The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: 2026 Mountain West Softball Week 9

Week 9 of the 2026 season was absolutely the most chaotic week of the season for the 10 teams in the Mountain West Conference. Upsets were seen everywhere, featuring not one, but two conference sweeps achieved by teams who were not the Lopes. This means that for the first time this season, there is a major disparity between the in-conference performances of the conference’s teams. I could easily justify putting eight teams in this article, but for the sake of keeping things somewhat focused, I’ll

only include five here. With that being said, let’s take a look at the conference standings entering Week 10.

Standings (After Week 9 of 13)

1. Grand Canyon Lopes – 37-4, 10-2 MW
2. Nevada Wolf Pack – 26-13, 8-4 MW
3. UNLV Lady Rebels – 20-18, 7-5 MW
4. Fresno State Bulldogs – 17-15, 6-6 MW
5. Colorado State Rams – 18-19, 6-6 MW
6. New Mexico Lobos – 18-19, 6-6 MW
7. San Diego State Aztecs – 20-17, 5-7 MW
8. Utah State Aggies – 16-21, 5-7 MW
9. Boise State Broncos – 18-23, 4-8 MW
10. San Jose State Spartans – 11-24, 3-9 MW

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 9 of the 2026 season.

The Good

Nevada Wolf Pack (26-13, 8-4 MW)

Game Results: 2-1 (2-1 away)

at #17/22 Grand Canyon (37-4) – L, 4-3

at #17/22 Grand Canyon (37-4) – W, 4-3

at #17/22 Grand Canyon (37-4) – W, 4-3

This entire season, I have been waiting to see the Wolf Pack play at the full potential of what I predicted in the preseason: a lethal pitching staff reinforced by timely hitting from all across the starting lineup. Up until now, Nevada has been more of a hot-hitting team that uses pitching more as a suggestion than a rule. That strategy was never going to work against the dominant GCU Lopes, who entered this weekend with only two losses on the season, both of which being to ranked teams.

I predicted a GCU sweep of Nevada here, with the Pack’s only hope being to fully realize their potential…and realize it they did. In a stunning upset, Nevada not only handed GCU their first conference loss as a member of the Mountain West, they claimed the series entirely, adding two more ranked wins to their resume, now sitting 3-7 against such competition this season. The Wolf Pack are riding high, getting hot at the right time.

Nevada never led in their 4-3 Game 1 loss to the Lopes. The Pack was mostly shut down by GCU’s Oakley Vickers and Abi Jones, only scoring on Hannah Di Genova’s 16th home run of the season. That remained the case until the seventh inning, when the Wolf Pack began a comeback that was simply too little, too late. At least the Wolf Pack had kept it close, which surely gave them confidence going into Friday.

Nevada came out swinging against early-season GCU ace Taryn Batterton, scoring four runs in the second inning to take a commanding early lead. The Wolf Pack ended up leaving the bases loaded to end that inning, which became an unfortunate theme, as Nevada left a staggering 11 runners on base, failing to score again the rest of the way, and leaving the bases loaded again in the top of the seventh. The Lopes then walked, hit a two-run bomb, and doubled to lead off the bottom of the frame, getting the tying run to third base with just one out. Nevada then forced a pop fly to shallow center field, of which Bailie Clark threw a missile with pinpoint precision to catcher Karolyn Glover, who put the tag on speedy Lope runner Ellie Pond for the game-winning double play, and their second road win over a ranked team this season.

Saturday’s rubber match ended up being a pitcher’s duel for the first four innings. Nevada allowed eight walks to the Lopes’ one, which usually has led to losses this season. However, the Pack defense was stout all day, forcing GCU to leave 11 runners of their own on base. Nevada scored two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings, sandwiched around allowing a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth. After loading the bases in the bottom of the seventh with just one out, Talia Tretton forced a strikeout, then a ground ball that was barely handled by Madison Clark for the final out of the game. This win clinched Nevada’s first series win against a ranked conference opponent since their magical 2008 season, and Nevada’s 13th consecutive MW conference series win.

Despite the huge win, it was a bit of an off week for the best-hitting team in the conference, with the Wolf Pack going 24-for-85 at the plate (.282 avg.), which is to be expected against the sixth-best pitching team in the nation. Madison Clark went 5-for-12 with an RBI, while Bailie Clark led the Pack with three RBIs. Katie Wetteland (4-for-10) was the only Nevada hitter to get a hit in each of the three games. As for the circle, Ainsley Berlingeri was the unexpected hero for the Pack, pitching 6.0 innings with an ERA of 0.00, striking out seven in the process. Berlingeri recorded a save in Game 2, and should have been awarded the win in Game 3. Talia Tretton, Hailey McLean, and Tess Bumiller were a bit more inconsistent in the circle, but combined for 14 strikeouts of their own, consistently badgering GCU’s lethal hitting core.

