The UNLV softball team had the rubber match in hand for much of Sunday afternoon, but an eight-run seventh inning flipped everything as San Diego State pulled away for a 13-7 win at Eller Media Stadium.
UNLV built a 5-0 lead through four innings and answered once more after the Aztecs tied it in the fifth. However, the Scarlet and Gray could not survive San Diego State’s final push and slipped to 16-16 overall and 3-3 in Mountain West play.
Charelle Aki helped set the tone early. After Hailey Gilbertson and Natalie Turner reached scoring position in the first, Aki lined a two-run single to right-center to give UNLV a quick 2-0 edge.
The Rebels added another run in the third when Bri Williams scored on Keyannah Chavez’s RBI single to right. In the fourth, UNLV kept the pressure on with sacrifice flies from Mantha Hatzenbeller and Rachel Cook, stretching the lead to 5-0.
Five-run answer
San Diego State finally broke through in the fifth, and it came fast.
Jazmin Williams and Kaila Pollard opened the inning with solo home runs. Later in the frame, Jade Ignacio ripped a bases-clearing triple to deep center, bringing in three more runs and suddenly knotting the score at 5-5.
UNLV answered right back in the bottom half. Gwyn Burnett scored on Chavez’s single down the right-field line, then Diamond Sefe followed with a run-scoring single to center to put the Rebels back in front, 7-5.
At that point, UNLV looked positioned to close out the series sweep of the weekend set.
Seventh-inning swing
Instead, the seventh unraveled.
With two outs, San Diego State strung together hit after hit. Ignacio launched a three-run homer to left to put the Aztecs in front. Williams followed with a two-run shot to center, and Pollard and Angie Yellen added RBI hits as the inning ballooned into an eight-run outburst.
UNLV put two on in the bottom of the seventh, but the rally never came.
Numbers that mattered
Turner, Chavez and Sefe each finished 2-for-3 for UNLV. Chavez and Aki drove in two runs apiece, while Sefe added an RBI and Cook brought home one with her sacrifice fly.
Williams went 1-for-1 and was hit by a pitch twice, giving her 15 hit by pitches on the season and setting a new UNLV single-season record.
Lauren Fettic gave the Rebels 4.2 innings and allowed two runs before the Aztecs turned the game around. Yanina Sherwood took the loss after being charged with eight runs in relief.
Up next
UNLV heads back on the road for a three-game Mountain West series at Fresno State beginning Friday at 6 p.m. PT.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
