May 11, 2007

Final Stats

SALT LAKE CITY - The UNLV softball team (36-27 overall, 11-8 Mountain West Conference) rallied for a 6-5 victory over the Utah Utes (25-25-1, 5-13) Friday at Ute Field in Salt Lake City. Utah jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after the first inning, but watched UNLV chip away with two runs in the third and four in the sixth to turn the tide. The win ensures that UNLV will end the 2007 MWC season with a winning record.

Utah opened up the scoring quickly with four runs on five hits in the first inning. Diana Phillips opened the game with a lead-off double to left center. Meghan Crouse hit a ball back up the middle to score Phillips. Staci Hemingway followed with a single of her own to left that moved Crouse to second. Crouse wound up taking third on a fly out by Hailey Davenport and eventually scored on a ground out by Andrea Hoffman. With Hemingway on third, Kara Foster smashed a two-run home run to left center to cap the Utes' four-run first inning. The home run by Foster prompted a pitching change that brought Christie Robinson into the ball game in relief of Stephanie Bregante.

The Rebels cut the deficit in half with a two-run home run by Jaci Hull in the third inning off an offering by Meghan Dyer. Hull's blast brought home Laura Briones, who reached on a one-out single to shallow center.

In the fifth inning, Phillips pulled back a possibly game-tying two-run home run by Laura Briones. Phillips timed her jump perfectly to reach a foot above the fence in straight-away center to snag the fly. Brittany Meade was standing on second on the shot, following her lead-off double, but was unable to score.

With UNLV unable to put a run on the scoreboard in the fifth, Utah got a solo shot by Hemingway to push the home team's lead to 5-2.

The Rebels took their first lead of the game in the sixth with help from four hits. Hull led off the inning with a single to center and then stole second with Kelli Fangonilo at the plate. Brittany Bolinger pushed Hull to third on a bunt single. Rosa Ordaz plated Hull with a double that sent Bolinger to third. Kendall Fearn then stepped up and delivered a three-run home run to center to give UNLV a 6-5 lead.

Robinson overcame back-to-back singles by the Utes in the sixth to keep Utah off the scoreboard.

Robinson improves to 14-5 on the year with help from her 6.1 innings of relief work. She allowed only one run on seven hits, while striking out one.

Dyer suffered the loss and falls to 17-14 in 5.1 innings of work. She surrendered six runs on eight hits, but struck out three Rebels.

Bregante took a no-decision thanks to the Rebel rally. She gave up four runs on four hits in only two-thirds of an inning.

Karina Cannon, who replaced Dyer in the fifth, tossed the final 1.2 innings for Utah. Cannon allowed only two hits to the six batters she faced.

UNLV and Utah return to action on Saturday afternoon at 1:00 pm MT. The game will be the finale of the 2007 regular season for both squads.