5/18/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 18, 2018
UC Riverside 7 UNLV 1 | UNLV 5 UNR 0 | @UNLVSoftball
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball's milestone season came to an end Friday with a 7-1 loss to UCR in the National Invitational Softball Championship regional title game at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels began the day on a high note as they shut out in-state rival UNR 5-0 in game one to advance to the championship game against the Highlanders, but for the second night in a row they couldn't solve UCR ace Tayler Misfeldt as she limited UNLV to just one run over 13.0 innings pitched.
UNLV finishes the 2018 campaign with a 33-20 record, the best since the 2010 squad had an identical mark, and first winning season since 2011. Kristie Fox will end the year with the most wins for a first-year head coach in program history.
The loss also closes out the careers of the four Rebel seniors - Alyssa Navarro, Jade Yadao-Valdez, Brooke Stover and Janine Petmecky. These four combined to play in 672 games, with Yadao-Valdez, Stover and Petmecky having been impact players since they were freshman. The group left a legacy on the program and saved the best for last as they were all instrumental in leading UNLV to its first postseason appearance since 2009.
Navarro transferred to UNLV from Iowa prior to the 2017 season and led the team in home runs that year with eight and had another three this year that ranked tied for second.
Yadao Valdez started 200 out of 208 games played in her career, which rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in program history. The speedy third baseman had a career-high 14 stolen bases this year, giving her 43 in her career, which ranks second all-time. She also had her best year defensively as she committed just two errors all season.
Stover will go down as one of the best defensive catchers to ever don the Scarlet and Gray. The Las Vegas native was the only player in the Mountain West to not commit an error all season (minimum 50 chances) and only committed 12 over her entire four years. She will be known for her accuracy in throwing runners out, with her 44 runners caught stealing being the most all-time by a UNLV catcher.
Petmecky put an exclamation point on her time at UNLV with a career senior campaign. She pitched her final game in a Rebel uniform against the Wolf Pack Friday and showed why she was named to the MW first team and a NFCA West Region second team selection. She blanked UNR in her sixth shutout of the season, holding them to just three hits in her 17th complete game performance. The win brought her final record to 21-7, which ties her with former Rebel standout Amanda Oliveto for most wins in a single season. Her complete games and shutouts are also top-10 in a single season, ranking third and tied for ninth in those categories, respectively. Her 2.13 ERA this season is seventh all-time in a single-season while her 150 strikeouts rank fifth. The Riverside, California, native also had another outstanding year at the plate and finished the season going 19-for-35 (.543) with 13 runs scored, nine RBI and three home runs over the last 10 games. In that same span she went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA.
GAME 1: UNLV 5 UNR 0
THE TURNING POINT: Clinging to a 2-0 lead after four innings, the Rebels scored three runs over the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away. The surge started with a leadoff walk by Mia Trejo, which was followed by a Brooke Stover single and a Alyssa Navarro walk to load the bases. Junior Kiley Harrison pinch hit for Jade Yadao-Valdez and delivered with a two-out two-run single to give the Rebels breathing room. In the sixth, sophomore Justine Federe connected on an RBI single to score Petmecky from second for the final dagger.
STAT OF THE GAME: Petmecky limited the Wolf Pack to just three hits over seven innings.
GAME 2: UCR 7 UNLV 1
THE TURNING POINT: Trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth, the Rebels put two on with two outs. Junior Myranda Bueno was at the plate and sent a towering ball out to left that looked as if it was headed over the wall, but it hung up just enough to land in the UCR left fielder's glove a foot inside of the wall. In the bottom half of the inning, the Highlanders scored four insurance runs, effectively ending the UNLV season.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels left eight runners on base, which proved to be the difference in a game that was 3-1 until the sixth inning.
REBEL NOTES:
LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) - UNLV softball's milestone season came to an end Friday with a 7-1 loss to UCR in the National Invitational Softball Championship regional title game at Eller Media Stadium. The Rebels began the day on a high note as they shut out in-state rival UNR 5-0 in game one to advance to the championship game against the Highlanders, but for the second night in a row they couldn't solve UCR ace Tayler Misfeldt as she limited UNLV to just one run over 13.0 innings pitched.
