MORAGA, Calif. - Today the Nevada softball team added two wins to the books and is now 3-8 on the year. In the rematch with Utah Valley, the Pack dominated at the plate with six runs on a dozen hits to win, 6-2. The afternoon session against Saint Mary's saw the Pack win, 7-2 with another dozen hits to give Nevada 24 hits on the day.
Ashley Salausa went 6-for-7 on the day with a home run and a triple,
Mele Tausinga went 4-for-6 with two home runs and two singles. Salausa and Tausinga combined for eight RBIs and five runs between the two games.
Chelie Senini and
Sadaria McAlister both had multi-hit games against Saint Mary's while
Sierra Mello had multi-run game against Utah Valley.
Nevada 6, Utah Valley 2
The Pack came out swinging, putting up three runs in the first half inning. Senini saw one pitch, laid a bunt down and was safe at first. McAlister reached on a fielder's choice, Mello got hit by a pitch to put two on with one out for the Pack. Salausa started her 4-for-4 campaign early, scoring McAlister on an RBI single to centerfield just one out before Gutierrez knocked a two RBI to put Nevada up, 3-0.
Nevada skipped scoring in the second but tacked two more on in the third thanks to back-to-back solo home runs from Salausa and Tausinga to take the 5-0 lead. Another two innings and Tausinga added an insurance run on a RBI sac fly to score Mello from third, 6-0.
It looked to be a shutout but Utah Valley escaped, plating two runs in the bottom of the seventh on RBI triple and a one-out grounder.
Craft pitched her second complete game of her Nevada career and tallied a career high eight strikeouts against the Wolverines.
Nevada 7, Saint Mary's 5
Nevada loaded the bases in the top of the second and thanks to McAlister, the Pack scored both
Charli McLendon and
Haley Burda on a centerfield single to take the 2-0 early lead.
In the bottom of the second, Saint Mary's answered back with a lead off double and loaded the bases on a hit by pitch. Just one batter later, the Gaels draw a bases loaded walk to plate one run. With one out, McLendon snags a line drive and tags the bag for a double play that ends the inning and end the scoring threat. Nevada stayed on top, 2-1.
The Gaels tied it up in the bottom of the third on an error but three straight outs ended the scoring threat, 2-2. The score did not stay tied for long because Tausinga came and launched a solo home run in the top of the fifth to retake the lead, 3-2 in favor of the Pack.
Fast forward to the sixth inning and the Pack put up four runs on two outs to add insurance and take the 7-2 lead. It started on a single from Mello that scored Senini and then Salausa knocked a standup triple to score Mello and McAlister just before Tausinga scored Salausa on a single. A strikeout ended the inning that saw two different Gael pitchers.
The defense played a shutdown sixth inning but a standup triple in the bottom of the seventh started a rally for the Gaels. Saint Mary's plated three runs in the seventh but failed to make the come back.
Fritz pitched a complete game and recorded eight strikeouts in her outing, her second complete game of the season and is now 2-3 on the season.
Up next is a three-game series with Stanford that begins tomorrow Feb. 22 with a doubleheader at 1 pm and 3 pm. The series concludes on Sunday, Feb. 23 at 1 pm. The games will be streamed on the Pac-12 Network along with live stats.
