Nevada Softball swept a three-game series against their conference rival in Albuquerque this weekend. The Pack dominated the Lobos for a combined score of 39-8, improving their record to 20-12, with a 5-1 conference record.
Friday, March 29 at New Mexico
After being on the losing end of a three-game sweep last weekend against Montana, the team got back in the win column, with a 7-1 victory over New Mexico. The Wolf Pack is now 18-12 and 3-1 in conference play.
Kendall Fritz threw seven innings, allowing only one run, walking two and striking out seven.
Kenzi Goins, Kwynn Warner, Ashley Salausa and Haley Burda all recorded two-hit games for the Pack. Goins and Salausa both finished with two RBIs apiece.
Both teams did not record a hit through the first two innings. Then, the Pack bats woke up. After a leadoff single from Sierra Mello, Goins got the Pack on the board with an RBI single, her first of two RBI’s.
Lobos’ only run happened in the fourth inning. Fritz issued a leadoff walk, leading to an RBI double that tied the contest at two. Goins drove in her second RBI on a two-out double, giving the Pack a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning.
Nevada put two runners on in the sixth inning, before a single by Lauren Gutierrez plated one across, increasing the Pack lead to 3-1. The Pack piled on insurance runs in the seventh, with four runs on four hits, securing their first win of the series.
Saturday, March 30 at New Mexico
The Pack secured a series victory after an a seventh-inning surge led to an 11-6 win over the Lobos.
Kali Sargent started the afternoon in the circle, but three earned runs in 0.1 frames brought Julia Jensen into the game. Jensen recorded her eighth victory of the season, striking out a career-high 15 batters— the most by any Pack player this season. She allowed five hits and three earned runs in the final 6.2 innings of the contest.
Goins recorded her fourth consecutive multi-hit game, increasing her average to .390 for the season. Salausa and Dallas Millwood were the only other Pack players who reached multi-hits. Mello recorded a career-high three RBIs, along with Millwood who reached that feat for the fifth time this season.
Nevada gained a 1-0 lead after Goins hit a solo home run in the opening frame. Sargent struggled in the first, allowing the first two hitters on base—leading to a three-run home run, giving the Lobos a 3-1 advantage. Jensen struck out the final two batters to end the inning.
Two solo home runs from Salausa and Goins, her second of the game, gave the Pack a 4-3 advantage in the third. Then, another Lobo three-run home run in the bottom half of the frame gave New Mexico a 6-4 lead.
Nevada tallied two hits for the next three innings, until a seventh-inning explosion tacked on seven runs on three hits. A leadoff walk by Mello, followed by a single by Goins put two runners on with one out to begin the inning.
Millwood helped Nevada regain the lead 7-6 with a three-RBI double after an error loaded the bases. The Pack didn’t look away, adding four more runs in an 11-6 finish.
Sunday, March 31 at New Mexico
Nevada Softball lit up the scoreboard for 21 runs in a five-inning win, earning a series sweep over the Lobos. Nevada scored three or more runs in each inning but the first, plating five or more across in three of them.
Alyssa Mendez had her second multi-hit game of the season, going 3-4 with two RBIs. Salausa corralled a season-high five RBIs on two hits for her third consecutive two-hit game. Goins, Millwood and Sandra McAlister all had multiple hits.
After allowing one run in a complete game performance on Friday, Fritz commanded the circle once again, striking out seven, allowing one hit and one run in five innings. The freshman right hander picked up her sixth win on the season, lowering her season ERA to 3.46.
The Pack shot out of a cannon to begin the first, corralling five hit, driving in eight runs. Danielle Lew hit a three-run home run, followed by a solo home run from Mendez, giving the Pack a 5-0 advantage with only one out.
Despite a pitch change from New Mexico, Nevada continued to get runners on base and extended their lead to 8-0.
A leadoff home run by Cameryn O’Grady in the second was the only hit the Lobos added all afternoon. Goins smacked a two-RBI single in the following frame, giving Nevada a 10-1 advantage. Millwood plated three more runs later in the inning, smacking her fourth home run of the season.
Nevada piled on another five-run inning in the fifth, increasing the Pack lead to 18-1. The final blow came in the fifth inning, off a three-run home run from Salausa, driving home her fifth RBI of the contest.
UP NEXT
Nevada returns to Reno, taking on San Diego State in a three-game home weekend slate, starting Friday, April 5.
Matt Hanifan can be reached at dstrugs@sagebrush.unr.edu and on Twitter @SagebrushSports.
