FORT COLLINS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV softball team was unable to complete the weekend sweep of Colorado State, dropping the series finale 8-7 Sunday in Fort Collins. The Rebels came back from deficits twice - including a three-run hole in the top of the seventh - but the rally ultimately came up short after the Rams walked it off with a sacrifice fly in the bottom half of the final frame.
UNLV, who still comes home with the series win, moves to 23-11 overall and 15-3 in Mountain West play with two conference series remaining - at home next weekend against first-place Fresno State (30-7, 14-1) and on the road in two weeks at in-state rival UNR (17-14, 11-7). The Bulldogs, Rebels and Wolfpack currently sit one, two, three in the conference standings with three weeks left in the regular season. With just two losses separating UNLV and Fresno State heading into next weekend, the winner of that matchup will have a clear path to the conference title and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Junior Jenny Bressler made her 10th conference start Sunday, but wasn't her usual stingy self as the Rams got to her early with a pair of two-run home runs and a 4-0 lead. Bressler gave way to senior Charlie Masterson, who got the three outs in the opening frame to limit the damage.
The Rebel offense went right to work in the second inning, cutting the lead to 4-2 on back-to-back RBI singles from sophomore Alyssa Trejo and junior Lauryn Barker. The next inning, the Rebels put runners on second and third and freshman Janyssa Martin brought one home on a RBI groundout to cut the Ram lead to 4-3. With pinch-runner Zoe Nolte on third, senior Lauren Tycsken drew a walk to put runners on the corners with two outs. UNLV's stolen base leader in 2021 swiped another one on the next pitch, which allowed Nolte to score from third to tie it up at 4 before Tycksen got tagged out trying to take third to end the inning.
Colorado State retook the lead in the fifth on a two-run home run off of Masterson and added another run in the sixth on a RBI double off of freshman Jenna Perez, who had relieved Masterson in the previous frame.
Trailing 7-4 and down to their final three outs, senior Samantha Diaz drew a leadoff walk, reached second on a Ram error and scored on a pinch-hit RBI double by freshman Jasmine Martin to make it 7-5. With runners on second and third and no outs, freshman Alyssa Lopez forced an errant throw by the CSU shortstop to first base on a groundout, allowing both runners to score and the game was all tied up at seven.
Perez came back out for the bottom of the seventh and the Rams loaded the bases with one out after a pair of singles and a walk. Bressler came back in to try and get the final two outs to send the game to extras, but the Rams hit a fly ball deep enough to left field to score the game-winning run from third.
Perez was tagged with her first loss of the season and is 2-1 overall in her freshman campaign.
UP NEXT: UNLV and Fresno State will meet at Eller Media Stadium in a heavyweight matchup between the top two teams in the Mountain West, May 1-2. The series will feature a Saturday doubleheader with games set for 1 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., then conclude Sunday at noon.
