Shutout Road Win Sets Up Sunday Rubber Match
MIAMI, Florida (KVIA) -- NM State Softball shut out FIU on Saturday, earning a 6-0 victory to even the Conference USA road series. Desirae Spearman tossed a complete game, allowing just three hits from the hosts. NM State belted two home runs across each of two three-run innings en route to its second shutout in league play. The win boosted the Crimson & White to 18-13 overall and 5-3 in CUSA, while FIU snapped a five-game streak and fell to 6-2 in league action.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The visitors got off on the right foot on Saturday, kickstarting their offense with a leadoff walk from Desirae Spearman. Devin Elam trailed with a single that advanced the starting pitcher to third base, setting up Riley Carley for an RBI sacrifice fly. With Elam still at first, Kristiana Watson got all of a 2-2 pitch, drilling it over the left-field wall to push her team in front 3-0 after the opening frame.
No sequential runs would be scored until the seventh inning. Meanwhile, Spearman allowed only seven runners to reach base safely, two of which came via errors. The sophomore struck out a pair of Panthers and allowed only three hits over the majority of the contest. In the second inning, a leadoff hit and walk were erased on a spectacular display from Kendal Lunar. The junior catcher watched a Panther bunt attempt head foul, before snaring the ball with her bare hand. The junior rifled the ball to second base, throwing out a leading runner for a heads-up double play.
During FIU’s dry spell, the Aggie bats posted hits in each frame and loaded the bases in the fourth, but was unable to plate any additional runs.
In the seventh, Spearman led off with a home run on a 3-2 pitch, belting a solo blast to left-center field. A Riley Carley walk was followed up by Lauren Garcia being hit and pinch ran for by Payton Nicholson. After a Tamra Carranza walk loaded the bases once more, a pinch hitting Skye Johnson singled through the left side, scoring Carley and Nicholson. The freshman put her squad in front 6-0 as they grabbed their gloves just three outs away from a road victory.
While the Panthers led off with a walk, no damage would come to cross. A flyout to right field preceded Spearman’s third strikeout of the day. The final out came via a ground ball back to the star pitcher, who tossed it to Kristiana Watson for a crucial win early in league play.
NUMBERS OF NOTE
· Tamara Carranza continued her hot streak by notching two hits, including a fourth-inning double.
· The true freshman has eight of her 13 career hits in the past five games and has hit .571 over the span.
· NM State now trails 12-16 in the all-time series against FIU, holding a 3-7 record in Miami.
· Last season, Desirae Spearman led the Aggies with 21 walks drawn across a 55-game season. The sophomore has already earned 30 walks this season, including one on Saturday.
· At the start of the weekend, only six players in Division I had drawn more than 27 walks.
· The sophomore’s home run in the seventh frame was her 14th of the season, widening her CUSA-best mark.
· With a first-inning home run, Kristiana Watson boosted her season total to nine, ranking second on the team and third in the conference. In her last 10 outings, Watson has tallied six of her nine four-baggers.
· Skye Johnson’s seventh-inning pinch hit was the sixth of her young career.
FROM THE FIELD
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on the win: “I believe that we rebounded well. We didn’t stay in one place, but came out seeing what we could do. I believe that offensively we have a lot of weapons. On defense, I’ve asked for us to clean it up for a couple weeks now and we’re starting to do that.”
Head Coach Kathy Rodolph, on Desirae Spearman’s shutout in the circle: “I told her recently that I feel like she’s owning her moments better and that she’s getting stronger with every challenge that she faces. She knows that she can do anything she sets her mind to, and she definitely put us on her back today both offensively and defensively.”
Sophomore pitcher Desirae Spearman, on her complete game shutout: “I just think my mindset today was very composed. I wasn’t getting too fast or speeding up the game. It was good to just be level-headed the whole game. I think that kept my defense the same way behind me, where they could just focus one play at a time.”
Sophomore pitcher Desirae Spearman, on her offensive role since leading off as of late: “I don’t think my mentality has changed in the box too much. It helps knowing that I’m first in the lineup off so the pitcher has to come at me. With Devin [Elam] and everyone behind me, it’s easy to accept a walk or fight for a hit.”
UP NEXT
The Aggies and Panthers will meet again tomorrow for the series finale of three games in Florida. The visitors have a third straight series win in their crosshairs as they prepare for a 9:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. ET) start time. The finale will be streamed live on ESPN+ and available to follow via nmstatestats.com.
