May 4, 2014
Box Score
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team dropped a 10-7 decision to the Oregon State Beavers Sunday at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels (23-28) clung to a 4-2 lead through four innings of play, but the Beavers' (16-30) offense awoke in the late innings and outscored the hosts 8-3 down the stretch for the come-from-behind victory.
Pauline Monreal led the Scarlet & Gray offensively with a career day at the plate. She set a personal best in RBI with six and tied a previous mark in hits with three. With help from the half dozen RBI, Monreal moved into a tie for first place in UNLV's single-season record book with Kim Rondina (1995) with 58. In her final three at-bats and produced a two-run double, a two-run home run and an RBI single.
Three other Rebels registered multiple-hit games with Stefany Valentino scattering three hits, while Garie Blando and Jaexie Balilea had two each.
With the scored tied at 7, OSU pulled away from UNLV with three unanswered runs after two outs had been recorded. Kori Nishitomi and Ya Garcia were responsible for the game-winning run and hit, respectively, when the duo combined for back-to-back doubles off Morgan Ettinger (8-9). Later with Garcia sitting on second, Dani Gilmore took a free pass to first base to put a pair on for Alexis Gonzalez, who hit a duck snort to right field that brought in two more runs.
Unfortunately, the Rebel offense went cold in the seventh, as Sarah Shadinger (1-1) shut it down for the its first 1-2-3 inning of the game.
The Beavers opened up the affair with a couple of runs off a two-run double by CJ Chirichigno.
UNLV answered back with four runs between the third and fourth stanzas. They loaded the bases in the third with three straight singles by Garie Blando, Samantha Juarez and Valentino. Monreal then brought everyone home with a bases-clearing double to center. An inning later, Balilea crushed a home run to center field to put the Rebels ahead by one at 4-3.
The squads combined to score four runs in the fifth with each plating a pair. OSU got its tallies with the assistance of a fielding error and an RBI single by Kiki Pepi. UNLV countered with Monreal's two-run home run that scored Valentino, who had previously reached on a one-out single.
In the sixth, Amanda Oliveto gave up a double to Garcia and then plunked Gilmore with a pitch before giving way to Ettinger in relief. Ettinger was able to get the first batter she faced out, but Chirichigno stepped in and took the 11th pitch of the at-bat deep to left center for a three-run homer and a one-run lead at 7-6.
OSU's coaching staff summoned Shadinger in from the bullpen in relief of Melanie Dembinski in the bottom half of the sixth. Shadinger allowed the first two batters she faced to reach on a single (Blando) and walk (Juarez). The two runners moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt by Valentino. Monreal then tied the game at 7-all with an RBI single to left.
Shadinger picked up the win in 2.0 innings of relief. She was touched for one run off of two hits. She walked two and struck out one. Her predecessor, Dembinski, struck out five, but allowed six runs off of 12 hits in five innings.
For UNLV, Ettinger was saddled with the loss in two innings of work. She gave up four runs off of five hits with two strikeouts against one walk. Oliveto, like Dembinski, went five innings and surrendered six runs (four earned) off of 10 hits. She struck out three and walked two.
UNLV returns to action this week with a Thursday through Sunday series (May 8-10) in Mountain West play against Utah State. The first two games are set for 6:00 pm first pitches, while the third and final regular-season contest is scheduled for 1:00 pm.
NOTES: With help from her three hits, Valentino increased her career-best hitting streak to 23 games ... In the career record book, Valentino moved into a tie for seventh in hits (212) with Julie Crandall (1995-98), and Monreal moved into a tie for sixth in home runs (33) with Tayler Aleman (2010-13) ... In the single-season record book, Blando moved into a tie for 10th in runs (43) with Sara Mallett (1994), and Monreal moved into a tie for seventh in home runs (13) with Geney Orris (2002).
