UNLV had the start it needed Thursday night. Nevada had the answer that mattered.
The Rebels led by two after three innings, but Nevada scored five runs in the fourth and kept adding on in a 13-6 win over UNLV in the Mountain West Softball Championships at Christina M. Hixson Softball Park in Reno.
UNLV fell to 31-21 and now faces New Mexico on Friday at 3 p.m. PT in an elimination game. Nevada advanced to Friday’s noon matchup with Grand Canyon.
Fourth inning flips it
Nevada struck first on Talia Tretton’s RBI double in the second, but UNLV answered quickly. Bri Williams doubled to left in the bottom half, scoring Mantha Hatzenbeller and Lyla Gonzalez for a 2-1 lead.
After Nevada tied it in the third, UNLV moved back in front. Presley Barnes singled in Gwyn Burnett, and Hatzenbeller followed with a solo homer to deep center to give the Rebels a 4-2 edge.
Then the fourth inning changed the game.
Nevada scored five runs on four hits and a UNLV error. Karolyn Glover doubled in a run, Anna Braukus reached on an error that tied the game, Haylee Engelbrecht added a sacrifice fly, and Lexi O’Gorman doubled in two more to put the Wolf Pack ahead 7-4.
UNLV got one back in the bottom half on Diamond Sefe’s fielder’s choice, but Nevada added three runs in the sixth and three more in the seventh to pull away.
Too much traffic
Nevada finished with 18 hits, drew five walks and took advantage of three UNLV errors. Only four of the Wolf Pack’s 13 runs were earned.
Lauren Fettic took the loss, falling to 14-9. She allowed six runs, three earned, over 3.1 innings. Yanina Sherwood and Emma Wardlaw followed in relief.
UNLV still had offensive moments. Natalie Turner reached in all four plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a walk, a hit by pitch, a stolen base and a solo homer in the sixth.
Hatzenbeller went 2-for-4 with two runs and her 12th home run of the season.
Barnes also went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Williams drove in two with her second-inning double. Chavez drew a walk, extending her reached-base streak to 23 games.
Up next
UNLV plays New Mexico on Friday at 3 p.m. PT in an elimination game at Christina M. Hixson Softball Park.
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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.
