Final Stats

SPORTCO KICK OFF CLASSIC//ELLER MEDIA STADIUM//FEB. 10-12

Tournament CentralBOX SCORES: Indiana State 11 UNLV 5 // UNLV 10 Virginia Tech 5LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - On the opening day of the 2017 season, UNLV Softball split its two contests on the first day of the 10th Annual Sportco Kick Off Classic at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels (1-1) dropped their first game of the day in an 11-5 loss Indiana State (1-1), but bounced back with a solid 10-2 run-rule win over Virginia Tech in six innings for the first victory of the 2017 season.

Six players registered at least two hits on the day to pace the offense, led by sophomore transfer Kiley Harrison, who registered four hits, three runs and three RBIs in her Rebel debut. It was a big day for a few of the newcomers as transfers Brianna Gatlin and Abby Howard had four and two hits, respectively, while freshman Mara Kemmer made an impressive introduction to collegiate softball with two hits and three RBIs. Leading the Rebels among the returners were Janine Petmecky and Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez, who combined for five hits, two runs and three RBIs. Overall, the offense had a strong day to kick off the 2017 campaign, hitting at a .379 clip as a team with a .478 on-base percentage.

As is usually the case for most teams at the beginning of the season, the Rebels experienced a bit of early rust in the field in game one. While the offense racked up 12 hits, it was the defense who struggled at times with six errors that led to three runs for the Sycamores.

After senior Kwyn Cooper held Indiana State to zero runs in the top half of the first inning, the Rebels struck first after Yadao-Valdez singled, advanced to second, then scored on a Gatlin single to center field. That score remained 1-0 until the top of the third, when a pair of walks, an error and a double by ISU's Becky Malcho brought in three runs to give the Sycamores the lead. Indiana State scored in each of the next five innings, including three in the fourth, and two each in the fifth and sixth to all but put the game away.

The Rebels tried to chip away at the lead, scoring one run in the fourth on Harrison's first career home run in a Rebel uniform, then three more in the fifth on five hits in the inning. Unfortunately UNLV couldn't find any offense over the final two frames and finished with the loss. Cooper gave up four funs on three hits to take the loss for the Rebels, while ISU's Kylie Stober picks up the win with 4.0 innings pitched and Kenzie Ihle gets the save with 2.1 innings of relief.

In game two against ACC-foe Virginia Tech, the Rebels settled down, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after two innings and never looking back. Gatlin opened up the scoring in the first inning after doubling to right field then crossing the plate on freshman Justine Federe's RBI single. UNLV added three more runs in the bottom half of the second -- a sequence started by a Harrison double to right center. A walk and a Kemmer triple brought in two runs, followed by a Yadao-Valdez single that brought Kemmer home.

After a couple of scoreless innings on both sides, the Hokies made it close with a pair of solo home runs in the top of the fifth off of Rebel starter Morgan Ettinger to draw Virginia Tech within 2. The Rebels responded quickly, though, as they put together a five-run bottom of the fifth on two hits, a hit by pitch and two bases-loaded walks to move the score to 9-2 and put the game out of reach.

The Rebels decided to end the game early in the bottom of the sixth after Gatlin reached on a walk and her pinch runner, Karly Bunderson, advanced to second on a fielder's choice. That brought up Harrison, who capped her stellar day with a bloop single that dropped into shallow left field to score Bunderson, giving the Rebels the run-rule win.

Outside of the two home runs, Ettinger was superb in her senior year debut, giving up just the two runs on five hits with seven strikeouts for the win. Virginia Tech's Chelsea Whitcomb took the loss after giving up four runs on five hits in 1.2 innings pitched.

UNLV is back in action on day two of the Sportco Kick Off Classic on Saturday, beginning with an 11:15 a.m. matchup against Louisville. The Cardinals, picked to finish second in the ACC in the preseason coaches poll, won their first game of the tournament 17-3 against Southern Utah and were up 13-2 on CSU Bakersfield in the fifth inning of their second game. The Rebels will wrap up day two with a contest against Southern Utah at 3:45 p.m. at Eller Media Stadium.

-UNLV-