On May 11 the 2023 Mountain West Softball Championship began. With Boise State University and San Diego State University receiving bye-weeks into the second round of the tournament, San José State University, Colorado State, University of Nevada, Reno and California State University, Fresno were all placed on the chopping block.

CSU and Nevada played each other in the first round of the tournament, with the Wolf Pack defeating the Rams 11-0. This loss followed an overall loss in a three-game series played against Nevada five days earlier.

“Despite the 11-0 score, Nevada and CSU were fairly evenly split offensively. All batters from both teams hit equally, with Nevada having four hits and CSU three.”

The shutout was only the third of the season for the Rams, but the tournament left no room for error, and the Rams were unable to recover following a devastating fifth inning. The first inning proved to be fairly uneventful from both teams, with the Wolf Pack scoring a single point off a ground ball.

Despite the 11-0 score, Nevada and CSU were fairly evenly split offensively. All batters from both teams hit equally, with Nevada having four hits and CSU three. It was evident, however, that the Rams were concerned about their ability to defeat the Wolf Pack.

Throughout the game, the Rams rotated through three different pitchers in an attempt to recover from a poor showing in the first and third innings but to no avail. The second inning began the dominance from the Wolf Pack with Nevada scoring three runs from Chelie Senini, Hailey Prahm and Bridgette Gilliano.

The Wolf Pack was able to hold off any CSU runs in the following three innings. CSU played through the bottom of the second inning with three consecutive outs, as well as the bottom of the third inning with two consecutive outs and only Ashley York making it past the home plate. The bottom of the fourth was just as uneventful for the Rams with Molly Gates making it to first but getting tagged out at second.

Nevada had a similarly uneventful third and fourth innings, with no successful runs in the third inning and three consecutive outs in the fourth inning as well. However, in the fifth and final inning, Nevada was able to bring the offense that was seen in the first inning back to the fifth.

The fifth inning brought sorrow for the Rams and joy for the Wolf Pack with Nevada shooting up from a 4-0 lead to 11-0. Two walks and a single led to the first of 7 points for Nevada in the fifth. After recovering from two pop-up outs from Nevada, Aaliyah Jenkins was able to score a home run with the bases loaded to secure the victory for Nevada.

The Rams were unable to recover in the bottom of the fifth, with three consecutive outs that ended the Rams’ short championship run. The blowout loss ended the season for CSU, and the Rams now look to next season, when they again hope to return to the Mountain West Championship.

Reach Emma Askren at easkren@collegian.com or on Twitter @emma_askren.