Box Score

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -

New Mexico 8, Utah State 5

In a back-and-forth battle, Utah State softball dropped the second game at New Mexico, Saturday, in an 8-5 decision.

Freshman pitcher Delaney Hull threw the complete game Saturday, tossing a career-high nine strikeouts. Sophomore outfielder Riley Plogger was tops offensively, as she went 1-for-2 at the plate, but reached base three other times on two walks and an error.

With the loss, Utah State falls to 15-27 on the season, including a 5-12 Mountain West record. New Mexico improves to 12-30 overall and 5-10 in conference play.

New Mexico was first to score Saturday, with a run in the bottom of the third. After opening the inning with a walk and stolen base, a triple down the first base line brought the first run of the day around. Later in the inning, another two runs would score on a double, after a fly ball got lost in the sun.

Utah State answered quickly though, tying the score in the top of the fourth. Senior outfielder Jazmin Clarke led off with a bunt single, quickly stealing second. Plogger followed with a walk, while senior catcher Brina Buttacavoli came up big with a three-run home run over the center field fence. After loading the bases on three walks, a sac fly brought another run in for the Aggies before the Lobos turned a double play to end the top half of the inning. Utah State's lead didn't last long, as New Mexico added another run in the bottom of the inning, capitalizing on back-to-back doubles to tie the score again.

The lead moved back to the Aggies' favor in the top of the sixth, as USU took advantage of a Lobo error and a pair of hits. With one out, junior first baseman Bailey Lewis reached first on a defensive error. Senior outfielder Emily Hunter then singled to shortstop, while sophomore second baseman Devan Sperry followed with a single to left center to score Lewis. The Lobos made their second pitching change of the day then, and immediately turned a double play on the next at-bat.

New Mexico regained control in the bottom of the inning. In between two strikeouts from Hull, the Lobos drew a walk. A pair of singles then brought a run across, tying the score at five. Another batter was then hit by a pitch, loading the bases. A pair of errors by the Aggie defense on the same play then proved costly, as three runs scored for New Mexico. Utah State got one runner on in the top of the seventh through a New Mexico error, but the Aggies were unable to come back once again.

On the day, New Mexico out-hit Utah State, 7-5. The Aggies made three errors, while the Lobos had two.

Utah State and New Mexico will conclude the series on Sunday, April 22, at noon.

Fans can follow the Aggie softball program on Twitter, @USUSoftball, on Facebook at /USUSoftball or on Instagram, @ususoftball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program on Twitter, @USUAthletics, Facebook at /USUAthletics and on Instagram, @USUAthletics.