RENO (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV softball team dropped both games of Saturday's doubleheader at UNR (21-15, 13-7) to lose its first Mountain West series of 2021. The Rebels fell 6-0 in game one and then came up short in a 6-3 game-two loss in Reno. UNR will receive three points in the Silver State Series, the annual all-encompassing competition between the two schools presented by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network.
With the results, UNLV moved to 25-14 overall and 17-6 in conference play with tomorrow's game serving as its regular season finale. The Rebels had entered the weekend in second place in the standings and a half game out of first place behind Fresno State, needing three wins and a Fresno loss to clinch a share of the Mountain West title. While that scenario no longer applies, if the Rebels can end the weekend with a win and Fresno loses three of its last four games, UNLV and Fresno State would end in a tie as co-champions and the Rebels will earn the league's automatic bid with the tiebreaker over the Bulldogs.
UNLV's pitching duo of Jenny Bressler and Charlie Masterson, who had been stellar all season, wasn't their usual selves as Bressler allowed five runs and Masterson gave up six in their starts. The Rebel offense, which ranked second in the conference all season, went quiet with three runs on nine hits over the three games, including being shut out for just the fifth time this year. Junior third baseman Lauryn Barker had the best day at the plate, hitting a two-run home run in game two for her third homer of the season. UNR's Kendall Fritz pitched all 14 innings for the Wolf Pack over the two games and UNLV was never able to figure her out.
Game 1 Recap: Bressler started the game sharp, striking out the first two batters and breezing through the first two frames. In the bottom of the third, UNR doubled with one out and then a two-out single brought the run home for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, a walk and a single to start the frame scored a second run for the Wolf Pack which was followed by a two-out single that scored two for a 4-0 UNR lead. UNR added a solo home run off of Bressler in the sixth for its fifth run and freshman reliever Jenna Perez entered and allowed a second solo shot in the inning for the final 6-0 score. UNLV scattered five hits over the seven innings and couldn't come up with the clutch hit they had so many times this season, leaving six runners stranded. It was the first time all year the Rebels had lost the first game of a conference series.
Game 2 Recap: UNR jumped in front early, 1-0, on a single and a one-out double off of Masterson in the opening frame. This time the Rebels were able to respond. In the third inning, senior Samantha Diaz walked and Barker brought her home on the first swing of the at bat with a ball over the wall in left field to make it 2-1. After back-to-back one-out singles from sophomore Maddie Schmidt and senior Justine Federe, senior Mia Trejo brought home a third run in the inning on a deep sacrifice fly to put the Rebels up 3-1. Unfortunately, UNR would fire back in the bottom half with two runs on a pair of doubles and a single to tie it up at three. In the fourth, the Wolf Pack connected for four singles to pull ahead 5-3 and added a third run on a UNLV error for the 6-3 final margin. The Rebels couldn't get anything going after that, managing just one hit over the final three frames.
UP NEXT: UNLV will close out the regular season Sunday at noon in the series finale.
