Weber State softball picked up its first win of the young season Saturday and wrapped up its five-game trip to Las Vegas on Sunday in a tournament hosted by UNLV.

WSU is 1-4 to start the season, a mark that includes two shutout losses to No. 7 Arkansas, an 8-4 loss to Baylor and a split with UNLV.

The Wildcats next head to Phoenix for five games at a tournament hosted by Grand Canyon from Feb. 17-19 in which they will face DePaul, Illinois State, Oregon State, Grand Canyon and Arizona State.

WSU 4, UNLV 0

Mandy Johnson threw a complete-game shutout and Weber State picked up a win Saturday evening over the hosts.

Johnson allowed three hits and pitched around issuing six walks while striking out two.

Catcher Lauren Hoe singled in a run in the third to get WSU on the board. McKell McCuiston doubled in a pair in the fourth and Mika Chong singled her home to account for the scoring.

UNLV 12, WSU 4

Sunday afternoon’s rematch looked much the same until the Rebels busted through WSU pitching in the fifth and sixth innings to turn a 4-0 deficit into a game ended early by run-rule.

Lauren Hoe smacked her second home run of the tournament, a three-run shot, to put WSU up 3-0 in the first. After Brooke Hatfield ran into trouble in the circle, Madison Peterson entered with one out and the bases loaded in the bottom of the first and struck out two to get out of the jam.

UNLV got to Peterson in the fifth and cut the deficit to 4-3. Then the dam broke in the sixth inning, a nine-run frame that included a three-run homer from Ariana Martinez, and the Rebels claimed the win.

Peterson ended with five earned runs charged to her ledger in five innings. In relief, Mandy Johnson allowed three earned runs without recording an out, and Jayci Finch surrendered four earned runs in 1/3 of an inning.

Newsletter