Nevada 7, Colorado State 3
Thursday, May 1, 2025 – 3 p.m.
Reno, Nev. – Christina M. Hixson Softball Park
 
W: Hailey McLean (16-6)
L: Reagan Wick (9-14)
 
RENO, Nev. – Nevada Softball clinched a share of the Mountain West title, the program's first conference championship since 2009, when the Wolf Pack were co-champions of the WAC. The win clinches the Pack the first overall seed at next week's Mountain West Championships in San Diego. Head Coach Victoria Hayward is just the second coach to win a Mountain West regular season title in their first season as a head coach, joining her former head coach, Stacey Nuveman Deniz of San Diego State in 2022.
 
The Wolf Pack got its historic win going in the bottom of the second when Madison Clark doubled to center field, scoring Haley Painter and Lexi O'Gorman. Clark extends her hit streak to 12 games and remains the Mountain West batting average leader in conference play, now hitting .532 in Mountain West games.
 
Nevada added onto its lead in the fourth inning with the bases loaded with a Haylee Engelbrecht ground ball to score Tatum Maytorena. A throwing error by the Colorado State shortstop allowed Clark to score on the play as well. Later in the inning, Painter doubled through the left side to score Hannah Di Genova and Engelbrecht.
 
The Rams looked to mount a comeback in the fifth inning, scoring three runs to cut the Pack's lead in half.
 
The Wolf Pack's all-time RBI leader, Aaliyah Jenkins, added one more to her tally in the bottom of the fifth, singling to left to score Clark.
 
Wolf Pack pitching shut down the Rams in the last two innings, only allowing one hit from the final seven Colorado State batters. A ground ball to Painter and a clean throw across the diamond to Di Genova kicked off the Pack's celebration in front of home plate.
 
Hailey McLean got the start and the win for Nevada, pitching five innings, allowing just four hits and three runs, all earned, with three walks and a pair of hit batters. McLean struck out four of the Rams she faced. Tess Bumiller came in to close out the clinching victory with two innings pitched, allowing just one hit and striking out one batter.
 
Clark was the Pack's standout hitter, going three-for-four with a double and a pair of RBI. Clark also stole two bases, scoring two runs, and was a star on defense with three putouts and five assists at second base. Tatum Maytorena doubled to kick off the four-run fourth inning, her fifth double of the year. Di Genova reached base three times with a pair of walks and a single. Painter's two-run double was a part of her 15^th multi-hit game of the season.
 
Nevada's 16^th win in conference play ties Nevada's program record for conference wins in a season, tying the 16-8 2021 team and the 16-2 2008 squad.
 
With the first seed at the Mountain West Championships locked up, the Pack will be expected to host the 2026 Mountain West Softball Championships.
 
The Wolf Pack looks to win its eighth series of the conference season tomorrow with a 3 p.m. game against the Rams. A win over Colorado State would clinch an outright conference championship, the program's first since 2008.
 
Notables

• Nevada Softball won its first Mountain West Championships in program history.
• The championship is the program's first since 2009 when the Pack were co-champions of the WAC in 2009.
• Victoria Hayward is the second first-year head coach to ever win a Mountain West regular season title, joining Stacey Nuveman Deniz of San Diego State. Hayward was an assistant coach for Nuveman Deniz when she became the first.
• The Pack's 16^th conference win ties a program record for wins in a conference season (2008 and 2021).
• Nevada's 38 wins are tied for the fourth most in Wolf Pack history, just two behind the second all-time.
• Madison Clark extended her career-long and team season-long hit streak to 12 games. She currently leads the Mountain West in batting average in conference games, hitting .532.
• Haley Painter's two RBI tie her with Brittany Puzey for the 10^th most in program history at 108.
• Jenkins now has 67 hits on the season, the ninth most in program history.
• Clark stole two bases against the Rams, now with 24 on the season, tied for the fifth most in a season in program history.
• Hailey McLean ties Brooke Bolinger's 2016 season for the seventh most wins in a season at 16.