It cannot be understated just how fantastic of a feat this was for the Wolf Pack, and how big this is for their season. Nevada has jumped up from #61 to #48 in NCAA RPI, now with three Quad 1 wins on their resume. The Wolf Pack have gone from “tournament title or bust” to a legit at-large contender. Nevada had the best Week 9 out of any MW team, no question.

Nevada continues their road trip with a doubleheader against the Aztecs on Wednesday, then will head back home for a three-game home stand against New Mexico and Pacific. The Aztecs are slumping heavily, New Mexico is coming off of a phenomenal week, and Nevada has beaten Pacific in both matchups this season. Anything less than 4-1 is unacceptable, but the Wolf Pack really need to go 5-0 here to keep their momentum going.

New Mexico Lobos (18-19, 6-6 MW)

Game Results: 3-0 (3-0 away)

at Boise State (18-23) – W, 6-1

at Boise State (18-23) – W, 9-2 (8 innings)

at Boise State (18-23) – W, 6-2

I was initially going to talk about UNLV in this spot, but the uncompetitive nature of their loss to CSU on Saturday made the choice of who to talk about obvious for me. New Mexico, who had not won a series against Boise State since 2021, not only beat the Broncos, but swept them on the road for undoubtedly their best wins of the season by far. The Lobos have suddenly rocketed from tied for last in the standings to being tied for fourth, currently sitting with a one-game pad on the first teams out of the tournament.

The Lobos dominated Game 1, 6-1, holding the Broncos at bay due to an incredible 10-strikeout, complete-game performance from Caitlin Benningfield. Game 2 was much closer, as the Lobos and Broncos were knotted at two heading into extras. In the eighth inning, UNM scored a whopping seven unearned runs with two outs after a Bronco error, turning an extra-inning epic into a total laugher. Game 3 was also very close throughout, but the Lobos never trailed, with a bases-clearing double in the top of the seventh giving New Mexico even more insurance to complete the upset sweep.

Caitlin Benningfield had a performance against Boise State so great, I would be stunned if she does not win MW Pitcher of the Week. Benningfield tossed 9.0 innings, allowing one run, three walks, and an absurd 12 strikeouts. Benningfield now has 89 strikeouts on the season, six more than any other player in the conference. Benningfield is, and will continue to be, a massive problem for anyone in the box against her. The Lobos’ normally cold-hitting lineup went 29-for-91 (.319) in this series, led in this regard by Miracle McKenzie’s 6-for-12, 6 RBI line. It was a fantastic weekend for the Lobos, and I’m excited to see how well they can keep this momentum up going forward.

The Lobos are set to get very acclimated with the state of Nevada this week, as they host UNLV for a doubleheader on Wednesday, then travel to Reno for a two-game series against the Wolf Pack. Both the Rebels and Pack are coming off of incredibly important series wins, so these matches will be opportunities for the Lobos to catch two teams that are riding high off guard with their stout pitching core. I would expect the Lobos to split with the Rebels and lose both to the Wolf Pack, but this is a team that has quickly gotten used to exceeding my expectations.

Honorable Mention: Fresno State (3-0 sweep at San Jose State)

The Bad

Boise State Broncos (18-22, 4-7 MW)

Game Results: 0-3 (0-3 home)

vs. New Mexico (17-19) – L, 6-1

vs. New Mexico (17-19) – L, 9-2 (8 innings)

vs. New Mexico (17-19) – L, 6-2

When looking at the Broncos’ box scores from their series loss via sweep to the Lobos this weekend, what will immediately stick out is their seven-run, eight inning loss in Game 2. Make no mistake, however, each of the Broncos’ losses were equally as bad as the rest. This week could not have come at a worse time for Boise State, as the Broncos fully fell back into the basement of the conference, currently ranking well outside the cutoff for the conference tourney.

Game 1 was a grumpy, low-energy 6-1 loss where the Broncos felt like they had a chance of winning for precisely zero percent of the game. Boise State struck out a whopping 10 times off of UNM strikeout-queen Caitlin Benningfield, only recording four hits and zero runs until there were already two outs in the bottom of the seventh. Game 3 was a much closer game, as Boise State entered the top of the seventh down just 3-2. Their pitching staff imploded after that, giving up a based-loaded 3 RBI double to Jessica Deleon, and after the Broncos’ hitters were not able to mount a comeback, the Lobos had clinched an upset road sweep.

