs, the Aggies took advantage of the Panthers fielding errors and struck back to retake the lead in the bottom of the third inning. Senior Jillian Taylor hit a bunt single, but a throwing error advanced the runner at first to third base. Patmon then reached first base off a fielding error which led to senior Jayleen Burton scoring the first run followed by an RBI single from sophomore Devin Elam for the 3-2 lead.
After trading scoreless innings, the Panthers tied it up in the top of the fifth. Kally Meredith, the first batter of the inning, earned an infield single off a bunt while Isabella Perez followed suit. With runners on first and second base, Bailey Grossenbacher brought Kally Meredith home off an RBI single while leaving runners on first and third.
After allowing the Panthers to tie the game, the Aggies retaliated with a two-run inning. The offensive performance began with senior Jayleen Burton’s single up the middle for a base hit followed by a two-run home run drive from Taylor to give the Aggies a comfortable 5-3 lead.
Attempting to climb back into the game, Kally Meredith scored off a fielding error to cut the Aggies’ lead down to one run in the top of the sixth.
Heading into the top of the seventh and the final opportunity to tie or take the lead, the Panthers fought back with an RBI single from Ella Whitney to third base to tie the game at five apiece. After guaranteeing to extend the inning to the bottom frame, Ashton Lansdell hit an RBI single towards right field, giving the Panthers a 6-5 lead.
Facing two outs in the bottom half, the Aggies stayed afloat with Patmon and freshman Desirae Spearman drawing walks. The momentum continued for the Aggies when sophomore Devin Elam hit an RBI single to right field bringing home Spearman to tie the game. After being 0-3 in her three previous at bats, redshirt senior Riley Carley slammed a three-run walk off home run to seal the 9-6 victory for the Aggies.
“In the corner of my eye, I saw my whole team running out and I just heard all the fans cheering,” Carley said after the win. “The second I hit home plate, my teammates took off my helmet, they’re hugging me, and it’s just sending my adrenaline through the roof.”
The Aggies went on to defeat the Panthers 8-0 in the second game in just five innings and capped off the series with a 9-5 victory.
Following the matchup, the Aggies headed up north to face I-25 rival, the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and succeeded over the Lobos in a close game. The Aggies will now travel to Lynchburg, Virginia to battle against the Liberty University Flames in another three-game conference series beginning on Friday, April 19 at 4 p.m. All updates will be posted on the official NMSU Athletics website.
