Courtesy of Nevada Athletics – 

No. 1 Nevada 8, No. 4 Boise State 4
Thursday, May 9, 2025 – 3 p.m.
San Diego, Calif. – SDSU Softball Stadium

W: Hailey McLean (17-6)
L: Abby Dowell (9-10)

SAN DIEGO – Nevada Softball opened its run at the Mountain West Championships with an 8-4 win over Boise State. The Pack surged in the late innings, scoring all its runs in the fourth through sixth innings. Alfaro’s two-for-two day with two walks was her first four-on-base game in over 1,100 days.

The Broncos scared the Wolf Pack early, loading the bases on an error and a pair of walks. The Pack’s starter, Hailey McLean, battled back, getting a two-strike count in each of the next three at-bats. McLean forced a popout to shallow right field, then struck out Leah McAnally looking, and finished the inning with a groundout to second. In the bottom of the inning, Nevada drew two two-out walks but could not get either runner across.

In the third inning, the Broncos threatened again with a pair of singles to start the inning, and both runners moved into scoring position on a passed ball. McLean struck out two Broncos before getting another inning-ending grounder to second.

Nevada broke through in the fourth following a Boise State pitching change. The Broncos’ starter, Brook Thompson, was pulled after 3.1 innings with only one hit allowed. The Wolf Pack immediately jumped on the opportunity, with a Saige Alfaro walk followed by a Maya Larsen single and Tatum MaytorenaRBI single to open the scoring. Madison Clark kept the rally going with an infield single to third, scoring Matlyn Leetch on the play. The Broncos reentered Thompson to get the final out of the inning.

In the fifth inning, Hannah Di Genova singled to start the inning, reaching third on a Haylee Engelbrecht double down the left field line. Alfaro blooped a single barely unplayable by the Boise State left fielder, scoring Di Genova.

Boise State got a run back in the top of the sixth as walks plagued McLean’s inning. The Broncos’ leadoff batter walked, followed by a single to right. A pair of outs looked positive for McLean, but losing a 2-2 count to Sydney Groves walked the bases loaded and made it difficult for McLean to relocate the strike zone, walking the next batter on four pitches to score a run. McLean got out of the inning in the next at-bat despite initially falling behind 2-0.

The Pack responded with three straight hits to start the inning. Maytorena recorded her second hit with a single through the right side. Lexi O’Gormanmade up for her earlier pinch hit at bat with a double deep into the left field corner, scoring Maytorena from first. Clark singled again on a bunt, then stole second to give the Pack second and third with no one out. Jenkins reached on a fielding error, scoring Bailie Clark, who had reentered for O’Gorman. Di Genova rolled a ball over to short, scoring M. Clark. Engelbrecht followed with a line drive back to the pitcher, who couldn’t field the ball cleanly, allowing Jenkins to score. Alfaro then singled to right, wrapping up her four-on-base game, scoring Engelbrecht from second. Larsen battled with the Pack up seven, looking to move Alfaro 60 feet to walk off the game in run-rule fashion. After a crushed foul ball, Larsen looked to have hit the first home run of the tournament, but just fell short with a flyout to left, ending the inning.

Boise State battled in the seventh inning against Tess Bumiller, who came into the game for the Pack to close the game. Mykenzie Hanna led off the inning with a single off Bumiller’s knee, sending her to the ground instantly. Bumiller, okay to stay in the game, lost consecutive full counts, walking the bases loaded. Another walk scored the Broncos’ second run, quickly followed by a single to left, scoring another run. A grounder to second plated Boise State’s final run just before a grounder to Engelbrecht finished the game and advanced the Pack to the semifinals.

McLean picked up her 17th win of the season, now tied for the fifth-most wins in a season in Wolf Pack history. The Spanish Springs product pitched six complete innings, allowing four hits, five walks, and one earned run. McLean struck out five Broncos, throwing 127 pitches. Bumiller allowed three walks and a pair of hits, with three runs scoring on her watch, all earned.

The Pack bats put up impressive numbers considering Di Genova had the only hit for Nevada through three innings. M. Clark, Di Genova, Engelbrecht, Alfaro, and Maytorena each tallied two hits and an RBI, with Alfaro picking up a second RBI. Alfaro also walked twice, reaching base in all four at-bats; her first four-on-base game for the Pack and first since February 26, 2022, in her freshman season at Canisius. Larsen and O’Gorman’s hits were critical for the Pack, with Larsen reaching second on the play and sparking the offensive shift, and O’Gorman reaching third on the play and scoring the first run of Nevada’s big inning.

Nevada will play its semifinal matchup against No. 3 Fresno State at 12 p.m. tomorrow. The Pack swept the two-game regular season series against the Bulldogs. Fresno State is coming off a 3-0 win against two-seed San Diego State in which Mountain West Pitcher of the Year Serayah Neiss proved her dominance with her second complete game shutout in as many days.

Notables

  • The Wolf Pack’s 41st win of the season marks the second-most wins in a season in program history, passing 2009 and 2024’s 40-win seasons.
  • Nevada played in the Mountain West Semifinal last season, falling 4-1 to No. 1 San Diego State. The Pack then lost its loser bracket game later that day, 4-1 to No. 5 Boise State, to finish the season.
  • Hailey McLean’s 17th win of the season ties her for the fifth-most wins in a Wolf Pack season.
  • Madison Clark passed Sadaria McAlister for the third-most stolen bases in Nevada history with 54.
  • McLean struck out five batters, bringing her season total to 146, tied for the eighth most in a Nevada season.
  • Aaliyah Jenkins played in her 210th game for the Pack, tied for the 10th most in Wolf Pack history.
  • Saige Alfaro went two-for-two with two walks and a pair of RBI. Her four-on-base game is her first for the Pack and first since February 26, 2022, in her 12th career game at Canisius.
  • Five Wolf Pack hitters had two-hit games.
  • Eight different players scored for the Pack.