April 27, 2000

LAS VEGAS - The UNLV Rebel softball team lost the final two games at the Rebel Softball Diamond Thursday to San Diego St., 8-4 and 11-9. UNLV ended its season home schedule 16-36 overall and 2-14 in MWC play. The conference's third-place team, the Aztecs, completed the day 31-23 overall and 11-5 in league competition.

In game one, the Aztecs came out firing, scoring two runs via a RBI single by Tashie Aguinaga. In the same inning, the Rebels capitalized on an error by SDSU that brought in Nicole Miller.

San Diego State pulled away with three runs in the second and third innings, but in the bottom of the third, Racheal Goodpaster blasted a two-run shot that brought the Rebels back to within two. The homerun tied an UNLV single-season homerun record (15) set by Kim Rondina in 1995 and 1997.

The Aztec bats would be too tough for the Rebel pitchers though as SDSU tallied three more scores and total 15 hits throughout the game.

In the nightcap, both teams decided to "tee off" at the plate. San Diego St. tallied 14 hits for the game while the Rebels pounded out 13 of their own.

Down 9-4 in the bottom of the fifth, UNLV battled back to pull even with the Aztecs. Erica Vollweiler, Goodpaster, Geney Orris, Linda Garza, Celeste Alvarado, and Charelle Ainslie all began the inning with singles. Miller, the leagues leading hitter, capped the come back with a RBI single.

San Diego St. would once prevail in the later innings. They constructed two more runs in the sixth and held off a Rebel bases loaded rally in the seventh.