LAS VEGAS (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV softball team was unable to complete the sweep over Fresno State with a 5-1 loss in Sunday's finale at Eller Media Stadium, but the Rebels still won two of three for a big series win over the Bulldogs. Sunday's game also served as senior day as four Rebels - Jaclyn Candelas, Charlie Masterson, Lauren Tycksen and Justine Federe - were honored after the game with their families in attendance.
After a brief stint atop the league standings thanks to Saturday's wins, UNLV (25-12, 17-4) dropped back into second place with the loss, but the conference title and the league's automatic bid are still well within reach.
The Rebels have just three Mountain West games left, traveling up to Reno next weekend for a final conference series against in-state rival UNR, while the Bulldogs have six remaining. A sweep over FS would have put UNLV solely in the driver's seat, but the pressure will still be on the Bulldogs over the final two weekends of the regular season. If the Rebels can sweep the Wolf Pack, it would take just one Fresno loss over its final six contests to ensure UNLV a share of the conference title. At the very least, a 2-1 series win at UNR would force the Bulldogs to have to go 5-1 to overtake UNLV for the championship and the auto bid to the NCAA tournament. This weekend's series win over FS then was crucial as any scenario where the two squads end up with identical league records, the Rebels own the head-to-head tiebreaker. While UNLV will finish with the third-place team in the standings in UNR, the Bulldogs' will face the fourth and fifth place teams in San Diego State and Boise State during the final stretch.
Rebel ace Jenny Bressler made the start Sunday and wasn't her usual sharp self, allowing a two-run home run and a solo home run in the first inning that put the Bulldogs up 3-0 early. UNLV responded in the bottom half of the frame as Federe hit her third home run of the weekend and ninth of the season to cut the FS lead to 3-1. Unfortunately, that would be the only run the Rebels would get against Bulldog ace Hailey Dolcini. Fresno State would add two more runs on freshman reliever Jenna Perez in the third and the Rebels couldn't come up with the timely hit like they had so many times in Saturday's wins. Bressler was tagged with her sixth loss of the year and just the second in Mountain West play.
The top of the lineup for UNLV was extra impressive in the series victory as the four hitters - Maddie Schmidt, Federe, Mia Trejo and Denise Armendariz - combined for 21 of UNLV's 26 hits on the weekend, hitting .567 with five home runs, 15 RBI, 13 runs scored and seven walks. Trejo led the way, going 6-for-9 (.667) with a home run, a run scored, two walks and seven RBI, including the game-winning hit in the 6-5 walk-off win in the opener.
UP NEXT: UNLV will finish out the regular season next weekend with a Silver State Series showdown against in-state rival UNR, May 8-9, in Reno.
