UNLV roundup: Strong pitching keys UNR’s baseball win over Rebels
Grant Fennell went 3-for-4 with two doubles, two runs and an RBI to back Mark Nowaczewski’s complete-game pitching effort and lead UNR to a 4-1 win over UNLV in a Mountain West baseball game Saturday in Reno.
Nowaczewski (5-5), a Reed High School product, held the Rebels (18-34, 8-18) to one run on six hits and three walks and struck out five.
Desert Oasis product Bryson Stott hit a leadoff home run in the second for UNLV, which was answered in the bottom of the inning by a solo shot from Green Valley product Keaton Smith. Stott finished 2-for-4.
Rebels starter Garrett Poole (2-7) gave up four runs on eight hits and one walk and struck out two in six innings.
Mike Echavia had an RBI single in the first and Marco Valenzuela a run-scoring single in the sixth for the Wolf Pack (17-31, 11-14).
SOFTBALL
At Eller Media Stadium, Alyssa Navarro hit a go-ahead two-run homer in the sixth inning to back Morgan Ettinger’s complete-game pitching effort as UNLV closed its season with a 4-2 win over Mountain West champion San Jose State.
Ettinger (13-17) tossed her 18th complete game of the season in her 81st and final career start. The senior right-hander gave up two runs, one earned, on five hits and three walks and struck out five.
Myranda Bueno went 2-for-3 with a run for the Rebels (25-27, 8-16), who held a 9-5 edge in hits.
Brianna Gatlin had an RBI groundout in the third inning and singled to open UNLV’s three-run sixth, which included an RBI double by Emily Vela.
Madison Aurin hit a leadoff home run in the fourth, and Emma Entzminger went 2-for-3 for the Spartans (36-17, 16-8), who lost two of three to the Rebels in the weekend series.
San Jose State starter Katelyn Linford gave up one run on four hits and no walks and struck out two in four innings. Kacie Gresenz (1-5) permitted three runs on four hits and one walk over the next 1⅔ innings.
TRACK AND FIELD
At Logan, Utah, Kaysee Pilgrim cleared 6 feet, 2¾ inches in the high jump to set a Mountain West record and rank first nationally this season, helping UNLV to a third-place finish in the 11-team league outdoor championships.
San Diego State won the title with 159½ points, followed by Colorado State (134) and the Rebels (93).
Next game UNR (92½), Fresno State (67), Boise State (61), Air Force (59), Utah State (42½), New Mexico (41½), Wyoming (36) and San Jose State (33).
UNLV had five second-place finishes: by Destiny Smith-Barnett in the 100-meter dash (11.26 seconds); Najia Hudspeth in the 200 (23.39 seconds); Taylor Pegram in the 100 hurdles (13.15 seconds); Smith-Barnett, Hudspeth, Drea Austin and Kaysha Love in the 400 relay (43.81 seconds); and Mandy Chitwood, Austin, Najia Hudspeth and Nylia Hudspeth in the 1,600 relay (3 minutes, 38.93 seconds).
Austin was third in the 200 (23.44 seconds), Chitwood fourth in the 800 (2 minutes, 8.17 seconds), Smith-Barnett fifth in the 200 (23.61 seconds), Ayana Gales fifth in the triple jump (40 feet, 1¼ inches), Stella Clemens fifth in the javelin throw (127 feet, 5 inches), Amari Norris seventh in the 100 hurdles (13.77 seconds), Danielle Williams seventh in the triple lump (38 feet, 5½ inches) and Micayla Coquia eighth in the 400 (56.45 seconds).