To say the Nevada Wolf Pack softball team had a rough weekend against the San Jose State Spartans would be an understatement. Nevada was swept by the Spartans and dropped the first two games, one in extra innings and one on a run rule, while blowing a 7-0 lead in the final game.

Nevada (14-19, 1-9) needed a weekend sweep to keep their Western Athletic Conference (WAC) championship hopes alive as the Pack came into the series in seventh place as they took on fifth place San Jose State (28-14, 4-5).

The Silver and Blue were without one of their biggest bats for the weekend as Noelle Micka was out for series with a concussion and her presence was missed on the field as freshman Justine Cooper did her best to fill in for Nevada’s All-WAC catcher.

If one play could sum up the events of the weekend it was when Cooper dropped the third strike with two outs in the seventh inning of the final game.  The mistake was one of many on the weekend and ultimately enabled the Spartans to complete the weekend sweep of the Wolf Pack as the very next hitter stepped up and hit a go-ahead three-run home run.

Game One

Nevada dropped the first game in extra innings to San Jose State by a score of 7-6.  The game was decided when San Jose shortstop BranDee Garcia hit a two-run home run in the top of the eighth.

The Pack showed a lot of heart in this one by erasing a four run deficit with six outs remaining and plating a run in the extra frame but it was not enough to overcome the San Jose attack as no player on Nevada had multiple hits in the opener.

Mallary Darby took the loss and was pulled in favor of Katie Holverson in the eighth inning after surrendering the go-ahead runs. Darby finished with five strikeouts along with five walks while giving up four earned runs on four hits.

Game Two

The second game of the series was the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader at Hixson Park and things did not go well for the Silver and Blue in this one as the Pack lost by a run rule in five innings. The final, 10-2.

The bats stayed quiet in this one as Nevada managed only two extra base hits and four total hits in the game as the Pack were overmatched by the Spartan offense.

San Jose did most of their damage in a six-run fourth inning when the Spartans strung together a few base hits which was followed by a grand slam home run by Breanna Lopez to make it 10-2, which would end up being the final.

Taking the loss was Katie Holverson who gave up eight earned runs on nine hits while striking out two and walking one.  The loss dropped Holverson to 5-11 on the season.

Game Three

The Nevada offense came alive in the third game as the Silver and Blue jumped out to a 7-0 lead early as the Pack tried to avoid the sweep but this was not the Wolf Pack’s weekend.

Britton Murdock was the star for Nevada offensively as she went three for three with five RBI’s and two runs scored with a walk in the series finale.  Also stepping up for the Pack was first baseman Kelsey Starr who went two for three with two walks, three RBI’s and a run scored.

The offensive might displayed by the Pack would be overshadowed by defensive lapses at the end of the night.  Darby pitched a complete game but would end up taking the loss as more than half of the runs she gave up were unearned.

The Pack lead would start to slip away during a five-run fourth inning for San Jose State that was extended when Danielle Patrick made a costly error with two outs that allowed the Spartans to plate two more runs in the inning.

Nevada responded in the next inning with two runs of their own to take 9-6 lead but again the defense could not hold up and the Spartans would take advantage of the Wolf Pack mistakes during a five-run seventh inning.

The Pack had a chance to salvage the victory as they had a 9-8 lead with two outs.  San Jose pinch hitter Ursula Lopez struck out but would get to first on a dropped third strike by catcher Justine Cooper.  This gave the Spartans the second chance they badly needed to complete the sweep.

With the second chance BranDee Garcia stepped to the plate and hit a three-run home run on a 1-0 count to put the Spartans up 11-9.  Nevada would load the bases in the bottom half of the inning but the game ended when Lauren Lastrapes grounded out to third and the Spartan sweep was complete with the 11-9 victory.

Darby took the loss and finished with 3 strike outs while giving up six earned runs on seven hits and five walks.  The loss dropped Darby to 9-8 overall.

With the loss Nevada fell to 14-19 overall and 1-7 in conference.  Up next for Nevada is a matchup with New Mexico State in Las Cruces next weekend as New Mexico is the only team trailing Nevada in the WAC.

Check out some game photos below;