UNLV finishes the 2018 campaign with a 33-20 record, the best since the 2010 squad had an identical mark, and first winning season since 2011. Kristie Fox will end the year with the most wins for a first-year head coach in program history.
The loss also closes out the careers of the four Rebel seniors - Alyssa Navarro, Jade Yadao-Valdez, Brooke Stover and Janine Petmecky. These four combined to play in 672 games, with Yadao-Valdez, Stover and Petmecky having been impact players since they were freshman. The group left a legacy on the program and saved the best for last as they were all instrumental in leading UNLV to its first postseason appearance since 2009.
Navarro transferred to UNLV from Iowa prior to the 2017 season and led the team in home runs that year with eight and had another three this year that ranked tied for second.
Yadao Valdez started 200 out of 208 games played in her career, which rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in program history. The speedy third baseman had a career-high 14 stolen bases this year, giving her 43 in her career, which ranks second all-time. She also had her best year defensively as she committed just two errors all season.
Stover will go down as one of the best defensive catchers to ever don the Scarlet and Gray. The Las Vegas native was the only player in the Mountain West to not commit an error all season (minimum 50 chances) and only committed 12 over her entire four years. She will be known for her accuracy in throwing runners out, with her 44 runners caught stealing being the most all-time by a UNLV catcher.
Petmecky put an exclamation point on her time at UNLV with a career senior campaign. She pitched her final game in a Rebel uniform against the Wolf Pack Friday and showed why she was named to the MW first team and a NFCA West Region second team selection. She blanked UNR in her sixth shutout of the season, holding them to just three hits in her 17th complete game performance. The win brought her final record to 21-7, which ties her with former Rebel standout Amanda Oliveto for most wins in a single season. Her complete games and shutouts are also top-10 in a single season, ranking third and tied for ninth in those categories, respectively. Her 2.13 ERA this season is seventh all-time in a single-season while her 150 strikeouts rank fifth. The Riverside, California, native also had another outstanding year at the plate and finished the season going 19-for-35 (.543) with 13 runs scored, nine RBI and three home runs over the last 10 games. In that same span she went 4-1 with a 1.72 ERA.
GAME 1: UNLV 5 UNR 0
THE TURNING POINT: Clinging to a 2-0 lead after four innings, the Rebels scored three runs over the fifth and sixth innings to put the game away. The surge started with a leadoff walk by Mia Trejo, which was followed by a Brooke Stover single and a Alyssa Navarro walk to load the bases. Junior Kiley Harrison pinch hit for Jade Yadao-Valdez and delivered with a two-out two-run single to give the Rebels breathing room. In the sixth, sophomore Justine Federe connected on an RBI single to score Petmecky from second for the final dagger.
STAT OF THE GAME: Petmecky limited the Wolf Pack to just three hits over seven innings.
GAME 2: UCR 7 UNLV 1
THE TURNING POINT: Trailing 3-1 in the top of the sixth, the Rebels put two on with two outs. Junior Myranda Bueno was at the plate and sent a towering ball out to left that looked as if it was headed over the wall, but it hung up just enough to land in the UCR left fielder's glove a foot inside of the wall. In the bottom half of the inning, the Highlanders scored four insurance runs, effectively ending the UNLV season.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels left eight runners on base, which proved to be the difference in a game that was 3-1 until the sixth inning.
REBEL NOTES:
* The Rebels finished the year having won 12 of their last 16 games dating back to April 8.
* The Rebels matched the most wins for the program since 2010, when that squad also went 33-20.
* This is the first winning season for UNLV since 2011 and is the first postseason appearance since 2009
* At 33 wins, Kristie Fox now has the most wins for a first-year head coach in program history, passing former UNLV head coach Pete Manarino who won 31 in his first year in 2009
* The NISC is in its second year of existence and is sponsored by the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and operated by Triple Crown Sports Inc. The four regional winners are moving on to play in a championship round next week.
Players Mentioned
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