LEESBURG, Fla. - The NM State softball team (7-10) took care of business on a wild day at The Spring Games with a 2-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast in nine innings and a 4-2 win over Middle Tennessee. The Aggies were scheduled to begin its doubleheader at 10:30 a.m. this morning, but inclement weather came through the area, and the Aggies finished up the doubleheader just after 10 p.m. MT. 

Game One vs. Florida Gulf Coast
The Aggies put together a gritty performance in its longest game since May 10, 2019, to defeat Florida Gulf Coast in nine innings on Saturday night. The Eagles pushed one run across in the first inning, but redshirt freshman Matalasi Faapito shut down the Eagles for the remainder of the game to keep the Aggies within striking distance. The Aggie bats woke up at the perfect time, as redshirt freshman Hope Banales, freshman Briana Gallegos and freshman Kendra Levesque each singled to tie the game in the top of the seventh inning. The two teams would go scoreless in the eighth inning before Banales reached on an error to score redshirt freshman Ramsay Lopez to give the Aggies its first lead of the night in the ninth inning. Faapito would retire the Eagles in order to secure a victory for the Aggies.

Faapito had her best performance in the circle as an Aggie, as she allowed just four hits and one run while striking out a career-high nine batters. Faapito allowed just one hit in the final seven innings and held the Eagles hitless in the final four innings. 

Shebloski and Gallegos each had their best games in the batter's box this season, as they each went two-for-four against the Eagles.

Game Two vs. Middle Tennessee
The Aggies took control from start to finish in a the 4-2 win over the Blue Raiders, in a game that finished just after midnight in Leesburg. The Aggies struck first in the second inning thanks to a RBI-triple by Banales and a two-RBI double by Faapito. Faapito would continue her incredible night in the fourth inning when she hit her fourth home run of the year to give the Aggies a 4-0 lead.

The Aggie offense weren't the only ones making plays, as the Aggie defense had a couple of great individual efforts to keep the Blue Raiders from doing any damage. In the fifth inning, freshman Jillian Taylor made a diving catch in right field to prevent a run by the Blue Raiders. In the sixth inning with one out and the bases loaded, redshirt freshman Hailey Tanori caught a routine fly ball in center field and gunned down the runner at third to prevent the Blue Raiders from cutting the lead to one. Redshirt freshman Felicia De La Torre sat the Blue Raiders down in order in the seventh inning to clinch the win.

The Aggies will be looking for its fifth and sixth straight wins tomorrow when they face South Dakota at 1 p.m. and Toledo at 3:30 p.m. Both games will be streamed live on FloSoftball with a paid subscription.

For updates throughout the season, follow the Aggies on Twitter (@NMStateSoftball), Instagram (@nmstatesoftball) and Facebook (NM State Softball).

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