New Mexico State, UTEP continue play in Conference USA softball tourney

The streaking New Mexico State softball team keeps on rolling in the Conference USA Softball Tournament at the NM State Softball Complex.

A day after defeating Jacksonville State with a walk off homer, the fourth-seeded Aggies came back and beat top-seeded Liberty, 11-3, in five innings Thursday to stay unbeaten in the double elimination tourney.

Dezianna Patmon hit two home runs and drove in four runs, Jillian Taylor had four hits and scored four times and El Paso native Desirae Spearman had two hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. As a team, the Aggies had 14 hits.

"Our team really performed well and left everything on the field," Aggies coach Kathy Rodolph said. "We played well as a team and everyone contributed."

Emily Dix was the winning pitcher, pitching all five innings and allowed six hits.

"We're in this and we're playing well," Patmon said.

Added Spearman: "We came out super hungry and we attacked."

The Aggies never trailed in the game and scored the game's first five runs and the final six runs. They evened the season series against Liberty at 2-2. Liberty won two of three earlier in season at home with both wins coming by a run.

UTEP's season comes to end

Liberty’s Brynn McManus tied the CUSA Softball Championship single-game RBI record with six runs driven in during the No. 1 Lady Flames’ 13-10 win against No. 6 UTEP on Thursday evening in an elimination game.

The sophomore infielder went 3-4 with a pair of doubles and a grand slam that tied the game in the bottom of the fourth. McManus also plated two runs with a two-bagger as part of a four-run second inning.

After the Miners (26-21) closed the gap to one in the top of the sixth, the Lady Flames’ Brooke Roberts padded the lead with a two-run shot to dead center to secure the final margin.

Elena Escobar pitched the final 6.1 innings and notched three strikeouts on her way to a victory. Annika Litterio suffered the loss after surrendering the go-ahead runs in the fifth.

Liberty (33-23) will face No. 3 LA Tech in another elimination game at 2:30 p.m. on Friday.

Chapin grad Lexi Morales finished her career for the Miners with two hits, including a leadoff homer to start the game. Ashlynn Allen drove in two runs, Ajia Richard had three hits and Marijn Crouwel hit a home run and drove in four runs for UTEP

More: Day one of CUSA Softball Tourney New Mexico State, UTEP compete in CUSA softball tourney in Las Cruces.

Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: NMSU knocks off Liberty, 11-3, remains perfect in softball tournament