UNLV (5-2) uncharacteristically dropped both games in the series against Weber State (7-2), a team against whom it entered the weekend with a 9-1 lifetime record.
Emblematic on how the afternoon would proceed for the Rebels, the Wildcats got their scoring started in the top half of the first plating a run with a bases-loaded wild pitch.
Denise Armendariz responded in the bottom half of the first frame with a first-pitch RBI-single of her own, tying the game at 1-1.
Few would have been able to predict a lineup so offensively gifted would fail to score another run for the remainder of the contest. The Rebel bats went down in one-two-three fashion in three of the seven home-halves.
Weber State hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the second inning to extend its lead to 4-1. A pair of two-out singles sandwiching a stolen base would produce a fifth run for the Wildcats in the top of the third.
The Rebels’ best offensive opportunity came in the sixth inning, when they loaded the bases with only one out, and reigning-Mountain West Conference Player of the Week Janyssa Martin at the plate.
But a questionable third-strike call on Martin, followed by a full-count swinging-strikeout by Samantha Diaz ended the Rebel threat.
Alanna Thiede (1-1) was saddled with her first loss of the year. Jasmine Martin pitched well in relief for the Rebels, allowing only one earned-run in five innings of work, but would not factor into the decision.
Fox, last year’s MWC Coach of the Year, knows what needs to be done to tighten the ship.
“It’s really about playing our game,” Fox said. “We know what the formula is to win. And once again, we only did one of the three [pitching, hitting, and fielding]. We need to do three things to win at a high level, and right now we’re only getting about one of them per game. It’s better that it happens now- so that we’re ready for the Mountain West.”
While conference-play will wait until March 18 when UNLV hosts rival UNR, the Rebels will continue their season with the final two games of the Desert Classic in a pair of matchups against Missouri-Kansas City.
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