LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Aggies returned to the NM State Softball Complex for the third and final game of the weekend series against Grand Canyon. After splitting the pair of games with them on Friday, the Aggies grabbed the series from the Lopes on Saturday with the help of a two-out, two-run walk-off home run in the seventh inning by
Kayla Bowen, sending GCU home with their first series loss of the season.
First Inning
Jordin King got the start in the circle for the Aggies and showed impressive control of her pitches, making light work of the top of GCU's lineup with a pair of strikeouts.
Paige Knight launched a double up the middle to represent the first baserunner of the game but couldn't cross home plate before the end of the inning.
Second Inning
Knowing the importance of this game, Head Coach
Kathy Rodolph rotated through a trio of pitchers in the second inning – King,
Laurali Patane and
Emily Dix. Despite their best efforts, the fearsome 'Lopes lineup was able to produce three runs and make it a 3-0 game.
Jillian Taylor got the Aggie offense going in the second inning with a single to left field – her fifth hit of the weekend.
Devin Elam followed suit and smoked a line drive up the middle to put a pair of Aggies on the basepaths for
Kendal Lunar. No stranger to flashing extra-base power in her freshman campaign, Lunar crushed a double off the base of the right field wall, clearing the bases ahead of her and putting the Crimson & White within one (3-2).
Fifth Inning
Emily Dix was able to silence the Lopes' bats for a couple of innings, keeping the Aggies within a run, until GCU tacked on a couple in the fifth with a pair of home runs by the middle of the Lopes' order, bringing the score to 5-2. This prompted
Kathy Rodolph to make a move to the circle, bringing in
Felicia De La Torre to try and limit the damage. This move proved successful as De La Torre sat down the only two batters she faced in the frame.
The Aggies failed to produce any offense in the bottom of the fifth, going down in order and keeping the deficit at three.
Sixth Inning
After holding the Lopes scoreless in the top half of the inning, the Aggies were able to get a couple of runners on after
Kayla Bowen singled to lead off the inning, and
Jillian Taylor was struck by a pitch. Both runners later advanced into scoring position on a wild pitch, allowing
Devin Elam to drive in some runs. Elam hit a soft grounder to the third baseman and was thrown out on the play, but did score Bowen from third, bringing the Aggies within two of the Lopes heading into the final inning.
Seventh Inning
A three-up, three-down inning by Felica De La Torre kept the deficit at two, bringing the Aggies to the plate with a chance to tie or win the game in the bottom of the seventh.
GCU succeeded in sitting down the first two Aggie hitters of the inning, putting NM State in danger of losing the game and, ultimately, the series. However,
Riley Carley had other plans -the Arizona native stepped up to the plate and sent a deep shot over the left field wall, bringing the Aggies' deficit back to one.
Paige Knight followed the homerun by drawing a four-pitch walk, bringing the Aggies' most feared hitter,
Kayla Bowen, to the plate with a chance to tie or win the ball game. First pitch swinging, Bowen drilled a ball into right field that she knew was gone as soon as it left the bat. The ball sailed over the right field wall for a two-run home run, handing NM State the 6-5 victory and the series win.
Numbers to Note
32 – With her two knocks today,
Kayla Bowen now leads the team in hits with 32 for the year.
9 – Riley Carley extended her eight-game hitting streak to nine games with her solo shot in the seventh inning.
7 – Carley Also ties
Jillian Taylor for the team lead in home runs after smacking her seventh long ball of the year.
4 – The Aggies used four different pitchers in today's game:
Jordin King (starter),
Laurali Patane,
Emily Dix and
Felicia De La Torre (win).
1 – Bowens walk-off also secured the first win of the season for third year dealer,
Felicia De La Torre.
Up Next
NM State returns to the softball complex next weekend to take on Sam Houston for another three-game series. Action will begin on Friday with a double header starting at 4 p.m. followed by the series finale on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
