LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com)Â - The UNLV softball team made a statement in its first Mountain West conference game of 2019 with an 8-1 smackdown over the defending league champions and 24th ranked Boise State Friday night at Eller Media Stadium. The Broncos had entered the weekend with an 18-2 record and a 17-game win streak - the second longest active streak in the country - but the Rebels weren't intimidated and put that streak to an end.
The Rebels won their fourth straight game to improve to 20-5 on the season, matching the 1991 squad for second-best record through 25 games in program history. The 1995 team owns the best record at 21-4. This is also the second time in the last three games the Rebels have ended an opponent's winning streak as Stanford entered last Saturday's matchup against UNLV on a 12-gamer before the 1-0 shutout win by the Scarlet and Gray.
As they have all season, the Rebels used a deadly combination of explosive offense, surefire defense and stingy pitching to shut down the Broncos.Â
The top of the lineup was on fire against BSU starter Kelsey Broadus, who was 7-0 with a 1.83 ERA coming into the game.
Reina Bondi,
Lauren Tycksen,
Justine Federe and
Mia Trejo combined to go 8-for-13 (.615) with seven RBIs and seven runs scored. Trejo ended up with the exclamation point on the victory as her third-inning three-run home run put the Rebels in command of the game.
Freshman
Jenny Bressler was again brilliant, limiting a potent Boise State offense to just one run on nine hits in her second straight complete-game performance. The reigning Mountain West Pitcher of the Week also saw several stellar plays made behind her in the field as senior
Myranda Bueno and freshman
Lauryn Barker made key defensive plays to keep the Broncos off the board.
Bressler and the Rebel pitching staff have now held opponents to three runs or fewer for 12 straight games and one run or fewer in seven consecutive contest, allowing just 11 runs in 77.0 innings pitched over that 12-game stretch.
THE TURNING POINT:Â After taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Bondi led off the third with her second triple of the year. Tycksen then reached on a fielder's choice and stole second to put runners on second and third with one out. That brought up Trejo, who launched the ball into left center just over the wall for the three-run home run and a 4-0 lead. The Rebels added one run in the fifth and three more in the sixth, but Trejo's home run knocked the sails out of the Broncos.
STAT OF THE GAME:Â The Rebels improved to 16-0 on the season when they score first in the game.
CO-REBELS OF THE GAME:Â It's hard to find more superlatives to describe the start Bressler has had to her first collegiate season. The one-run, nine-hit complete game performance improved her record to 12-2 on the year with a 1.76 ERA. When the Broncos scored in the top of the sixth, it ended a 22.1 inning scoreless streak for the righty. Trejo also had herself a night, as she totaled four RBIs between a sacrifice fly in the first and the homer in the third, which was her team-best fourth home run of the season.
UP NEXT:Â UNLV will look for the series win in game two Saturday at Eller Media Stadium. First pitch is set for 4 p.m.
REBEL NOTES:Â
* The Rebels are 2-0 in Mountain West openers under
Kristie Fox
* This is the second win over a ranked opponent this season - UNLV beat then No. 23 Long Beach State 6-5 on Feb. 9
* UNLV has won three of its last four games against Boise State and will be looking for a second straight series victory over the Broncos in game two Saturday
* The Rebels now have three straight wins over teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in one or more of the three major DI Top-25 polls
* Trejo drew her 17th walk of the year against the Cardinal, which is nine more than the next closest Rebel
* Barker, Bueno and
Samantha Diaz had busy days in the fields with 16 combined putouts
* As a pitching staff, the Rebels' ERA dropped to 1.85 on the season with
Breana Burke at 1.68, Bressler at 1.76 and Masterson at 2.23
* UNLV went 1-for-1 on stolen bases in the game, bringing their total to 39-43 on the year - both leads the MW - and surpassing the 31 total they had all of last yearÂ
* Rebels continue to outscore its opponents 146-45
* UNLV's 15 home runs through 25 games are just five shy of their total of 20 from all of last season
* Trejo committed just her second error on the season and just the 11th in 25 games for UNLVÂ
* Four players registered multi hit games - Bondi went 2-for-3 with a triple, a single and three runs scored; Tycksen went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, Federe went 2-for-4 with three RBI and
Denise Armendariz went 2-for-3 with one RBI
