Courtesy of Boise State Athletics – 

BOISE, Idaho –Taylor Caudill tied her season high with 11 strikeouts to lead Boise State past Nevada 4-1 in the losers’ bracket final of the 2024 Mountain West Softball Championship at Dona Larsen Park, Friday.

It was the second win of the day for the Broncos (36-22), who outlasted UNLV (31-19) 5-4 in eight innings to eliminate the Rebels. Boise State, the No. 5 seed, will face top-seeded San Diego State (30-18) in the tournament final, Saturday at noon. If the Broncos win, the teams will play a winner-take-all game at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The Broncos eliminated the Wolf Pack (40-17) for the second-straight year. Boise State scored first when Abby Bumcrotexecuted a squeeze bunt in the fourth. Sophia Knight followed with an RBI-single for a 2-0 lead.

Nevada scored its lone run in its half of the fourth, but that was the only hit Caudill (19-13) gave up and she left with a 2-1 lead after 4 2/3 innings, having struck out 10.

Boise State added some insurance in the sixth. Sydney Groves homered, her Mountain West-leading 18th of the season, and Bumcrot delivered a sacrifice fly for a 4-1 lead.

Abby Dowell and Jenna Bloom combined for two innings of shutout relief before Caudill reentered with two outs in the seventh and the tying run at the plate. She froze pinch hitter Hanna Di Genova on a 3-2 pitch to end the game and set the Boise State single-season record for strikeouts at 171.

Against the Rebels, Jordyn Hutchins provided the game-winning RBI with a sacrifice fly and made a winner out of Caudill, who worked three innings of hitless relief.

UNLV took the lead without a hit in the first. Brooklynn Pettis tied the game with a solo homer in the second. The Rebels responded in the bottom of the second for a 2-1 advantage.

Groves gave the Broncos a 4-2 lead with a three-run home run the third. The Rebels quickly tied the game with a pair of runs in the home half of the frame. Each team put up zeroes over the next-four innings.

Top Broncos

  • Taylor Caudill pithed eight innings of one-run ball and picked up two wins.
  • Sydney Groves was 4-for-6 with two home runs and four RBI.

Notables

  • Taylor Caudill set the single-season Boise State strikeout record for at 171.
  • Sydney Groves set the single-season school record for RBI with 57.

What’s Next
Boise State plays San Diego State at noon, Saturday and must win twice to capture the MW title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship.