The UNLV softball team opened its home series against Colorado State with a little chaos and a lot of poise Thursday night.
Natalie Turner lined the first pitch she saw in the bottom of the seventh into left field, and Bri Williams raced home from first as the Rebels claimed a 3-2 walk-off win over Colorado State at Eller Media Stadium. The ball got away from the Rams’ left fielder on the play, but Turner’s single brought home the winning run.
It was the kind of finish UNLV had been pushing toward all night. The Rebels put pressure on Colorado State early, finished with 11 hits and finally broke through in the final frame after the Rams’ defense faltered.
Turner went 3-for-4 with a double, scored in the first and lined the walk-off single to left in the seventh. Diamond Sefe matched her with a 3-for-3 night that included an RBI double. Keyannah Chavez added a 2-for-3 line with a double and a run scored as UNLV improved to 19-17 overall and 6-4 in Mountain West play.
Trading punches
UNLV grabbed the lead in the first inning when Charelle Aki punched an RBI single to left, scoring Turner for a 1-0 edge.
Colorado State answered in the second. Autumn Rutherford later scored on Kaylynn English’s RBI single to center, tying the game at 1-1.
The Rebels moved back in front in the third after Chavez ripped a double down the right field line. Two batters later, Sefe drove a double into right-center to bring Chavez home and restore a 2-1 lead.
That advantage held until the fifth, when the Rams used a walk and a pair of hits to tie it again. Lauren Stucky’s RBI single to left-center made it 2-2 and set up a tense finish.
Neither team scored in the sixth, and Lauren Fettic worked around a seventh-inning error to keep the game tied heading to the bottom half.
Fettic finishes it
Fettic went the distance for UNLV and improved to 9-6 after allowing two runs on eight hits in seven innings. She walked one, struck out none and needed only 81 pitches in the complete-game effort.
That efficiency mattered. Colorado State put runners on, but Fettic kept the Rams from finding the big hit.
UNLV out-hit Colorado State 11-8 and collected five hits in the first inning alone. Rachel Cook added a single, while the Rebels got doubles from Turner, Chavez and Sefe.
In the seventh, Amelia Weber flew out to open the inning before Williams reached on a throwing error by shortstop Kaylynn English. Turner followed with a single to left that brought Williams home, and a second error on the play allowed Turner to move to second as UNLV walked it off.
Mountain West race tightens
Thursday’s win pushed UNLV to 6-4 in Mountain West play, good for third place in the standings and tied with Nevada in the loss column behind league leader Grand Canyon. With 15 conference games still to play before the Mountain West tournament, the Rebels kept themselves firmly in the race entering the rest of this home series against Colorado State.
Up next
UNLV continues the three-game set against Colorado State on Friday at 3 p.m. PT at Eller Media Stadium.
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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.
