The Nevada softball team (34-12, 12-4) won its home series against Utah State (25-20, 10-6), winning two of the three games from April 17 to April 19.
The Pack struck first as first baseman Hannah Di Genova singled in catcher Aaliyah Jenkins in the opening frame. The Aggies responded in the third with a dropped fly ball and a three-run homer from first baseman Giselle Gonzalez to take a 4-1 lead. Utah State added three more in the fifth behind another leadoff triple, a two-run shot from right fielder Kya Pratt, and an RBI double to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Jenkins jumpstarted the rally with a solo homer in the fifth, her 50th career home run, and nearly helped plate another run before a runner’s interference ended the inning. In the sixth, Nevada came alive with four runs on five hits. Designated hitter Avery Cordell knocked in one, and left fielder Lexi O’Gorman brought in two more with a line drive off the pitcher, and Di Genova capped the rally with her second RBI of the game.
After a clean top of the seventh from pitcher Ainsley Berlingeri, shortstop Haylee Engelbrecht opened the bottom half with a double to left center. Cordell and second baseman Madison Clark walked to load the bases, and Jenkins worked a full-count walk to tie the game. With the winning run on second, O’Gorman roped a liner to the left field gap, scoring Clark and completing the Pack’s comeback walk-off victory.
The Wolf Pack erupted offensively in a record-breaking 17-14 win over Utah State on Friday. Nevada totaled 38 bases, and Engelbrecht made history with four doubles, the most ever in a single game for the program.
Nevada came out swinging in game two, scoring four in the first behind a Di Genova three-run homer and an O’Gorman sacrifice line drive. The Pack exploded for six more in the second, highlighted by O’Gorman’s grand slam for her second career home run, and an RBI single from Jenkins, who later collected her 200th career hit.
Utah State stormed back with a seven-run third, launching four home runs, including three straight, something Nevada hadn’t allowed since 2021. Aggie second baseman Claudia Medina and catcher Kaylee Erickson each went deep in the inning, flipping momentum temporarily.
But the Pack kept rolling. Di Genova added another RBI in the fourth, and O’Gorman and Engelbrecht added to their big days in the fifth. O’Gorman drove in a career-high six runs, while Engelbrecht’s final double scored two to push the lead to 17-10.
Utah State scratched across two runs in the sixth and two more on right fielder Kya Pratt’s homer in the seventh, but pitcher Jessica McPartland closed the door with a 2.1-inning save to secure the high-scoring win.
The Pack struck first in the series’ last game, as Clark singled and Jenkins walked to open the game. Clark scored on a double steal before Jenkins crossed the plate on an O’Gorman single, her 10th RBI of the weekend, tying the most in a three-game span since 2022. Nevada added two more runs over the next two innings, with a solo shot from center fielder Bailie Clark in the second and an error by Utah State that allowed Jenkins to score after a leadoff double, building a 4-1 lead.
But the fourth inning unraveled quickly. After McPartland issued a pair of walks and allowed a single, Utah State capitalized with a mix of small ball and Pack miscues, including a sacrifice fly, two RBI walks, and a passed ball. The frame ended with a grand slam from Pratt, her fourth homer of the weekend, capping a 13-run outburst on just four hits and flipping the game in the Aggies’ favor, 14-4.
McPartland returned after being relieved mid-inning by pitcher Hailey McLean, who allowed eight runs while facing just nine batters. McPartland finished with six runs allowed, only two earned, while Ainsley Berlingeri closed out the final 1.1 innings, allowing just one hit.
The Wolf Pack’s next test comes Friday, April 25, when they travel to Albuquerque, New Mexico, for a three-game series against the New Mexico Lobos (20-24-1, 5-11).
James Wolfgang Perez can be reached via email dominicgutierrez@unr.edu or via X @jpereznevada