Game 2, on the other hand, was nothing short of embarrassing. It looked good for a while, with both teams allowing just one run each in the third and fourth, reaching extra innings with the score locked at two. After recording back-to-back outs to start the eighth, an off-target throw by Hollie Farmer on what would have been the inning’s final out led to an unfathomable collapse. The next six plays went as follows: single, walk, wild pitch, walk, single, grand slam. New Mexico scored a combined seven unearned runs off of a single error, turning what could have been an extra-inning epic into another disastrous loss for the Broncos.

Sophia Romero was the only Bronco to get a hit in each game, going 4-for-9 overall to lead the team in hits. No Bronco had multiple RBIs, the cold-hitting streak likely due to the Broncos’ 19 strikeouts in this series. As for the Broncos’ pitching staff, Loula-Rae McNamara had an ERA of 0.00 across her 8.0 innings of work, which sounds amazing until you realize that she gave up a whopping seven unearned runs in that time. Each of those unearned runs came after a single error with two outs: the Farmer error in extras of Game 2 and another error in the seventh inning of Game 3. Boise State only had three errors the whole series, the problem is that they largely came at the exact wrong times.

Boise State will play a five-game road trip this week, traveling to Logan, Phoenix, and Pocatello for matchups with Utah State, GCU, and rival Idaho State. The Aggies are coming off of their first ever road series win over the Aztecs (more on that shortly), the Lopes are coming off of a home series loss to the Wolf Pack (see the first note), and the Bengals are 27-15. In other words, Utah State will be riding high, Grand Canyon will be playing mad, and Idaho State is a tough out for anybody. This has a chance to get ugly very quickly for the Broncos.

#17/22 GCU Lopes (37-4, 10-2 MW)

Game Results: 1-2 (1-2 home)

vs. Nevada (26-13) – W, 4-3

vs. Nevada (26-13) – L, 4-3

vs. Nevada (26-13) – L, 4-3

It seemed for the entire season that GCU would perpetually stay in the “good” tier, but Nevada put an emphatic stop to that this weekend, sending GCU to their first week finishing below .500 since last year’s NCAA Tournament, and their first consecutive losses all season. The reason the Lopes are here, despite the fact that they did lose to a very good team, is because, as the box scores would indicate, GCU had infinite chances to take down the Wolf Pack, but were consistently outplayed in the clutch for the first time all season.

GCU never trailed in their 4-3 win on Friday, scoring on a home run by Emily Gonzalez, as well as another homer and a double by Trinity Martin. Nevada gave the Lopes a scare at the end, getting to Abi Jones in the top of the seventh to the tune of two runs scored with the tying run on first, but Taryn Batterton came in to face the final batter of the game, striking out Haylee Engelbrecht to escape with a 4-3 win.

Now for the first bad of the season. GCU was held to just four hits by Nevada pitchers on Friday night, failing to lead at any point in a game for the first time this season. Nevada racked up 10 hits, scoring all four of their runs by lighting up Batterton and Maggie Place in the second inning, but GCU forced the Pack to leave a whopping 11 runners on base. The Lopes cut the deficit to one in the seventh inning with a Tinley Lucas home run, then got the winning run onto third base with only one out. Sydney McCray then flew out to center field, with Ellie Pond being just barely unable to beat out a fantastic throw home, much to coach Shanon Hays’ ejection-worthy chagrin, resulting in the Lopes’ first conference loss in the Mountain West.

Saturday’s game saw a brilliant pitcher’s duel for the first four innings between each team’s tertiary pitcher: Nevada’s Ainsley Berlingeri and GCU’s Natalie Fritz. This time, the Lopes took up the mantle of leaving everybody on base, matching the Wolf Pack’s Friday night total of 11. Nevada scored two runs in the fifth and sixth innings, while GCU’s only score came on a three-run blast from Martin in the fifth. The Lopes got the bases loaded with just one out in the bottom of the seventh, but a swinging strikeout and a forceout at second left the bases loaded for the second time in the game, falling 4-3 for the second straight game.

The Lopes struggled mightily at the plate in this series, with Martin’s 3-for-9, 6 RBI performance representing the vast majority of all production for the cold-hitting GCU lineup, which went 17-for-68 overall (.250 avg.). Martin’s two hits in Game 1 was the only multi-hit performance for the Lopes all series. Fritz and Oakley Vickers combined for 11.1 innings of one-run play in the circle, but it’s telling that the Lopes had to use seven pitchers during these three games, throwing in little-used junior Alina Satcher on top of Batterton, Place, Jones, and Lilly Camp. Nevada did not do a whole lot of scoring against GCU’s dominant staff, but with the Wolf Pack’s pitchers playing as they did, the Lopes were simply forced out of their comfort zone, earning themselves a spot in another tier for the first time. Welcome to the conference, Lopes.

