RENO, Nev. – The Nevada softball team opens up its 2020 conference slate on the road with a three-game series against the UNLV Rebels. The two will open the series on Friday, March 13 at 6:00 p.m. PT with the second game happening on Saturday, March 14 at 4:00 p.m. PT. The series will wrap up at noon on Sunday, March 15.
This weekend is not only the opening weekend for conference play, but it is also the Silver State Series with the Rebels, presented by IBEW and Nevada Donor Network. UNLV has taken the last two series but Nevada is looking to take back the honor.
Senior
Sierra Mello is coming off a hot weekend where she went 9 of 15 at the plate for a team high, .600 batting average. The Hayward, Calif. native had two doubles, four runs, five RBI and 11 total bases to go along with her perfect defense at second base in the Wolf Pack Classic.
Another Wolf Pack player that has been gaining traction is junior,
Lauren Gutierrez who is rocking a .364 batting average with 20 hits and four extra base hits. Freshman,
Charli McLendon rounds out the over .300 club with a .302 batting average and has 19 hits on the season.
In the circle,
Kendall Fritz has been a standout the past two weekends. The sophomore was just named the Nevada Wolf Pack Student-Athlete of the Month after going 3-0 in Hawai`i and then 2-1 in the Wolf Pack Classic. The Frisco, Texas native currently leads the team in appearances (14), complete games (8) and strikeouts (72).
UNLV is offensively led by Justine Federe who is sporting a .376 clip and leads the team in runs (22), RBI (26), and home runs (6). The Rebels are currently hitting with a .292 average in comparison to the .276 the Pack has and is sitting with a 1.71 ERA with the Pack at a 3.11.
The Rebels have a trio of pitchers in Jenny Bressler, Charlie Masterson and Breana Burke who combine for a 1.71 ERA, which is second in the MW and ranks 13th in the NCAA. They have combined for eight shutouts in 2020 so far.
Fans can follow the series through multiple outlets as all three games will be available through SIDEARM stats, as well as live updated on Twitter (@Nevada_Softball). A live stream will also be available on the Mountain West Network for all three games.
