RENO, Nev. – The Nevada softball team scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to break a 6-all tie and then held on to beat Boston College 9-8 in a wild game at the Nevada Classic at Hixson Park on Friday.
Mallary Darby went the distance for Nevada (6-16) and earned the win to improve to 6-9 on the year. Boston College fell to 4-13.
Freshman Caylin Campbell went 3-for-4 at the plate while Karley Hopkins and Britton Murdock each had two hits for Nevada. Danielle Patrick drove in three for the Pack.
Nevada, the designated visiting team in the game, jumped out to an early lead. Karley Hopkins singled to lead off the game. With two outs, Britton Murdock hit her first triple of the season to score Hopkins and give Nevada a 1-0 lead.
After Boston College tied it with a solo home run by Nicole D’Argento in the bottom of the first, Nevada jumped back on top in the second inning. Chelsea Venable walked with one out to get it started. After Jayme King struck out, Caylin Campbell singled and Hopkins was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs. Danielle Patrick came through with a two-run single to put Nevada up 3-1.
BC got one run back in the bottom of the second before Nevada seemingly took control of the game in the top of the fourth inning.
King walked to lead off the inning. After Caylin Campbell singled, Hopkins doubled to left to plate King for the first run of the inning. Danielle Patrick then lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Campbell. With Hopkins on third and one out, Jones grounded out and Hopkins raced home from third to give the Pack a 6-2 lead.
But the Eagles answered in the bottom of the fifth inning with three unearned runs to move within a run and they tied it in the bottom of the sixth on a solo home run by Ali Lynette-Krech.
Nevada surged back in front in the seventh, however.
Erin Jones led off with a single and Murdock followed with an RBI double to give Nevada a lead. But the Pack wasn’t done. Chelsea Venable later doubled to score Murdock and Jayme King singled to score Megan Fincher, who had walked and Nevada took a 9-6 lead.
Boston College put runners on in the bottom of the seventh inning and Alana Dimaso plated two of them with a single to left. But Mallary Darby got Lynette-Krech to ground out to end it.
Darby struck out nine and walked two while giving up five earned runs in the complete-game victory.
In the first game of the day on Friday, New Mexico knocked off FIU 10-2 in five innings. FIU then rebounded to beat Boston College 11-7.
Play in the Nevada Classic continues on Saturday with three more games. New Mexico will take on Boston College at 10:30 a.m. New Mexico will then play FIU at approximately 12:45 p.m. The final game of the day will feature Nevada against FIU at approximately 3 p.m.
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