RENO, Nev. – The Nevada softball team opens up its 2019 conference slate with a home three-game series against the Utah State Aggies. The two will open the series on Friday, March 15 at 4:00 p.m. PT with the second game happening on Saturday, March 16 at 1:00 p.m. PT. The series will wrap up at noon on Sunday, March 17.
The Pack heads into this series looking to continue its hot trend of late, having won seven of its past ten games; of those seven wins five have been shutouts. Nevada also begins the weekend seeking to win its conference opener for the second time in four years. The last time the two teams met, the Wolf Pack won the series, 2-1 in Logan, Utah. Nevada beat the Aggies, 3-2 and 8-1 but lost in a high scoring game, 11-10.
Last time out, the Pack played in its final tournament of the season and went 2-2 in the Silicon Valley Classic, with shutout wins over Cal State Fullerton and Northern Kentucky. The team then traveled to Moraga, Calif. to play a doubleheader against Saint Mary's where the Pack picked up two wins in a rain delayed ridden day; both of those games were shutout victories as well. Nevada has now had three winning weekends in a row.
Sophomore Lauren Gutierrez had herself a weekend, going 6-for-12 at the plate with three runs, two doubles and three RBI. Junior Sadaria McAlister tallied a new career high in single game hits with four against Saint Mary's this past Sunday with four. The Reno native went 4-for-4 in the box in the second game of the doubleheader. Kenzi Goins also hit her third and fourth home runs of the season, both were two RBI knocks.
Julia Jensen has found her stride in the circle as she heads into conference play. The sophomore went 2-0 this past weekend and brings her to 6-1 on the season. She pitched two complete game shutouts and one combined shutout with Kendall Fritz while claiming 21 strikeouts in her 15.2 innings over the weekend. Along with those numbers, the Reno native did not allow any extra base hits and only walked four batters.
Nevada has the advantage in four of the eight offensive categories. The Aggies have 103 runs to the Pack 95 but Nevada has 36 doubles to the Utah State 20. The pitching staff for the Aggies currently has a 5.88 ERA where the Pack has a nice 2.82 ERA and the seven shutouts help. Lexi Orozco leads the Aggies on the offensive side with 19 runs, five home runs and 16 RBIs while Delany Hull has seen the most time in the circle. A sophomore right-handed pitcher, Hull, has pitched 55.1 innings with five complete games and 32 strikeouts.
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 NevadaWolfPack.TV for all three games.
