UNLV Softball hosted the UNLV Desert Classic on Feb. 16-18 featuring Bradley University, Iowa State, and UC Santa Barbara.
The Rebels slate for the weekend featured them playing against Bradley and Iowa State on Feb. 16, UC Santa Barbara, and Bradley on Feb. 17, and UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 18.
Day One
UNLV started off the weekend defeating Bradley University 9-1 in 5 innings of play.
Alanna Thiede earned her third win of the season pitching all five innings giving up four hits and striking out four batters.
Kelsie Kelsey led the way for the UNLV offense going 2-for-3 at the plate hitting a homer and two RBIs.
Bradley broke the 0-0 tie in the third inning with an RBI single by Ashley Breed to give them a 1-0 lead.
The Rebels exploded on offense in the fourth inning scoring six runs off of three hits.
Ariana Martinez hit a 2-RBI double down the left field line in the fifth inning to conclude the game 9-1 due to runs.
The Rebels carried its momentum from the previous game of the double-header to its game against Iowa State defeating the Cyclones 7-1.
Ellie Zellien earned the win pitching all seven innings giving up one run, four hits, and striking out seven batters on 125 pitches.
Alyssa Trejo and Martinez both hit the ball over the fence in the victory against the Cyclones and combined going 3-for-6 in the game.
A double by Maddie Schmidt to start off the first inning put the pressure on Iowa State with a runner in scoring position.
With the Rebels offense gaining momentum from the lead-off double, Trejo cashed in with a base hit to center field that scored two runs for UNLV.
Kelso on the following at-bat hit another RBI single to put the Rebels up 3-0 at the end of the first inning.
Martinez hit a 2-run homer in the second inning to extend the Rebels lead to 5-0 and put the game out of reach early.
Trejo grew the Rebels lead to 7-0 with a homer and UNLV went on to win. 7-1.
The Rebels finished off the first day of the tournament hot, winning both games by a combined score of 16-2.
Day Two
The Rebels 5-0 start to its season was snapped by two losses in the second day of the tournament.
UNLV dropped its first game of the day to UC Santa Barbara 4-3.
Ainsley Waddell earned her first win of the season for the Gauchos pitching a complete game giving up one run, eight hits, and striking out eight batters.
It was too little too late for UNLV as UC Santa Barbara got ahead early scoring four runs in the first three innings and the Rebels late game rally was shy by one run.
The rally for UNLV came in the sixth inning with the Rebels having the bases loaded down by four runs with Jessie Farrell up at the plate.
Farrell reached on a fielding error resulting in the Rebels to score two runs and be within striking distance in the final inning of play.
In the seventh inning Schmidt drew a walk and stole second to have a runner in scoring position. Martinez drove Schmidt in with one out in the inning.
The RBI single by Martinez was the only hit for UNLV in the seventh inning and the game finished 4-3 in favor of the Gauchos.
The day finished with Bradley bouncing back defeating the Rebels 7-3.
The second game between the two teams at the tournament was all Bradley, as they jumped out with seven unanswered runs in the first six innings of play.
Tori Meyer was the standout for the Bradley offense slashing 4-for-5 including a solo shot in the fourth inning.
Zellien was credited for her first loss of the season, giving up five earned runs and ten hits in her 5 2/3 inning on the bump.
UNLV, similar to the first game, struggled to get the bats awake until late in the game, not scoring until the sixth inning.
The Rebels offense got some momentum from RBI doubles by Martinez and Farrell to cut the deficit to five runs entering the final inning of play.
In the seventh inning Schmidt drove in a run with a single up the middle to make the score 7-3, but the Rebels did not have enough juice on offense to make a comeback.
Day Three
(Games Are Today)
Up Next
UNLV Softball will host another tournament named the UNLV Rebel Classic from Feb. 23-25 against Santa Clara, Tulsa, and Southern Utah.
All games will be played at Eller Media Stadium and students can enter for free with their RebelCards.
