NMSU Softball Regular Season Ends as Offense Sputters

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee (KVIA) -- The 50th regular season of NM State Softball is in the books. A hot start turned sour as Middle Tennessee celebrated its Senior Day, handing the Aggies another one-run defeat. The Aggies mustered just three hits, including just one in the final five innings. For the third straight weekend, the Aggies lost two out of three games despite never getting outscored in a single series. The Crimson & White will begin play in the CUSA Championship in three days. 

HOW IT HAPPENED

Devin Elam started the game with a bang, rocking the third pitch of her at-bat to left field for a three-run home run. Earlier in the inning, Desirae Spearman and Dezianna Patmon reached on back-to-back walks, setting up the sophomore outfielder. Her blast was the fifth of her season, bringing in her 32nd, 33rd and 34th RBI of 2024. 

Elam extended her hitting streak to 14 games, further past her previous best of six games. The April 15th CUSA Player of the Week recorded a first-inning three-run home run, moving her batting average to .431. She also has 19 RBIs in her past 16 appearances. Unfortunately for NM State, Elam’s home run would be the last run scored as they recorded only two hits for the remainder of the game. 

MTSU scored a run in four of the first five innings of play, only failing to do so in the second frame. Emily Dix got the nod in the circle, and was relieved by Jaileen Mancha after 2.1 innings. The former recorded a strikeout and allowed four hits over the outing before Mancha entered with a 3-2 lead. The junior retired two straight batters and got out of the inning, but ran into trouble in the fourth. 

A leadoff single was followed up by an Aggie fielding error to bring a Blue Raider into scoring position. Later in the frame, a sacrifice fly to deep center field tied the affair at 3-3, which is where the score held until the fifth. A pair of doubles on back-to-back at-bats brought in Kamryn Carcich, who represented the winning run. 

After three straight flyouts in the sixth inning, NM State was left with one more chance to end the series and regular season with a win. The top of the seventh got off to a promising start with a Jayleen Burton walk. Two batters later, pinch-hitting Kristen Boyd drove a double to center field, but Burton was thrown out while reaching for third base, bringing the Aggies down to their final out. Jessica Carreon laid down a bunt in an effort to extend the game, but was thrown out at first base.

UP NEXT

While the regular season is complete, NM State will be one of just a handful of teams in the nation to return to play home. The Aggies are the hosts for next week’s Conference USA Championship, which will be held in Las Cruces from May 8-11. The Aggies clinched the fourth seed and will take on Jax State in the first game on Wednesday. The action will be streamed live on ESPN+, with the exception of Saturday’s title game on CBS Sports Network. Live statistics will also be available at nmstatestats.com.

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).