RENO, Nev. – The Nevada softball team swept Weber State in a doubleheader Saturday at Hixson Park.
The Wolf Pack earned two run-rule victories in the sweep, taking an 8-0 win in game one and a 12-1 win in game two. The Pack combined for 20 hits in the game, including four home runs and got superb pitching from Mallary Darby and Katie Holverson.
With the sweep, Nevada improves to 9-11 on the year.
On Sunday, the teams will play the final game of the series at 12 p.m. Prior to that game, the University of Nevada will hold a ceremony to honor its 2009 Western Athletic Conference championship team.
Last year’s team went 40-19 overall and won its second straight WAC title with a 15-5 league mark, which was tied with Fresno State. The 10 returning lettermen from that team along with the five departed seniors from 2009 will be presented with their WAC championship rings at the ceremony.
Admission to Hixson Park is just $7 for adults and $4 for children, students and seniors. Discounted tickets for groups are also available by calling 775-682-6905. Hixson Park is located on Manogue Drive off of Valley Road, just east of the University of Nevada campus.
In game one, the Pack jumped out early with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning. A leadoff double by Noelle Micka was followed by a single from Danielle Patrick to give Nevada runners on second and third with nobody out. A sacrifice fly from Sam Bias plated Micka and Britton Murdock knocked in Patrick with a double to the fence in left.
In the third, Nevada started playing long ball. Patrick led things off with her team-leading fifth home run of the season. Sam Bias then following with her third home run – an inside-the-park homer to left-center that made it 4-0.
In the fourth, freshman Megan Fincher crushed a one-out shot to left field that gave Nevada a 5-0 lead.
The Pack put the game away in the fifth. Murdock singled to lead things off and that was followed by a walk by Kelsey Starr. Lauren Lastraped then ripped a single up the middle to score Murdock and give Nevada a 7-0 lead. Amanda Nims ended things with a single to right field that scored Starr to make it 8-0.
Darby cruised throughout. She gave up just two hits and faced just one batter over the minimum. She struck out two and did not walk a batter in improving her record to 6-5 on the year.
In game two, Nevada again wasted no time.
The Pack scored twice in the first and twice more in the second to take a 4-0 lead. Bias had an RBI double in the first and then Nims came through with the big blow – a two-run shot to center field in the second.
After the Wildcats scored once in the top of the third, the Wolf Pack broke things wide open in the bottom of the inning. Nevada sent 10 batters to the play and scored six runs on four hits and a couple of Weber State errors to move ahead 10-0.
Nevada tacked on two more in the fourth on an RBI single by Justine Cooper and a sacrifice fly by Kortnee Wiley.
All of that was more than enough for Katie Holverson, who got the victory by giving up just two hits and striking out two without walking a batter.
Micka went 2-for-3 in game one and then singled in the second inning of game two to extend her hitting streak to 12 straight games, which is tied for the seventh-longest in school history.
