RENO, Nev. – After opening up its 2018 campaign in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, the Nevada softball team travels to Las Vegas, Nevada for five games at the Desert Classic Feb. 16-18. This tournament will mark the first of two Power-5 opponents the Wolf Pack will face this season as Nevada will square up with Iowa State.
The Pack also heads into the weekend looking to continue its prolific start to the season at the plate. In the first five games of the season, Nevada's offense put together some of the best numbers in the nation, ranking 20th in batting average (.352), 26th in runs scored (7.0) as well as 44th in slugging percentage (.483).
At the Puerto Vallarta College Challenge, Nevada was led by a plethora of players including junior
Alyssa Mendez, sophomore
Kenzi Goins and freshmen
Lauren Gutierrez and
Jessica Sellers, all of who hit above the .400 mark at the PV College Challenge. In the circle, freshman
Julia Jensen earned the first collegiate victory of her young career after going the distance against Louisiana Tech, allowing one run and four hits in the process.
SAY YES TO THE JESS
- Freshman Jessica Sellers quickly made her impact in the Wolf Pack's lineup, opening up her collegiate career with a .467 batting average and a home run to go along with her .733 slugging percentage and .526 on base percentage.
- Sellers also showed off her clutch jean against Long Beach State (Feb. 12) as she came off the bench in the top of the seventh inning and hit an RBI single up the middle to help bring Nevada within a two runs.
- Her performance at the opening weekend earned her All-Tournament honors, as she enters the Desert Classic riding a five-game hitting streak to begin her career.
ROAD WARRIORS
- Prior to its home-opener against Sacramento State (March 14), Nevada will play its first 23 games away from Hixson Park, including 26 out of the first 28 contests to begin the season.
- Out of the 52 games that are on Nevada's schedule, 35 will be played outside of Reno, making this the second consecutive season the Pack will play more than 60 percent of its games away from Hixson Park.
