REBEL CLASSIC//ELLER MEDIA STADIUM//MARCH 9-12
BOX SCORES: UNLV 1 New Mexico State 0 // UNLV 7 Portland 5LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV Softball cleaned up on Saturday at the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium as the Rebels earned a 1-0 victory over New Mexico State in a nail-biter and held on in a 7-5 win over Portland State in the night cap. The pair of wins improved UNLV's record to 16-8 on the season.
While the offense exploded again in game two of the doubleheader for the second-straight day, the pitching was the story as Rebel ace
Morgan Ettinger and freshmen
Mara Kemmer and
Charlie Masterson combined to pitch 14 innings in the two contests, giving up just five runs on 12 hits with five strikeouts. Ettinger picked up her 12th win of the season while Kemmer notched her third.
A day after finding themselves on the wrong side of a late-inning 1-0 heartbreaker in their tournament opener, the Rebels were on the good side of one in the narrow victory over New Mexico State Saturday morning. Ettinger registered her third-straight and team-leading eighth complete-game performance of the season. The senior didn't let the seventh inning home run in the loss against Southern Illinois on Friday rattle her as she was even more dominant against the Aggies, giving up just five hits with one walk and five more strikeouts. With 12 wins and 58 strikeouts on the season, Ettinger has set new single-season career highs in both categories, while her eight complete games are one shy of tying her career mark. Ettinger has also collected all four of the Rebel shutouts this season, including two of her last three starts.
Since giving up seven runs on 11 hits in 4.1 innings pitched in a loss to Binghamton in the final game of the Red Desert Classic last weekend, Ettinger has been lights out, allowing just one run on 17 hits while striking out 17 and walking five in 21.0 innings pitched over her last three outings.
After the Rebel offense couldn't muster any runs for Ettinger in Friday's loss to the Salukis, they delivered one against the Aggies and that was all it took.
The game-winner in the bottom of the sixth came courtesy of none other than Janine Petmecky, who has been impressive driving in runs in 2017. Freshman Mara Kemmer got the sequence started with a leadoff single, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Emily Vela. Senior Brianna Gatlin followed with a single to center to put runners on the corners with one out. Petmecky, who had started the game but had been replaced by Reina Bondi in the second inning, was sent to the plate as a pinch hitter. She delivered with a groundout deep in the second base hole and it was enough to allow Kemmer to score. It was Petmecky's team-leading 15th RBI of the year.
Facing the Vikings in game two, the Rebels built a six-run lead early, then held on late for the two-run victory.
The Rebels exploded for their biggest single-inning output of the year with six runs on six hits in the first inning to jump out in front. The scoring started with a leadoff single by Kemmer, followed by a one-out walk to Brianna Gatlin and a single by Petmecky to load the bags. A wild pitch brought Kemmer home and a walk to Alyssa Navarro juiced the bases again for Kiley Harrison, who sent a double over the center fielder's head to score Gatlin and Petmecky. Next up was Brooke Stover, who got a single of her own to bring home Navarro, which was followed by another single by Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez that sent Harrison home and made it 5-0. The final run of the opening frame came on Kemmer's second single of the inning, when Stover advanced to score before Yadao-Valdez was caught in a rundown between third and home and was called out for leaving the base path.
The Rebels added another run in the third after centerfielder Myranda Bueno walked, stole second and made it all the way home on a wild pitch and throwing error by the Vikings' catcher.
Portland State scored one run in the second off Kemmer and added three more in the third, two of which were also Kemmer's, after Masterson came in with runners on first and second. Masterson allowed a double and a single that resulted in three runs for the Vikings, but settled down after that, giving up just one additional run in the bottom of the sixth before closing out the Vikings in order in the seventh.
UNLV finishes out the Rebel Classic with another game against Portland State at 11:15 a.m. on Sunday, marking the end of the non-conference tournament slate for 2017. The Scarlet & Gray will open up Mountain West play on the road at Utah State for a three game series, March 17, 18 & 19, in Logan, Utah.
-UNLV- 