NMSU’s Taylor, Spearman pick up softball CUSA honors

(Courtesy: NMSU Athletics)

DALLAS, Texas - Another week led to another set of hardware for NM State Softball.

This time around, Jillian Taylor was named Conference USA Player of the Week after a walk-off grand slam highlighted a 4-1 week for the Aggies.

Once again, Desirae Spearman won Freshman of the Week honors for the fourth time in what is now her fifth conference award of the season. 

As a team, NM State went 4-1 on the week, improving to 20-13 overall.

The Aggies played two non-conference opponents, starting with a Tuesday doubleheader versus rival New Mexico.

The home team swiftly defeated UNM in the opener, thanks to a masterful Spearman performance in the circle and an equally impressive performance from Taylor at the plate.

Spearman allowed just one unearned run in the first inning, striking out five batters and allowing four hits in the complete game. 

Jillian Taylor came up to bat in the fifth inning with a 5-1 lead and the bases loaded.

The senior took a Lobo pitch well out of the park to left field, walking it off with a grand slam to win 9-1 over the interstate rivals. 

Over the course of the five-game week, the senior tallied a .467 batting average, seven hits, two home runs and eight RBIs.

Two walks and a HBP increased her OPS to 1.526 on the week.

She added a stolen base as part of a 15-total base week, scoring six of the Aggies' 36 runs.

On defense, Taylor made multiple impressive plays, and boasted a 1.000 fielding percentage on the week.

Her season mark is .979, making just one error all year across 31 starts in center field.

For the week, Spearman was exceptional once again, despite missing the final two games.

Spearman pitched the opening game of each series, going the distance in each outing.

She allowed 3 runs (2 earned) across 12 innings, for a 1.17 weekly ERA, just over her season average of 0.83.

That mark ranks among the top 15 in the nation, and well ahead of her league peers.

Spearman is now 6-0 with an ERA nearly half that of any other CUSA pitcher (1.58).

She is one of just two pitchers in the league with an ERA of less than 2.00, and holds the only sub-1.00 mark.

Despite missing 13 games, she has still finished five complete games this season, averaging 6.0 innings per outing.

The El Paso native is also top-50 in the nation and third in the conference with 9 home runs on the season.

Her batting average is now .414, and a multitude of walks drawn has moved her OPS to 1.476.

The freshman pitcher, despite missing 13 games, still ranks second on the team in total bases (57) and RBIs (25). 

Taylor became the first Aggie to pick up a Player of the Week award from the new conference, completing the collection of all three league awards won by an Aggie this season.

Spearman now holds five CUSA awards, including four Freshman of the Week selections.

She has won an award every week she has appeared on the field, only missing out in the two weeks she dealt with injury.

She will look to continue the trend with three games at Jax State this weekend. 

For complete coverage of NM State Softball during the 2024 season, visit NMStateSports.com – the official home of the Aggies – and follow the Aggies on Facebook (NM State Softball), Twitter (@NMStateSoftball) and Instagram (@NMStateSoftball).