RENO, Nev. – The Nevada softball team could not hold on a to a 7-0 lead in game two and was swept in a doubleheader against San Jose State on Saturday at Hixson Park.
Nevada lost 10-2 in five innings in game one and then saw San Jose State come back from a 7-0 deficit to drop game two, 11-9
The Wolf Pack fell to 14-19 with the losses and 1-7 in WAC play. San Jose State improved to 28-14 and 3-5 in the WAC.
Britton Murdock, Kelsey Starr and Sam Bias each had three hits on the day.
In the second game, the Wolf Pack jumped out to a 7-0 lead with four runs in the first and three more in the second inning.
In the first inning, Sam Bias and Danielle Patrick walked to lead off and then advanced on a wild pitch. Britton Murdock then doubled in both runs and Kelsey Starr followed with an RBI single to score Murdock. Nevada would then load the bases as Lauren Lastrapes reached on an error and Sam Puzey reached on an infield single. Megan Fincher knocked one run in with a sacrifice fly and Nevada led 4-0.
In the second, Bias and Patrick led off with back-to-back singles. Murdock came through with an RBI single before Starr belted a two-run double to make it 7-0.
San Jose State clawed back however with five runs in the fourth and another in the fifth as the Spartans took advantage of a couple of Pack errors and wild pitches as three of the runs were unearned.
Nevada came roaring back in the fifth with two more runs. Amanda Nims led off with a pinch-hit single and two outs later, Danielle Patrick drew a two-out walk. Murdock then crushed her third hit of the game, another two-run double, to make it 9-6.
But the Spartans answered in the top of the seventh as Brittany McConnell hit a two-run single and BranDee Garcia hit a two-run home run to give the Spartans an 11-9 lead. The homer came after a dropped third strike that allowed Ursula Lopez to reach safely on what would have been the final out of the game.
Murdock went 3-for-3 with two runs and five driven in during game two.
Mallary Darby took the loss. She gave up all 11 runs, though six of them were unearned.
In game one, Nevada fell behind 1-0 after the first inning and the Pack trailed 4-0 going into the bottom of the third inning. The Wolf Pack fought back, however, as it scored twice with a two-run double by Kelsey Starr. That cut the deficit to 4-2
Nevada would get no closer, however, as San Jose State scored six times in the fourth to go up 10-2 and the Spartans would go on to the run-rule victory in five innings.
The Wolf Pack’s Katie Holverson took the loss. She gave up eight runs on nine hits in three and a third innings as she fell to 5-11 on the year.
Nevada will return to action on Friday when it opens a three-game series at New Mexico State with a doubleheader in Las Cruces.
