Watson’s Heroics Lift NM State Past Alabama A&M
AUSTIN, Texas (KVIA) -- In its final game before conference play, NM State Softball wrapped up the Longhorn Invitational with an extra-inning victory over Alabama A&M. While it took nine frames, the Aggies prevailed over the Bulldogs by a score of 5-4, doing so off a solo home run from Kristiana Watson. The victory capped off a 3-2 weekend that improved the Crimson & White to 12-10 overall.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Faith Aragon led off the morning with a walk, bringing Desirae Spearman to the plate. The sophomore sent the second pitch of her at-bat well over the left-field wall, bringing Aragon to home with her as the Aggies took a quick two-run lead. The deep shot was Spearman’s 10th of the season and the team’s second on the weekend, bringing the season total up to 27. Despite a pair of ensuing base hits, no further damage was done, sending Taryn Bennett into the circle.
The sophomore picked up her third start of 2025, making quick work of the Bulldogs. A hitless first inning was followed up with a one-hit frame in the second, setting up another chance for the Aggie bats in inning three.
Kristiana Watson got the Crimson & White going with a single before Skye Johnson’s 10-pitch battle resulted in a fielder’s choice, plating a pair on the basepaths. Riley Carley followed up with a double that brought Watson and around to score. After two and a half innings, NM State expanded its lead to 3-0.
Bennett held steady in the circle, tossing another hitless inning. Faith Aragon produced a two-out walk in the fourth, stealing second base shortly after. Desirae Spearman fought her way to a full count, capitalizing on the payoff pitch with a single to left field. The speedy Aragon rounded her way around third and bolted home, granting her squad a four-run lead after as many frames.
In the home half of the inning, Alabama A&M threatened to score off of back-to-back errors. Bennett forced the Bulldogs into consecutive flyouts to end the frame without a run.
A quiet inning from the Aggie bats brought the Bulldogs back out in the fifth. After an out in their first at-bat, a walk and three hits were produced by the following four batters. Midway through the flurry, Jaileen Mancha entered the circle. The burst rolled on as three runs were scored on back-to-back hits, before Taryn Bennett re-entered the circle. A final RBI single tied the affair, sending the contest into the sixth inning knotted at 4-4.
Two hits and a walk were not enough for the Aggies to score a run in the frame, but a double play kept the opposing bats at bay, queueing the final regulation inning.
A 1-2-3 top half gave the Bulldogs their first chance at a walk-off win, but Kendal Lunar caught a runner stealing, ending the frame for the Aggies’ second extra-inning affair of the weekend. While Lunar produced a base knock in the eighth, nothing came after. The Bulldogs matched with a hit in their own scoreless inning.
Desirae Spearman led off the ninth with a walk, but was thrown out trying to steal second base. On the eighth pitch of Kristiana Watson’s at-bat, the first-year Aggie sent one deep to right field, well over the 10-foot wall in left field and onto East 21st street. The blast ended a three-inning scoreless drought for both sides, giving the Aggies a 5-4 advantage.
While Alabama A&M knocked a single through the left side, Taryn Bennett’s ninth strikeout of the contest highlighted a six-pitch, victory-sealing inning. The frame included three one-pitch at-bats, capped off by a popup to Kenzie Nicholson at second base, granting NM State its 12th win of the season by a score of 5-4 in nine innings.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· NM State now leads the all-time series against Alabama A&M 1-0 after taking the first-ever meeting in program history.
· After posting a total of one home run across the previous seven games, NM State belted two deep balls in Sunday’s win.
· At least one Aggie has recorded a multi-hit game in 18 of 21 games this season.
· Taryn Bennett set two career highs on Sunday. The sophomore shattered her previous best of 6.1 innings tossed while at Hampton last year, throwing 9.0 against Alabama A&M for the most by any Aggie this season.
· The first-year Aggie also tallied nine strikeouts, surpassing her career-best showing of seven against North Carolina A&T in 2024.
· Across the weekend, NM State tallied six stolen bases, accounting for half of its season total (12). The Aggies swiped a season-best three bags on Sunday.
· Tamara Carranza notched the fourth hit of her career with a sixth-inning single. All of the true freshman’s hits have come within the past seven games.
· Kristiana Watson’s ninth-inning home run was her fourth of the season and her first since Feb. 16 against Texas A&M – Corpus Christi.
· For the weekend, Watson tallied a team-high seven RBIs, ranking second on the squad with 27 total runs dirven in this season.
· The Aggies improved to 4-4 in neutral contests in 2025.
· Kathy Rodolph’s bunch is now 5-4 following losses this season.
· NM State entered the morning averaging 6.61 runners left on base per game. On Sunday, nine Aggies were left stranded across as many innings.
· 17 different Aggies saw action on on Sunday, with seven recording a hit.
· The mark of 13 hits has only been surpassed in three games this season, including the Aggies’ bout with Abilene Christian on Saturday.
· Sunday was NM State’s seventh multi-home run game of the season.
· The Crimson & White were struck out just once on Sunday, marking their fourth contest with one or fewer punchouts taken this season.
· Nine strikeouts thrown tied the second-highest mark by Kathy Rodolph’s group all season. A day prior, NM State sat nine Wildcats down on strikes, falling just behind its 10-strikeout day against Portland State last weekend.
· For the weekend, Aggie pitchers allowed just one home run, coming against the nation’s top ranked team in the fifth inning at Texas.
FROM THE FIELD
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the Aggies’ Saturday showing: “Taryn [Bennett] simply did a great job for us today in the circle. Offensively, today was another challenge for us. We have to hold steady in extra innings, but it was nice to see Kristiana [Watson] pull through for us in the ninth. As we head into conference play, I welcome the opportunity to be able to focus on one opponent at a time. This league is extremely deep and talented. The challenge on the road will be difficult against a quality team in LA Tech.”
Sophomore pitcher Taryn Bennett, on her career outing versus Alabama A&M: “I think the biggest change that I’ve made since the beginning of the season is my mentality. I felt very locked in today and I was able to stay a lot more relaxed to trust in my own game. Having faith in my defense behind me makes all the difference. I let myself relax each time I come off the field and take a breath for a bit to give myself a quick mental break. That way, when I go back out, everything clicks and settles in quickly. Coming out and going back in today was a little difficult at first, but I realized the team needed me in that spot. It was all I could do to give it everything I had today.”
UP NEXT
NM State opens its Conference USA slate next week, staying on the road for a trip to Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs (10-9) will play host for three games from Friday to Sunday as both sides commence a 27-game league schedule. All contests in Ruston will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatestats.com.
