Friday, March 9
Las Vegas
6:00 PM
University of Nevada Las Vegas
0
vs
8
Washington
3/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 9, 2018
UNLV 2 DePaul 1 | #1 Washington 8 UNLV 0 | Rebel Classic Tournament Central | @UNLVSoftball
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball faced two of its toughest tests in the first month of the season and emerged with a split Friday on the opening day of the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels beat DePaul 2-1 in game one then fell to top-ranked and undefeated Washington 8-0 in the final game of the day. Now 15-7 on the season, the Rebels have their best start through 22 games since the 1996 squad went 17-5.
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball faced two of its toughest tests in the first month of the season and emerged with a split Friday on the opening day of the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels beat DePaul 2-1 in game one then fell to top-ranked and undefeated Washington 8-0 in the final game of the day. Now 15-7 on the season, the Rebels have their best start through 22 games since the 1996 squad went 17-5.
Against the Blue Demons, the Scarlet and Gray used another superb pitching performance by senior Janine Petmecky and a timely hit by freshman Samantha Diaz to narrowly defeat a DePaul squad that entered the weekend with a 14-5 record. Game two of the doubleheader saw the Rebels face a Husky team that showed why they are unbeaten and currently considered the top team in the country as Washington's offense and pitching were too strong to overcome in an 8-0 loss.
Petmecky's performance this season has been a significant part of UNLV's early success after not throwing one pitch as a junior a year ago. The right-hander has won six consecutive starts, all complete game performances, giving up just three earned runs over 42.0 innings with 48 strikeouts. For the year, Petmecky is 9-1 with a team-best 1.22 ERA and a career-high 61 strikeouts.
GAME 1: UNLV 2 DePaul 1
THE TURNING POINT: After the two teams traded scoreless frames for three-plus innings, the Rebels finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth. Senior catcher Brooke Stover got on base after being hit by a pitch and after a strikeout, Diaz was at the plate with one on and two outs. Diaz sent a towering shot to right field to break the tie and put the Rebels in front. The Blue Demons got one back in the sixth and threatened with two hits in the seventh, but Petmecky held them off to win her sixth straight start.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Diaz, who has been struggling at the plate over the last couple weeks, hit her third home run of the season -- all of which have been multi-run bombs - in what proved to be the game-winner. For the day she went 1-for-3 with one run scored and two RBI.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels have a below .500 record when getting out-hit by their opponent, but managed to win despite losing in that category 7-4.
GAME 2: #1 Washington 8 UNLV 0
THE TURNING POINT:The Scarlet and Gray battled with UW through the first three innings, trailing just 1-0 to one of the best teams in the country. The Huskies were able to break it open in the fifth, however, scoring five runs on six hits in the inning off Rebel starter Charlie Masterson. Washington added one run in the fifth and one in the top of the seventh for the final margin of 8-0.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Huskies had run-ruled their opponents in 11 of 24 games this season, but the Rebels forced the Huskies to play the full seven frames.
QUOTABLE:Head coach Kristie Fox -
"We played two great teams. DePaul is really strong in its conference and consistently makes the postseason and then we faced the number one team in the nation. Our girls came out to play, they weren't scared and they competed and I think we learned a lot in both games. I was happy with the way we were able to produce against DePaul, we did just enough to get the win and played good defense behind Janine. Playing these doubleheaders is tough, so for us to come out and get one win, that's a good night for us."
REBEL NOTES:
"We played two great teams. DePaul is really strong in its conference and consistently makes the postseason and then we faced the number one team in the nation. Our girls came out to play, they weren't scared and they competed and I think we learned a lot in both games. I was happy with the way we were able to produce against DePaul, we did just enough to get the win and played good defense behind Janine. Playing these doubleheaders is tough, so for us to come out and get one win, that's a good night for us."
REBEL NOTES:
* UNLV has a 15-7 record through the first 22 games, marking the best start since the 1996 squad went 17-5
* The Rebels were shut out for just the fourth time this season
* Dating back to Feb. 17, Petmecky has won six consecutive starts, all complete game performances, giving up just three earned runs over 42.0 innings with 48 strikeouts. For the year, Petmecky is 9-1 with a team-best 1.22 ERA and a career-high 61 strikeouts
* Saturday's matchup against No. 1 Washington marked the first time since 2006 UNLV had faced the top-ranked team in the country (Rebels lost 7-0 to No. 1 Arizona in Las Vegas in 2006, when current head coach Kristie Fox was a junior. Fox and the Wildcats went on to win their first of back-to-back titles)
UP NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will have another doubleheader Saturday on day two of the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium, taking on New Mexico State at 1:30 p.m. and finishing the day with their first of two matchups this weekend against Portland State immediately after.
UP NEXT FOR THE REBELS: UNLV will have another doubleheader Saturday on day two of the Rebel Classic at Eller Media Stadium, taking on New Mexico State at 1:30 p.m. and finishing the day with their first of two matchups this weekend against Portland State immediately after.
Players Mentioned
SS/3B
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P/IN
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P/OF
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C
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