The Lopes will have a Wednesday doubleheader against Fresno State, a two-game series against Boise State, and their final opportunity for a great win at home against rival Arizona State on the docket this week. 4-0 entering the ASU game is a realistic expectation, and the Sun Devils have proven vulnerable after losing a series to Kansas this weekend, so GCU has an opportunity to move on quickly and simply get back on schedule down the stretch.

Dishonorable Mention: San Jose State (Swept 0-3 vs. Fresno State)

The Ugly

San Diego State Aztecs (20-17, 5-7 MW)

Game Results: 1-2 (1-2 home)

vs. Utah State (16-21) – L, 4-3

vs. Utah State (16-21) – W, 9-1 (5 innings)

vs. Utah State (16-21) – L, 5-4

I don’t even have words at this point. Every single time I assume the Aztecs have hit rock bottom, they grab a bigger shovel. In yet another embarrassing example of how far this team has fallen, they lost a home series to Utah State for the first time…ever. San Diego State has shown zero signs of improvement over the past few weeks, and now sit outside the cutoff for the conference tournament entirely. What a disaster this season has been for the four-time reigning conference champs.

Game 1 saw SDSU race out to a 2-0 lead, holding on to that advantage all the way until the sixth inning. After Faith Jordan gave up a run in the top of the sixth, starter Key-annah Pu’a was put back into the game to record the game’s final six outs. Pu’a was up 0-2 in the count against her first batter of the seventh inning, but after the field sprinklers activated and halted SDSU’s momentum, Pu’a proceeded to allow two runs, blowing the Aztecs’ 3-2 lead. Now trailing 4-3 against a USU pitching staff that had allowed 62 runs over their last six games, the Aztecs went three-up, three-down to lose the game in humiliating fashion.

Game 2 was a dominant run-rule win where the Aztecs jumped out to an 8-0 lead before the Aggies recorded their third hit. SDSU’s first run-rule win of conference play allowed Aztec fans to gain confidence that their team was going back to the way they were supposed to be: taking care of bottom-feeders and contending for a conference title. The shovel was no longer in use.

Deciding that their shovels were no longer effective, San Diego State decided to bring an industrial drill to Game 3. The game was locked at 1-1 entering the fourth inning, when USU finally got to Jordan again to grow their lead to 3-1. Utah State grew their lead to 5-2 after a solo home run in the top of the seventh, but SDSU decided to provide their fans even more hope by beginning a rally in the bottom of the frame. The Aztecs led off the inning by scoring two runs, now sitting pretty with runners on first and second, no outs, down just one. Naturally, Angie Yellen proceeded to slap a ground ball right to third base, with Utah State nailing both runners in a forceout double-play. This pretty much killed the Aztecs, as with no more room for error, a fielder’s choice hit ended the game in devastating fashion. Back to drilling, I guess.

I will discount stats from Game 2 for this part, since SDSU’s stats would be heavily ballooned otherwise. Besides, who cares if you win one game via run-rule, yet still lose the series? Across both losses, SDSU left 14 runners on base, going a dreadful 5-for-20 with runners in scoring position. No Aztec hit particularly well, with Olivia Gigante’s 3-for-6, 2 RBI statline leading the way in both categories. All of this came against by far the worst pitching team in the conference, one of the worst pitching teams in the country, and a team that had allowed an average of over nine runs per game over their last 18 games. Humiliating stuff.

Alarmingly, superstar hitter Jade Ignacio, a couple of days removed from celebrating her birthday, appears to have been benched for the final two games of this series, going just 0-for-2 in her lone at-bats on Friday. I could not tell if this was for any sort of injury, but regardless of whether it was or not, not having your best hitter in the lineup at all is disturbing to see. As for the Aztecs’ continually backsliding pitching staff, neither Key-annah Pu’a, Faith Jordan, nor reigning Pitcher of the Week Ava Schaffel had a good game, with all three giving up at least one earned run in the Aztecs’ two losses.

This was absolutely the worst week of the season for the collapsing former powerhouse, but at this point, I’m going to stop claiming that this is truly rock bottom until the Aztecs prove that they have run out of tools to dig even deeper. The Aztecs host Nevada for a doubleheader on Wednesday, then travel up the coast to San Jose for a two-game weekend series against the Spartans. Perhaps SDSU can catch Nevada napping after their historic series upset against GCU this weekend, and SJSU is far and away the worst team in the conference. Maybe, just maybe, this is the week the Aztecs get back on track. If not, I may just rename this tier to reflect the namesake of its primary resident.