LAS VEGAS – In its first game at the 2011 Louisville Slugger Desert Classic, the University of Nevada softball team (2-4) defeated UNLV (2-3) by a final score of 9-6 on campus Saturday Night at Eller Media Stadium.
Mallary Darby earned her second win of the season, pitching four innings before leaving the contest with the lead. She struck out six, walked four and gave up four earned runs.
Freshman Bailey Brewer went three complete innings in relief, earning her first collegiate save. She struck out two and walked three.
The Pack jumped out to a 4-1 lead after the first inning, as Danielle Patrick blasted a three-run shot to center field after Karley Hopkins and Caylin Campbell reached base with singles to start the game. The homer was Nevada’s first of 2011.
Nevada tacked on four more runs in the second inning, including a two-run shot by Lauren Lastrapes, as the Wolf Pack jumped out to an 8-1 lead.
UNLV fought back into the game with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth and another in the sixth to close Nevada's lead to 9-6. But Brewer closed the door from there and Nevada continued its winning ways against its in-state rival.
Nevada has now won four straight against the Rebels, including a doubleheader sweep in Reno in 2008 and a 9-0 win in Vegas in 2009.
The Pack will continue play in the Desert Classic with two games Friday, as it takes on Cal State Northridge at 9 a.m. and Oregon at 1:30 p.m.
--www.nevadawolfpack.com--
