STANFORD, CA (UNLVRebels.com) - The UNLV softball team bounced back from a close loss Friday to sweep both its games Saturday with shutout wins over Bucknell and tournament host Stanford at the Cardinal's Boyd and Jill Smith Field. The Rebels beat the Bison 7-0 for the second straight day, then snapped the Cardinal's 12-game winning streak with a 1-0 win in the night cap.
With the victories, UNLV improved to 18-5 on the season, marking the third-best start through 23 games in program history.
The script against Bucknell read much like Friday's contest as the Rebels held a narrow 2-0 lead through five innings, then exploded for five runs in the sixth-inning to put the game away and win by an identical 7-0 score. The matchup against the Cardinal was a different story as the pitcher's duel was intense until the final out, with UNLV finding the game-winner in the seventh on a
Samantha Diaz RBI-single and freshman
Jenny Bressler striking out the final Cardinal batter to seal the win. It was just the third loss for Stanford this season.
While the Rebel offense came alive for the two lopsided victories over the Bison, the pitching staff has been the star of the weekend. The trio of Bressler,
Breana Burke and
Charlie Masterson have allowed just one run over the last 32.0 innings pitched with four shutouts in the last five games. That included 13.0 scoreless frames between Burke and Bressler in Saturday's wins. The three have now held their opponents to three runs or fewer for 10 straight games and for 18 of 23 games this year. Over the 10-game stretch, the staff has record an ERA of 0.98, allowing just nine runs in 64.0 innings pitched.
GAME 1: UNLV 7 Bucknell 0
THE TURNING POINT: The game felt like deja vu as the score was close in the latter stages before the Rebels took control in the sixth inning. Leading 2-0, freshman
Denise Armendariz reached on an error. Sophomore
Jaclyn Candelas pinch ran for Armendariz and reached second on a sacrifice bunt by
Samantha Diaz. That's when the barrage of hits started. Senior
Kiley Harrison brought Candelas home with RBI single to center and advanced to second on the throw to home, then scored on a
Myranda Bueno double down the left field line. Freshman
Lauryn Barker put runners first and third with her single down the right field line and junior
Reina Bondi followed with a RBI single to right field, with Barker and Bondi taking an extra base on an error by the right fielder. Next up was junior
Lauren Tycksen, who sent a single up the middle to score both Barker and Bondi for five runs in the inning and the 7-0 lead.
STAT OF THE GAME: For the second straight day against the Bison, junior
Reina Bondi turned in a 3-for-4 day and went 6-for-8 (.750) with four RBI in two games against Bucknell.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Burke was the first Rebel pitcher of the day to shine in her start. The junior gave up just four hits with five strikeouts in the seven-inning shutout, her first of the season, and retired 10 straight batters during one stretch of the game. She now leads the pitching staff with a 1.69 ERA.
GAME 2: UNLV 1 Stanford 0
THE TURNING POINT: With a scoreless game through five and half innings, each team was hoping the other team would blink. In the bottom of the sixth, the Cardinal put runners on second and third with two outs after a single and a double, but Bressler came up with a big strikeout to get out of the jam unscathed. In the top of the seventh,
Mia Trejo drew a one-out walk that was followed
Statia Cermak single to left field to put two on. Senior
Abby Howard, who came into to pinch run for Trejo, represented the go-ahead run on second with Diaz at the plate. On a 0-2 count, Diaz sent a laser that was just out of the reach of the shortstop into left center, allowing Howard to come around and score for what proved to be the game-winner. Bressler closed it out with two strikeouts in the bottom of the seventh.
STAT OF THE GAME: The Rebels were held to four hits or fewer for just the fourth time this year, but won the game despite being out-hit for the fifth time.
REBEL OF THE GAME: Like Burke in her outing, Bressler was brilliant against the Cardinal with her third straight complete game shutout. She allowed five hits over 7.0 innings and struck out six to move to 11-2 on the year. Since Bressler allowed Coastal Carolina a game-winner last Sunday for her second loss the year, the freshman has been almost untouchable, going 3-0 with 15.0 innings without allowing a run. During that span, opponents are hitting just .173 off of the righty.
UP NEXT: The Rebels will close out their non-conference tournament slate Sunday with a second matchup against the Cardinal, which is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. PT.
REBEL NOTES:
* Junior
Justine Federe extended her team-high hitting streak to 15 games with a 1-for-4 mark against Bucknell, but that streak came to an end against Stanford with an 0-for-3 day
* Junior
Reina Bondi's hot weekend at the plate continued against Bucknell with another 3-for-4 day against the Bison, but she went 0-for-3 against the Cardinal
* The five-run sixth matched the single-inning high for UNLV this year
* Trejo's one-out walk in the seventh proved to important as it was the game-winning run. The sophomore has been patient at the plate this season, drawing a team-high 15 walks - eight more than the next closest Rebel
* After three double plays yesterday, Diaz turned a fourth double play of the weekend against Stanford in a critical moment in the fifth inning
* As a pitching staff, the Rebels' ERA dropped to 1.91 on the season with Burke at 1.69 and Bressler at 1.87
* UNLV didn't swipe a base in either game, marking just the sixth and seventh times this year they've failed to swipe a bag in a game
* Rebels continue to outscore its opponents 134-43
* After a four-error day on Friday, the Rebel defense returned to form, committing zero errors over the two games. UNLV has committed just 10 through 23 games
* The 10 hits against the Bison marked the 13th time this year the Rebels have managed double digit hits.
