RENO (UNLVRebels.com) – The UNLV softball team suffered its only conference sweep of the year at the hands of in-state rival UNR, coming up just short in a 6-5 loss in Reno Sunday to close out the regular season. The Rebels erased one deficit in the game, but couldn't come back from a second after pulling within one in the seventh.
UNLV finishes the year 25-15 overall and 17-7 in Mountain West play. With the loss and a Fresno State sweep of Boise State Sunday, the Bulldogs clinched the 2021 Mountain West Championship and the league's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Next week's final slate of games, which is the Rebels' conference bye week, will only determine the final order of finish behind Fresno. UNLV won six (a seventh was won via forfeit) of its eight conference series in 2021 - the best the Rebels have done in league play since the Mountain West switched to a three-game series format in 2012.
Four Rebel seniors - Charlie Masterson, Justine Federe, Lauren Tycksen and Jaclyn Candelas - made the final starts of their career in game three Sunday.
Masterson allowed three runs on a pair of homers in the first inning before freshman Jasmine Martin entered the game in relief. The Rebels responded right away in the top of the second. Tycksen and freshman Janyssa Martin hit back-to-back singles with one out and senior shortstop Samantha Diaz made them pay with a three-run home run to center - her career-high and team-leading 10th of the year to tie the game up at three. Junior third baseman Lauryn Barker sent a double to right after Diaz's homer and sophomore Maddie Schmidt brought Barker home with a RBI single up the middle for a 4-3 lead.
UNR would tie it at four in the third, then take the lead in the fourth after plating a run on junior Jenny Bressler, who had entered the game in relief in the previous frame. The Wolf Pack added an insurance run in the sixth on a solo home run to make it 6-4 heading into the seventh. Senior Mia Trejo hit her seventh home run of the season with one out to bring the Rebels within one, then junior Denise Armendariz and sophomore Alyssa Trejo hit a single and double, respectively, to put the tying run on third and go-ahead run on second with one out. Unfortunately UNLV couldn't come up with the clutch hit and UNR got the final two outs to secure the sweep.
The offense was more successful in the finale than they had been Saturday, collecting nine hits by eight different Rebels. Schmidt led the way, going 2-for-4 with a RBI, while Diaz and Trejo's jacks helped UNLV finish with 39 home runs as a team - the most since 2015.
