RENO, Nev. - The University of Nevada softball team fell twice to New Mexico State at Hixson Park Saturday, 10-2 and 12-9 in a WAC doubleheader.
Saturday's action dropped Nevada to 10-28 (1-11 WAC) and moved NMSU to 32-12 (11-1 WAC).
In game one, New Mexico State scored four times in the first on five hits to open up an early lead. New Mexico State would get four more in the second, including a two-run homer from Tiare Jennings, after holding Nevada scoreless in the first.
Erin Jones led off the bottom of the second with a double to the warning track in right field. Later in the inning, with two outs, Jayme King hit her first career home run to cut into the Aggies lead. The two run shot brought the Pack to within six runs.
New Mexico State scored once in the fourth and once in the fifth inning, as Ariel Craig was able to limit the damage the Aggies caused in the middle innings. Craig came in for Mallary Darby in with one out in the first inning, going 4.2 innings and giving up five earned runs. She struck out three Aggie hitters.
Darby was credited with the loss, as she fell to 10-20 on the year.
The Wolf Pack opened the second game with solid defensive play, as Chelsea Venable threw Kylie Randall out when she tried to steal second in the top of the first. Randall had only been caught once in 28 previous attempts, and had not been thrown out at second all year.
Nevada held NMSU scoreless in the top of the first and threatened with three hits in the bottom of the frame, but was unable to push anything across.
New Mexico State plated three in the top of the second to take an early lead on Craig, who started for the Pack in the second game of the doubleheader.
A bases-loaded, RBI single from Karley Hopkins in the second put Nevada on the board. Two batters later, with the bases still loaded, Danielle Patrick singled home Jayme King and Chelsea Venable to tie the score at three.
Nevada pulled ahead for the first time during the weekend when Megan Fincher doubled into the right-center field gap in the third, scoring Chelsea Barilli from first. Later in the inning, King singled home Fincher from second. The Pack was ahead 5-3 after four innings.
Five runs from the Aggies in the fourth, including Jennings second two-run home run of the day, allowed the Aggies to re-take the lead. They added one more in both the fifth and sixth to push the lead to five.
Leading off the bottom of the sixth, Chelsea Venable hit her fifth home run of the season, a solo shot. The blast over the left-field fence drew Nevada to within four. Hopkins scored on a throwing error by Aggie catcher Alyssa Ruiz later in the inning. After six, Nevada had pulled back to within three.
Nevada got two runs closer in the seventh, on a Lauren Lastrapes homer, her team-leading sixth of the year. The comeback stopped there however, as Aggies pulled out the 12-9 win.
Craig took the loss, dropping her to 0-2 on the year.
Nevada will look to rebound when it travels to San Jose State for three games this upcoming weekend, playing one game Friday at 3 p.m. and a doubleheader Saturday beginning at noon.
