Week 7 has come to an end, and conference play is beginning to heat up. Five teams are tied for third in the standings with a 3-3 conference record, meaning every game lost can send a team from firmly in the tournament, to out entirely in an instant. Prior to Week 8, let’s take a look at the chaos that is the conference standings.
Standings (After Week 7 of 14)
- Grand Canyon Lopes – 33-1, 6-0 MW
- Nevada Wolf Pack – 22-11, 4-2 MW
- San Diego State Aztecs – 18-13, 3-3 MW
- UNLV Lady Rebels – 16-16, 3-3 MW
- Boise State Broncos – 17-18, 3-3 MW
- Colorado State Rams – 15-16, 3-3 MW
- Utah State Aggies – 14-17, 3-3 MW
- Fresno State Bulldogs – 13-13, 2-4 MW
- San Jose State Spartans – 10-19, 2-4 MW
- New Mexico Lobos – 13-18, 1-5 MW
Now, let’s take a look at who was the best, the worst, and the ugliest in Week 7, and who has the most momentum heading into Week 8.
The Good
Nevada Wolf Pack (22-11, 4-2 MWC)
Game Results:
3-1 (3-1 away)
at Utah State (14-17) – W, 13-6
at Utah State (14-17) – L, 7-6
at Utah State (14-17) – W, 10-6
at Utah Valley (19-10) – W, 10-2 (5 innings)
No GCU this week, I figured it would be a good time to talk about a few other teams since the Lopes did lose their undefeated status on the season. First up is the Wolf Pack, who held a hitter’s parade in Utah, going 3-1 against Utah State and Utah Valley. The Wolf Pack are now the second team in the conference to reach 20 wins, and have now won six of seven, along with 15 of their last 19.
The Wolf Pack’s 13-6 win in Game 1 against the Aggies was deceivingly close. Nevada flew out to a 12-0 lead before a questionable pitching decision (taking out Tess Bumiller for the struggling Hailey McLean) allowed the Aggies to score six runs in the bottom of the fourth. Nevada held Utah State scoreless the rest of the way, but were not able to score the two runs needed to score a run-rule win.
In Game 2, Bumiller, who had gone scoreless over her last 11.1 innings, got lit up for four runs in her 2.2 innings before being pulled for Ainsley Berlingeri. Berlingeri tossed 4.0 scoreless innings to allow Nevada to get back into the game, taking the lead, 6-4, with a trio of runs in the top of the seventh. Unfortunately, Berlingeri had a brutal collapse in the final frame, giving up two home runs to lose the game 7-6.
Nevada looked to be overmatched again in Game 3, as Talia Tretton gave up four runs in the first inning, then two more in the third inning after the Pack had tied the game. After Tretton was pulled in the fourth, the combination of McLean, Seese, and Bumiller held the hot-hitting Aggies hitless for the rest of the game, while the still-hot bats scored five runs in the sixth inning to clinch a series win, 10-6. Nevada wrapped up the week with an easy run-rule win over a solid Utah Valley team that entered the game 3-0 against MW teams, and on a three-game win streak over the Wolf Pack dating back to 2021.
The Pack pitching staff struggled this weekend outside of the UVU game, so let’s focus on their lethal hitting core, which had double-digit hits in every single game. First, Madison Clark ripped her first career home run against UVU, ending the week leading the team in hits, going 13-for-18 with seven stolen bases and six RBIs. Katie Wetteland also had some strong performances prior to getting injured versus UVU, as did Haylee Engelbrecht and Bailie Clark.
However, all pale in comparison to the unstoppable Hannah Di Genova, who had 17 plate appearances this week. Across those, she got on base 16 times: a combination of three walks, two hit-by-pitches, and 11 hits. Those 11 hits led to four singles, two doubles, and five home runs, all of which drove in an absurd 12 RBIs, including an incredible seven in Game 3 against Utah State—a performance which tied the Nevada softball program record, and easily won her MW Player of the Week honors.
