RENO, Nev. - The University of Nevada softball team swept a doubleheader with Utah State on Friday afternoon in its Western Athletic Conference and home opener at the Christina M. Hixson Park, turning in a 12-1 victory followed by a 6-0 win over the Aggies.
With the wins, Nevada improved to 22-11 overall and 2-0 in WAC play, while Utah State fell to 3-6 and 0-2 in the WAC.
The Wolf Pack concludes the series with the Aggies in a single game at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Christina M. Hixson Park.
Game 1 Nevada 12, Utah State 1
Sophomore third baseman Sam Bias drove in four runs and sophomore Katie Holverson pitched four scoreless innings as Nevada downed Utah State 12-1 in the first game of the doubleheader.
Holverson notched her 10th win of the year (10-4 record). Lindsey Benson (3-11) took the loss for Utah State.
Utah State got on the board first when the Aggies opened the game with a walk, an error, a fielder’s choice and a single, but Holverson struck out the next two batters to end the first inning. She would allow just one more hit and strike out four more batters the rest of the game.
Nevada scored its first run of the game in the second inning when freshman Britton Murdock hit her fifth home run of the season.
The Wolf Pack tacked on another run in the third inning before routing the Aggies with a nine-hit, 10-run fourth inning. After sophomore Kelsey Starr doubled, Bias hit her third home run of the season, while freshman catcher Noelle Micka drove in three runs with her fifth HR of the year later in the inning. Bias would see another at-bat in the inning and doubled in another pair of runs.
Bias went 2-of-3 in the game with four runs batted in, while Micka also was 2-of-3 from the plate with three RBI.
Game 2 Nevada 6, Utah State 0
Senior Jordan McPherson tossed a shutout as Nevada turned in a 6-0 victory over Utah State in the second game of the doubleheader Friday afternoon.
McPherson struck out six and walked two in seven innings to record her eighth win of the season for Nevada (8-7 record), while Stacey Ellingsworth fell to 0-2 with the loss for Utah State.
After two scoreless innings, Nevada got on the board with single runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to take a 3-0 lead. The team then sealed the victory with a three-run sixth inning. The Wolf Pack scored a pair of runs on a Utah State error, and freshman Noelle Micka drove in a run on a single in the inning.
Micka was 2-of-4 in the game with two runs batted in, her fourth and fifth RBI of the afternoon.
