AUSTIN, Texas | The Alabama A&M softball team completed the final two games of a six-game road stretch by dropping a narrow 5-4 contest to New Mexico State in nine innings before falling to No. 2 University of Texas.

The Aggies were the first to get on the board when Desirae Spearman homered to left field, allowing Faith Aragon to score and NMSU to take a 2-0 lead. Neither team added a tally in the second frame, but New Mexico State didnt let that happen for long, as Riley Carley doubled, bringing Kristiana Watkins around to score at the top of the third. NMSU expanded their control to four in the fourth frame as the Spearman-Aragon pair struck again, this time off a Spearman single.

The Bulldogs, attempting to prevent a shutout, found themselves at the bottom of the fith, scoring four points in the frame to level the contest. With Maroon and White uniforms on second and third base, Akyndra Montalvo doubled to left field, allowing Charity Bibbs and Ki Davis to score in the process. At the next at-bat, Allyson Riches tripled up the middle and Montalvo scored. The Bulldogs, full of momentum, saw one more run from Riches after Toni Purchas singled down the right field line and brought the game to a head. With the win on the line, both teams battled and defended for three scoreless innings. At the top of the ninth, however, Watson recorded a solo home run to edge out the Bulldogs who were unable to recover at the bottom of the inning.

In the final game of the Longhorn Invitational, the host team recorded three runs in the opening inning, including a homerun that tallied two RBI's. Texas picked up two more runs in the second stanza, one on an AAMU error. UT picked up three more runs while the Bulldogs were unable to get anything going. The number two team in the nation finished the Invitational without a loss, shutting out the Maroon and White 8-0.

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Alabama A&M returns to Rocket City for a five game homestand, hosting a pair against Detroit Mercy on Thursday at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. The Bulldogs open Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play by welcoming the Delta Devils of Mississippi Valley State University on Friday and Saturday. Admission and parking are free to all contests, and live streaming will be available via Bulldogs All-Access.

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