Nevada travels back home to Reno for a bout against San Jose State, who will be looking for a rebound after getting swept at GCU. SJSU kept all but one game against the Lopes relatively close, hence why GCU isn’t here this week, so the Wolf Pack better take their opponents seriously, or else they may be in a bit of trouble.
Side note: I will be on the play-by-play call for this series on the Mountain West Network, alongside my friend and former Nevada pitcher Carley Brown. I’m looking forward to seeing if the Wolf Pack can continue this hot streak, especially so in the case of “Pork Chop.”
UNLV Lady Rebels (16-16, 3-3 MWC)
Game Results: 3-1 (3-1 home)
vs. Utah Tech (11-20) – W, 11-3 (5 innings)
vs. San Diego State (18-13) – W, 4-3
vs. San Diego State (18-13) – W, 6-3
vs. San Diego State (18-13) – L, 13-7
It was a good day to be a fan of softball in the state of Nevada, perhaps even more so if you live in Las Vegas. No team changed their status in the conference this week quite like UNLV did, going from a team I had ranked 9th in the power rankings to a dark-horse bid-stealer. The Lady Rebs upset SDSU in their home-opening conference series this week, adding some impressive wins to this season’s resume.
UNLV started off the week by easily run-ruling Utah Tech in a game that wasn’t close. In Game 1 against SDSU, UNLV found themselves down 3-1 in the bottom of the sixth, with four total hits having led to little success to that point. The Rebels had the bases loaded with two outs, but with Rachel Cook, the worst hitter on the team, at the plate. Cook more than delivered when needed most, smashing a bases-clearing triple that gave UNLV a lead they would not give up, securing the massive upset. Game 2 was nowhere near as dramatic, as the Rebels never once trailed thanks to three home runs, leading to a 6-2, series-upset clinching victory.
Game 3 was one that, despite everything else I have said, nearly knocked UNLV from the “good” category due to its sheer absurdity. The Rebels went into the top of the seventh inning up 7-5, with an upset sweep within their reach. After recording two outs, the Rebels spiralled out of control, allowing a staggering eight runs to the Aztecs before recording that last out. Yes, this collapse was horrible, and could easily have a negative effect on the rest of the season, but for now, it was still a great week for UNLV softball.
Cook was the unexpected star of the SDSU series, going 4-for-7 with four RBIs, and being the only Reb hitter to record a hit in every game. The overall leader on the week was Bri Williams, who went a combined 7-for-11 with three RBIs, while Charelle Aki tied Cook for the RBI lead with four.
In the circle, Lauren Fettic tossed 12.0 innings across all four games, recording four strikeouts and walks, also allowing just seven earned runs. Those may not look like fantastic numbers, but when you are playing three games against a team tied for the conference lead in batting average, seven earned runs across four games is phenomenal work, and more than enough to earn the Rebels two wins, and would have been enough for the third without a complete bullpen collapse.
UNLV will travel to Fresno for a duel with the ‘Dogs this weekend. The Bulldogs are struggling mightily in conference play (more on them shortly), and have already lost a home conference series to Utah State this season, so this is definitely a winnable matchup, especially with how UNLV has been playing lately. I still can’t believe I’m saying all this about the Lady Rebs. Kristie Fox and her staff have done a fabulous job this season.
The Bad
New Mexico Lobos (13-18, 1-5 MWC)
Game Results: 1-2 (1-2 away)
at Colorado State (15-15) – L, 4-3
at Colorado State (15-15) – L, 5-0
at Colorado State (15-15) – W, 9-8
I gave New Mexico a lot of credit last week, as despite going 0-3, they did have to play GCU, so that fact was far more forgiveable. However, nearly doing the exact same thing this week to Colorado State is far less so. New Mexico has lost nine of their last 12, falling straight from one of the conference’s best teams to a team whose season is already on the brink of being over, with yet another tough conference series coming up.
