RENO, Nev. – Sophomore Erin Jones drove in five runs on the day but the Nevada softball team had to settle for a split against Louisiana Tech on Saturday at Hixson Park.
Jones had four RBI behind a complete-game effort by Mallary Darby in the first game as Nevada beat the Lady Techsters 5-2. But La Tech came back in game two to score a 3-1 victory.
Nevada is now 10-22 overall and 1-5 in WAC play. Louisiana Tech is 11-25 and 2-4 in the WAC.
Jones did the bulk of the damage at the plate and Darby was in good form for the Pack in a victory in game one of the doubleheader.
Darby kept the Lady Techsters off balance early and long enough for Nevada to grab the lead.
In the third inning, Jayme King led off with a single and Caylin Campbell followed suit. With one out, Danielle Patrick singled to the shortstop to load the bases. Jones then ripped the first pitch she saw into the left-center field gap, clearing the bases with her third double of the year and putting Nevada ahead 3-0.
Louisiana Tech got two of those runs back in the fifth inning, however, on three hits and a Pack error.
But Nevada came right back in the bottom of the inning.
Campbell walked to lead things off and she promptly stole second base. Karley Hopkins then hit a ground ball to third base and the throw to first was wild, allowing Campbell to score and Hopkins to advance all the way to third. Two batters later, Jones knocked an infield single to score Hopkins for her fourth RBI of the game.
Darby then closed it out from there for her 10th win of the season. The junior allowed baserunners in every inning until the seven but managed to work out of the bulk of the jams. She struck out four and walked two and only one of Tech’s two runs were earned.
In game two, Nevada struggled at the plate against Tech starter Meghan Krieg, who did not allow a hit until the fifth inning and took a shutout into the seventh.
The Lady Techsters took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on a bases-loaded walk by Allie Geisler and an infield single by Heather Doiron.
The Pack went hitless until fifth inning when Lauren Lastrapes reached on an infield single.
Jones gave Nevada its only run of the game with a home run – her fourth of the year – in the seventh inning. But that was it for the Pack against Krieg, who improved to 7-14 with the win.
Darby started and pitched into the sixth inning before being relieved by Ariel Craig, who pitched two innings of one-hit, scoreless relief.
Nevada will be back on the road next week as it travels to Hawaii to face the WAC preseason favorite Rainbow Wahine. The teams will play a single game on Friday and a doubleheader on Saturday. Friday’s game will have audio available at nevadawolfpack.com. Saturday’s doubleheader will be carried live on ESPN Radio 1450 AM.
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