Everything went right for the New Mexico State softball team Tuesday evening, with the Aggies soundly defeating I-10 rival UTEP in both games of the doubleheader matchup.

The Aggies were electric from the plate all day, hitting an impressive .478 and .429 in each game respectively. The scoring often came in bunches, with a six-run second inning being the catalyst behind their 8-6 win in the early game and a five-run third inning opening the flood gates in their 8-0 route that was called after five innings in the later contest.

It looked like the run-rule would come into play during game one as well, but a late run by UTEP would force the game to go a full seven innings and even cause a scare for an Aggies team that was in complete control for a majority of the matchup.

NMSU wouldn’t mess around during game two, though.

After two scoreless innings by both teams, 2017 WAC Player of the Year Kelsey Horton blasted her 11th home run into left field, bringing in two runners and kicking off the avalanche that would come in NMSU’s most dominant win of the season.

“I wasn’t expecting her to keep throwing inside, so I kept fouling them off and I was just waiting for her to throw one in the zone so I could do something with it,” Horton said of her homer that came during a 15-pitch at-bat. “I was doing whatever I could to score those two runners because I knew that that would be vital for us.”

While explosive offense has become a head coach Kathy Rodoplh trademark, a great deal of the credit for the two wins should go to the pitching staff, too.

Kayla Green, Samaria Diaz and Analise De La Roca combined to allow just eight combined hits through the doubleheader, with the only earned runs coming from a UTEP home run in the fifth.

“We actually had time to get back and hone our mechanics and work on sequences,” Rodolph said when asked about the team’s pitching performances. “We got an awful lot of practice [during spring break] and we really reaped the benefit of that tonight.”

That spring break jolt that the Aggies have played with over their last few games was much needed for a team that began to slide in the standings.

Prior to NMSU defeating UTEP twice Tuesday night and New Mexico in Albuquerque last Wednesday, the Aggies had lost eight of their last 10 games and were “playing on their heals” according to Rodolph. These rivalry wins are huge from both a win-loss standpoint and for the team’s confidence going forward with conference play starting this Friday against UMKC in Kansas City, Mo..

“Obviously, I want to win every time I step on the field, but more importantly, I wanted to see us play up to our ability without worrying,” Rodolph said. “I felt like we did that and we’re firing on all cylinders.”