Game 1 saw the Lobos jump out to a 2-0 lead, but a flurry of errors in the sixth allowed the Rams to take a 3-2 lead. UNM got a game-tying run in the top of the 7th, but allowed four straight singles in the bottom of the seventh to lose the game 4-3. Game 2 was dominated by Ram backup pitcher Giselle Bentley, who allowed just five hits in a complete-game shutout.
As for Game 3, the sturdy Lobo pitching staff collapsed to give up eight earned runs. Thankfully, the Lobos’ bats finally woke up, combining for 13 hits and nine runs against the second-best pitching team in the conference, giving the Lobos a much-needed first MW victory of the season.
DeNae Vasquez-Dickson was far and away the best hitter on the team, going a combined 6-for-10. The problem is that DVD only had two RBIs across all three games, meaning her hits certainly mattered, but they hardly scored anybody. McKenzie’s homer in Game 3 scored three of her team-high four RBIs.
In the pitching realm, nobody had a good weekend. Both Caitlin Benningfield and McKenna Guest recorded complete games in the first two games, but neither received enough run support to win, particularly painful for the former, who only allowed one earned run. Additionally, New Mexico’s pitching staff collapsed in the final game, the only difference was that UNM simply outraced the Rams in the shootout. Situational softball has been quite lacking for the Lobos as of late.
New Mexico hosts San Diego State this week, in what looks on paper to be another tough matchup for the Lobos to even snag one game in. The Lobos have not won a game against the Aztecs since 2022, and have not won a series versus SDSU since 2018. However, there is an abnormal amount of hope for the Lobos heading into this matchup with the Aztecs, mainly because…
The Ugly
San Diego State Aztecs (18-13, 2-3 MWC)
Game Results: 0-2 (0-2 away)
at UNLV (16-15) – L, 4-3
at UNLV (16-15) – L, 6-3
at UNLV (16-15) – W, 13-7
UNLV emerged as a dark-horse contender in the conference this week, but they did so at the expense (arguably taking the place) of the Aztecs, who continue to slide further into the steely grip of mediocrity as the season goes on, having gone 9-11 after their 8-2 start. San Diego State is in deep trouble now, and their status as one of the conference’s top teams looks more questionable week after week.
The first two games featured the Aztecs getting shut down offensively by Rebel pitchers. Three of the four Aztec pitchers that played (Faith Jordan, Matti Kwarta, Ava Schaffel) were brilliant, combining to give up just three earned runs against six strikeouts in a combined 8.2 innings. Unfortunately, Key-annah Pu’a did not get the memo her teammates did, as her 3.1 innings were a complete disaster, giving up seven combined runs and just one strikeout.
Pu’a was terrible once again in the final game of the series, giving up two more runs and no strikeouts in an inning. Thankfully, Jordan’s 5.0 innings with the same number of runs surrendered as Pu’a (plus eight strikeouts) allowed an onslaught of runs in the seventh inning to save the Aztecs from a humiliating sweep.
Offensively, Quinn Waiki and Emma French were the only Aztec hitters to get a hit in each of the first two games, while combining for just one RBI. Waiki ended up leading the team in hits, going 5-for-11 with that lone RBI. Unsurprisingly, Jade Ignacio led the team with seven RBIs, including six in the Game 3 win, though she went a surprisingly inefficient 4-for-10 on the weekend.
Inconsistency was the name of the game this weekend, as the Aztecs combined to go 13-for-51 (.255) across the first two games, which continued through the first 6.2 innings of the final game (6-for-24), prior to the eight-hit onslaught that saved them.
Yes, the Aztecs won one game this week, but that does not make it much better, in my opinion. Their one win was arguably more due to an insane collapse by UNLV than anything the Aztecs did. Needing such events to beat a team like the Rebels, rather than the Lopes or Wolf Pack, is quite alarming, to say the least.
The Aztecs take on their second straight conference series on the road this weekend, this time facing the conference win-free New Mexico Lobos in Albequerque. This is an obvious opportunity for a bounceback for the Aztecs against a team that they have historically dominated, but also is one that could start a true downward spiral for Coach Nuveman-Deniz’ squad.
