Nevada Media Services
The long ball, as well as the double, yet again proved to be valuable weapons for the University of Nevada softball team, as it won twice on Sunday to close out the Wolf Pack Classic at Hixson Park in Reno.
Nevada beat Idaho State 6-5 in its first game and earned its second run-rule victory over Santa Clara in as many days immediately after, beating the Broncos 10-2 in six innings.
On Saturday, Nevada dropped Santa Clara, 10-0, and lost to Idaho State, 6-4.
On Sunday, though, the Wolf Pack trailed 5-1 in the bottom of the fifth when Megan Sweet doubled home Karley Hopkins to get the scoring started. One batter later, former Fallon star Sara Parsons belted her sixth home run of the season to put the Pack within one.
After Ashley Butera walked, Jasmine Jenkins hammered a ball over the fence in dead-center field to put Nevada ahead for the first time. Two scoreless innings from Karlyn Jones sealed the game.
The Wolf Pack hit five home runs and five doubles in the two games. Jones is now 13-4 with a 3.03 ERA. She pitched her 12th complete game against Idaho State.
The Wolf Pack improved to 20-13, while Idaho State fell to 12-15 and Santa Clara fell to 3-24. Nevada is one win away from matching its total from last season with Mountain West play set to begin Thursday at Fresno State.
Against the Broncos, Nevada scored the first seven runs of the game and never looked back. Hopkins led off the bottom of the first with her first home run of the season, and Megan Fincher ended it with her eighth homer in the sixth. That blast put Nevada ahead by eight, invoking the eight-run rule.
Megan Dortch picked up the win to go to 5-7 in 13 appearances, all of them as a starter. The complete game was her seventh of the season.
The Wolf Pack’s Mountain West schedule opens with three games at Fresno State beginning at 6 p.m. Thursday. Each MW road game will be accompanied by live audio at www.nevadaWolfPack.com.
On Saturday, the Pack used a 10-0, run-rule victory over Santa Clara to split its first day of action at the Wolf Pack Classic at Hixson Park on Saturday.
The Wolf Pack fell 6-4 to Idaho State in the second game.
A seven-run fourth was the difference in the Pack’s contest with Idaho State, and it included a homer from Fincher.
On an 0-1 pitch, she lifted a ball over the center-field fence, scoring Lauren Lastrapes and Jasmine Jenkins. Jenkins was 2-for-2 with a walk against the Broncos.
Nevada scored its 10 runs on 12 hits and Karlyn Jones earned the win, pitching her fourth shutout and 11th complete game in 12 starts.
In game two, Idaho State led 6-0 in the sixth before Nevada got on the board. The Pack scored four runs in the bottom of the inning to make it close, but was unable to complete the comeback in the ninth, going down in order.
Jenkins continued her hot day at the plate against the Bengals, posting two hits and a walk. Megan Sweet hit her eighth double of the year in the sixth to score a run, and was followed a batter later by Butera, who doubled to score Sweet. Butera now has seven doubles this season. The other two Wolf Pack runs in the sixth came on a Lauren Lastrapes double.
Notes: Parsons was selected to represent the softball team on the baseball diamond when Nevada takes on the Reno Aces at 6 p.m. on Tuesday at Aces Ballpark. … Nevada has scored 203 runs this season, three more than it did all of last year, and has 105 extra-base hits in 33 games.