DAVIS, Calif. – A big first inning by Nevada doomed Santa Clara softball in the Broncos 6-2 loss on the final day of the Capital City Classic Tournament on Sunday.  Santa Clara finished the tournament with a 1-4 record.  

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Nevada (15-4) scored five runs in the top of the first against Santa Clara starter Alaina Valdez and never looked back.  The Wolfpack sent nine batters to the plate and had five singles, four of them consecutively, to knock out Valdez and jump out to the early lead.  Hazyl Gray came in relief to finish the inning as all five runs were charged against Valdez.  
• The middle of the Nevada lineup did much of the damage with Haley Painter, Aaliyah Jenkins, Hannah Di Genova and Tatum Maytorena each having multi-hit games including RBI singles in the opening inning for the first three hitters mentioned.  Jenkins went 3-for-4 while the others went 2-for-4.
• Taryn Clements put Santa Clara (10-7) on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a solo home run to left field.  The Broncos made it 5-2 in the sixth on Hope Alley's RBI single.  Alley had two of the six hits for SCU.  
• But otherwise, the Bronco bats were held in check by Nevada pitchers Hailey McLean and Tess Bumiller.  They combined to allow two runs on six hits and struck out seven.  McLean improved to 8-1 on the year.   
• Gray and Hannah Edwards pitched the rest of the way in relief of Valdez and gave up one run over the final 6 2/3 innings.  Valdez dropped to 0-2.  

NEXT UP:

• Santa Clara hosts Boston College for a single game in a midweek contest on Tuesday.   

Connect with the Broncos on Social Media
Athletics: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Snapchat
Softball: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram