Game 1 against the Rams saw the definition of a pitcher’s duel between CSU’s Reagan Wick and Nevada’s Tess Bumiller. Wick went the full distance, allowing just two runs to the explosive Wolf Pack offense, but Bumiller was even better, pitching her first career complete-game shutout in a solid 2-0 win. The biggest problem for the Wolf Pack in this one was, once again, their hitting ability with runners in scoring position (1-for-11).

This leads nicely into Nevada’s record-setting Game 2 performance, where the Wolf Pack went 14-for-29 with runners in scoring position. As one could guess based off of that, Nevada’s offense exploded for a program record-tying 23 runs on a program-record 21 hits. Twelve Pack batters got on base at least once, 10 recorded a hit, and six recorded multiple hits. Madison Clark broke the Nevada single-season hits record in this game, but the star of the day was actually Rylie Haith, who went 3-for-6 with five RBIs, which nearly doubled her previous season total (six). Nevada led 11-6 going into the seventh inning, but scored an absurd 12 runs off of CSU’s once-feared pitching staff. This total includes RBIs from little-used seniors Avery Cordell and Maya Larsen, along with one from freshman Gianna Serrano. Nevada tried to give the Rams a break once Katie Wetteland put them up 15-6, but the Pack were simply unstoppable. Nevada’s 23 runs were the second-most scored by any team in the conference this season (Boise State vs. CSUN, 24 runs), a truly dominant performance.

Looking for the sweep, Nevada fell behind 3-0 after the first inning thanks to the continued struggles of Talia Tretton, but were saved in the circle thanks to the ever-inconsistent Hailey McLean, who tossed 4.2 innings of 2-hit, 2-strikeout, scoreless work. Nevada scored 11 unanswered runs between the fourth and sixth innings, with Haylee Engelbrecht’s 3-run blast in the sixth serving as the winning run in a sweep-securing, run-rule victory.

Nevada took home an extremely rare honor this week, being the first team to sweep all three MW Player of the Week honors . Engelbrecht won Player of the Week (seven hits, two home runs, six RBIs), Bumiller took home Pitcher of the Week (8.0 IP, 0.00 ERA, six Ks), and Anna Braukus took home Freshman of the Week (.545 BA, 1.545 OPS). Nevada’s 36 runs across the three games were the most the Wolf Pack have scored in a MW series since 2019 at New Mexico (39), and this team doesn’t look to have any intentions of cooling off any time soon.

Nevada will host Fresno State for the final conference clash between the longtime foes this weekend. The Bulldogs fell to the Lobos 2-1 on the road this weekend, and are now just above the conference tournament cut line. The ‘Dogs will be hungry, but so will the Wolf Pack, as the Lopes are so close to being in reach.

New Mexico Lobos (21-23, 9-10 MW)

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

vs. Fresno State (20-20) – L, 12-6

vs. Fresno State (20-20) – W, 6-5

vs. Fresno State (20-20) – W, 12-1 (5 innings)

I could have put UNLV here again, but the Lobos need to be recognized for their performance this week. What a series win this was for UNM, taking down Fresno State two games to one. The Lobos have moved all the way up to fourth in the conference standings, and their remaining series are against the two worst teams in the conference. New Mexico now controls their own destiny, and have quite the manageable path to take in order to do so.

Game 1 was largely uncompetitive, as Lobo pitchers allowed a combined 11 runs across the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. New Mexico tried to come back into the game with a 5-run fourth, but Bulldog reliever Alyssa Ramirez held the Lobos hitless for the final three innings, securing a 12-6, series-opening win. Needing to bounce back in Game 2, the Lobos got out to a 4-2 lead before allowing the Bulldogs to score three in the top of the sixth. Trailing 5-4 with one out in the bottom of the seventh, little-heralded junior Hayden Luderer crushed a game-winning 2-run homer to right field, walking off the Bulldogs in euphoric fashion. Riding high off of that much-needed win, the Lobos proceeded to beat the brakes off of Bulldog ace Lauryn Carranco in Game 3, scoring nine runs in the second inning en route to an easy 12-1 win that clinched the series for the Lobos.

Miracle McKenzie, Melanie Macias and Gabrielle Briones each recorded a three-hit game in one of the Lobos’ two wins, with the latter two tying for the team lead with five hits apiece. McKenna Guest and Caitlin Benningfield each recorded complete games in the final two games, with the latter redeeming her awful 6 ER performance in Game 1 with five innings of one-run work in the Game 3 win. There weren’t any particularly gaudy stats from anyone on the Lobos, but consistent production across the board (nine hits per game) led to this being the ultimate team win for a squad that desperately needed to win this series.

New Mexico will next head out to San Jose for a duel with the Spartans this weekend. If the Lobos sweep the Spartans, they would be able to clinch a MW Tournament spot if the Aztecs lose at least one game to the Broncos, and the Aggies lose at least one to the Rams. The goal is simple, then: make Week 13 as stress-free as possible, thus giving as much time as possible to prepare for the tournament.

