San Diego State University softball (27-16, 14-5 Mountain West) defeated Nevada (37-14, 14-8 Mountain West) 4-2 on Sunday afternoon in a crucial conference matchup. 

Nevada kept their momentum from their last two wins over SDSU by striking first. The Wolfpack homered in the top of the first inning and then added another run in the second inning. 

Pitcher Dee Dee Hernandez entered the game in the third and the Nevada offense disappeared. She finished the game with five innings pitched and zero runs allowed. 

Hernandez was challenging the Wolfpack and was not afraid to pitch to contact. The California native improved her record to 9-3 and currently leads the Mountain West in ERA with an outstanding 1.81 average. She is the only qualifying pitcher in the Mountain West with a sub-2 ERA. 

The Aztec offense did not let Hernandez’s dominating outing go to waste. Infielder Lala Macario got the ball rolling in the third inning with a lead-off single. Macario ended up stealing home to bring SDSU within one. Macario now has 18 steals on the season.

The Aztecs cracked the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning with a triple from infielder Mac Barbara, followed by a walk from catcher Cali Decker. Designated hitter Alyssa Garcia brought in both Barbara and Decker to give SDSU a 3-2 lead. Infielder Makena Brocki later brought in infielder Katie Goldberg on an RBI double.

Barbara finished her day 2-3 with a walk while Decker walked three times on the day. Decker refused to chase anything out of the zone and was a huge factor in the win.

This is SDSU’s first series loss in conference play but still sits at the top of the Mountain West standings. They are three games ahead of the Nevada Wolfpack. 

The Scarlet and Black did not let the home crowd down by avoiding a sweep. Their next series against UNLV will be very important to reaching the Mountain West Championship. 

Just one win will most likely clinch a championship birth. The series starts next Thursday at UNLV at 6 p.m.