San Diego State 5 UNLV 2 (9) |@UNLVSoftball

LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball dropped a tough one Friday night at Eller Media Stadium in its series opener against San Diego State, losing 5-2 in nine innings to the Aztecs. The defeat marked UNLV's sixth straight loss in Mountain West play and was its first loss in extra innings this season. Now 21-14 overall and 3-7 in the conference, the Rebels still have a chance to take the series from the Aztecs and end a string of two consecutive league series losses.

SDSU jumped on Rebel starter Janine Petmecky early, scoring two runs on four hits in the opening frame to take a 2-0 lead. Petmecky issued a leadoff walk in the second, but then retired the next 17 batters into the seventh inning to keep UNLV in the game.

The Rebels rallied to overcome the deficit in the bottom of the fourth inning on a Reina Bondi two-out two-RBI double that scored Samantha Diaz and Jaclyn Candelas to even the score at two.

UNLV's offense was shut down after that, but overall the Rebels had their chances throughout the game as seven runners were left on base.

THE TURNING POINT: After the Rebels tied the game at two, the next five innings went scoreless between the two squads. Still at 2-2 going into the ninth, SDSU drew a one-out walk followed by a single to put two on. A groundout moved the runners to second and third, then two singles, two wild pitches and another single scored a total of three runs for the Aztecs - all with two outs.

STAT(S) OF THE GAME: After Petmecky gave up two runs on four hits in the first and a leadoff walk in the second, the senior went on to retire the next 17 straight batters between the second and seventh innings.

REBEL NOTES:
* With the the loss, the Rebels have now lost six straight Mountain West games