The Bad

Boise State Broncos (20-29, 6-13 MW)

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

vs. UNLV (27-18) – L, 6-5

vs. UNLV (27-18) – L, 10-6

vs. UNLV (27-18) – L, 9-6

So…the Broncos may have been what I thought they were. All the way back in the preseason, I predicted that, while Boise State had genuine talent on their roster, the Broncos would end up having struggles due to their general inexperience at all positions. This UNLV series showed these facts absolutely perfectly, as Boise State had many, many chances to beat the Rebels, taking leads in all three games, but they were not able to take that next step to an actual victory. The Broncos are so, so close to being a good team, but are even closer to being eliminated from the conference tournament entirely.

In each of the three games, the Broncos were either trailing by one, tied, or outright leading, at one or more points throughout. They led 1-0 after the third inning of Game 1, then proceeded to give up four in the top of the fourth. They cut a 6-0 deficit to 6-5 in the third inning of Game 2, then gave up three in the top of the fifth. Finally, they took a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning of Game 3, gave up four in the top of the sixth, scored three of their own in the bottom of the sixth to tie the game, then blew the game for good by giving up three more in the top of the seventh.

Kate Penberthy went a superb 7-for-12 with four RBIs during the series, followed closely by Sophia Romero (six hits) and Mya Flindt (five hits). The rest of the lineup was largely silent, combining to go an absolutely horrific 1-for-37 (.027) across Games 1 and 2. As for the Broncos’ pitching staff, the best performance of the weekend was Charley Duran’s two earned runs allowed in just 1.1 innings of work. Every single Bronco pitcher gave up at least two earned runs, combining to allow a putrid 14 walks. While there certainly were some standout performers in this series, none of it matters when you lose all three games.

Boise State is on the verge of elimination heading into a crucial series against future Pac-12 mate San Diego State. The Aztecs have been (and will continue to be) the subject of mockery in these articles, but got themselves out of the renamed “ugly” tier this week by run-ruling Grand Canyon in their series’ final game. The Aztecs have a small amount of life now, but are still below the tournament cut line, as are the Broncos. This series is absolutely critical for both teams if they wish to make it to the dance.

The Ugly

Colorado State Rams (20-24, 8-11 MW)

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

vs. Nevada (33-14) – L, 2-0

vs. Nevada (33-14) – L, 23-7

vs. Nevada (33-14) – L, 11-3 (5 innings)

To describe that performance as putrid would be a complete understatement. Yes, Nevada has a lethal offense, but the Rams somehow made them look like Oklahoma, whereas no other team in the conference has let the Pack do that this season. Considering the Rams, the team with the second-best pitching staff in the conference, put up a worse fight against Nevada than the over-7.00 ERA Aggies did, there is no other place the Rams could go than the ugliest of the ugly.

Game 1 was as advertised, with team aces Reagan Wick and Tess Bumiller engaging in a 7-inning pitching masterclass. Wick gave up two runs in the first three innings before keeping the opposing offense at bay the rest of the way. Problem is, her own offense never scored. In the bottom of the seventh, the Rams had the bases loaded against the clearly out-of-gas Bumiller, but a harmless grounder up the middle created the game’s final out, and a 2-0 Ram loss. At least they kept this one close throughout. The same cannot be said for Game 2.

In Game 2, Colorado State got out to a 5-2 lead, but eight unanswered runs from Nevada put the Rams in a big hole nearing the home stretch. CSU cut the lead to 10-6 in the fourth, only allowing one more run, entering the seventh inning down 11-6. That’s when the dam finally burst, with the Rams allowing nine hits, committing two errors, and allowing an obscene 12 runs in just the top of the seventh. Nevada threw out all of their freshmen and backups throughout the course of the inning, but a comedy of errors and horrific pitches made it impossible for the Wolf Pack to not score. Not even Utah State allowed close to this many runs against the Wolf Pack. This was by far the worst performance by a MW team this season, there is no debate on that front. At the very least, Game 3 ended a bit earlier. CSU got out to a 3-0 lead, but allowed a combined 11 runs during the fourth and sixth innings, never scoring again in an 11-3 run-rule loss.

This was the Rams’ first home series loss this season, as well as their first three-game conference sweep. Colorado State sunk from fifth place in the conference to sixth, now just a game above the Aztecs for the final tournament bid. Nevada outscored CSU 36-10 across the three games, the most runs surrendered in a three-game series since last year against Utah State (37). The team’s ERA plummeted from 3.44 (second) to 3.98 (fourth), and outside of Wick’s performance in Game 1, you would never be able to guess that this team has a really good pitching staff. Every single Ram pitcher gave up at least one run, even the freshmen that were put in the game in the embarrassing Game 2. Kyra Smith was the only Ram to record a hit in each game, leading the team offensively with just three hits. There was simply no good to be found here.

The Rams will head to Logan for a must-win matchup with the Aggies this weekend. Utah State is now just a game back of the Rams for the final conference tournament spot, meaning that this series may very well decide that final spot if the Aztecs can’t get their stuff together.