Nevada Release5/9/2012
LAS CRUCES, N.M. – The Nevada softball team squandered a 6-2 lead and fell 9-6 to San Jose State in the Wolf Pack's opening game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament on Wednesday at the New Mexico State Softball Complex.
The Wolf Pack (21-35) now falls into the losers' bracket and will play again Thursday at 6 p.m. (Pacific). Nevada will play the loser of the BYU game tomorrow. Fresno State and Louisiana Tech are playing this evening with the winner advancing to play BYU. Nevada never trailed in the game until the final play – a three-run walk-off home run by Brianna Lopez with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh inning. San Jose State will take on top-seeded Hawaii Thursday morning.
Nevada was staked to a 2-0 lead when Lauren Lastrapes belted her team-leading seventh home run of the year. That scored two as Karley Hopkins was aboard after a lead-off single.
San Jose State got one back in the bottom of the first but Nevada answered in the top of the second with a two-run double by Hopkins.
After the Spartans scored one more in the bottom of the second to make it 4-2, Nevada came back in the third with two more runs off San Jose State ace Amanda Pridmore to extend the lead to 6-2
But San Jose State scored three times in the bottom of the third to move within one at 6-5. That was the score until the sixth when Annica Wolfe hit a solo shot to tie it and SJSU would go on to win it in the seventh.
San Jose State had five home runs in the game and got a hit from the leadoff hitter in every inning. Hopkins and Megan Fincher each had two hits for Nevada while Hopkins and Lastrapes each drove in two runs. Karlyn Jones (9-6) took the loss in relief of Nevada starter Mallary Darby.
