REBEL CLASSIC//ELLER MEDIA STADIUM//MARCH 9-12

BOX SCORE: Portland State 8 Las Vegas 6LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - After UNLV Softball dispatched Portland State 7-2 on Saturday night, the two teams met for a rematch on Sunday afternoon in the finale of the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium. The Vikings returned the favor, beating the Rebels 8-6 on a rare off day for ace Morgan Ettinger (12-4). On the weekend, the Scarlet & Gray went 3-2 to move its record to 16-9 on the season -- the team's best start through 25 games since they had the same record in 2010.

Sunday's have not been kind to the Rebels or Ettinger as they have only managed one victory in four Sunday games over the first month of the season. Three of Ettinger's four losses have also come on the last day of the weekend.

The Vikings jumped on Ettinger and the Rebels early, picking up four runs on four hits in the opening frame. The Scarlet & Gray came out rusty, committing two errors in the inning to help the PSU cause.

The Rebels responded right away in the bottom half of the first. After leadoff hitter Mara Kemmer walked, Jadelyn Yadao-Valdez knocked down a bunt single to put two on with no outs. Kemmer and Yadao-Valdez each moved up a base on a wild pitch, then senior Brianna Gatlin launched her second home run of the season -- a three-run shot to left field to cut the Portland State lead to 4-3.

Both teams went scoreless over the next three innings and after Ettinger recorded her fourth zero on the scoreboard in the top of the fifth, the Rebel offense got going again, scoring two runs on two hits and an error to take a 5-4 lead. Karly Bunderson started the rally, reaching on an error, then Kemmer moved her to second with a groundout. With two outs, Gatlin walked, bringing up RBI specialist Janine Petmecky, who re-entered the game as a pinch hitter. Bunderson and Gatlin pulled off a double steal to reach third and second, respectively, and Petmecky delivered as usual with a single to center field to score both runs for her team-leading 16th and 17th runs batted in on the season. Alyssa Navarro followed with another single, but the Rebels stranded Petmecky and Navarro when Kiley Harrison struck out looking to end the inning.

UNLV, normally good at holding leads in 2017, couldn't manage to do the same against Vikings, as Ettinger allowed three more runs to score in the top half of the next inning as Portland State regained the lead 7-5. The Rebels got one back in the bottom half on a Kemmer RBI-single that scored Myranda Bueno from second base, but that's all they were able to get. The Vikings added one more run in the top of the seventh before PSU starter Emma Detamore got the final three outs to pick up her first win of the year.

With their non-conference tournament slate behind them, the Rebels will open up Mountain West play on the road at Utah State for a three game series, March 17, 18 & 19, in Logan, Utah. First pitch for Friday and Saturday's contests are set for 2 p.m. PT with Sunday's finale starting at 11 a.m. PT.

-UNLV-