Three amigos: Pitching trio boosts Rebels softball squad

Time will tell if the UNLV softball team can break into the upper echelon of the Mountain West this season, but Rebels pitchers Kwyn Cooper, Alyssa Batastini and Janine Petmecky already have shown their mettle in the circle.

Cooper and Batastini earned consecutive conference Pitcher of the Week honors earlier this month and Petmecky earned back-to-back wins in relief Friday and Saturday as UNLV (18-14, 2-1) opened league play by winning its series over San Diego State (19-12, 1-2) at Eller Media Stadium.

The Rebels dropped Thursday’s conference opener to the Aztecs 6-2 despite Cooper’s team-leading fifth complete game of the season but bounced back with a 4-2 win on Friday and a 7-2 triumph on Saturday.

UNLV was picked to finish fifth for the second straight season in the Mountain West preseason coaches’ poll and San Diego State was second, but Rebels coach Lisa Dodd has greater expectations for her team.

“We expect to be in the top three or four,” she said. “There are some good teams in our conference but if we play our best against them, we’ll have a good shot at beating them.”

Cooper (7-6), a junior from Castro Valley, California, who had a no-hitter broken up Thursday with two outs in the fifth inning, owns the league’s fourth-lowest ERA (2.53). She’s the workhorse of the staff, starting 14 games and pitching 80 innings, good for fifth place in the conference.

Cooper also plays first base and is one of the team’s leading hitters with a .351 batting average, 12 RBIs and six stolen bases.

“She hits the ball hard and has really stepped up big for us,” Dodd said. “She’s the one we’ve relied on in big moments.”

Batastini (5-4), a freshman from Reno, is second on the squad in ERA (3.46). She escaped a bases-loaded jam Friday before giving way to Petmecky.

“Allie has done a really good job for us as a freshman,” Dodd said. “She’s stepped up in big moments and plays without fear, which is pretty unusual for a freshman.”

Petmecky (3-3, 3.98 ERA), a sophomore from Riverside, California, allowed one earned run in 8 2/3 innings against the Aztecs. She’s second on the squad in batting (.361) — behind Alyssa Cordova (.378, 17 RBIs) — and has four home runs and 16 RBIs.

Jamie DePippo, a senior third baseman, is hitting .324 with four homers and a team-leading 20 RBIs.

“Offensively, she just makes a lot of things happen,” Dodd said. “She hits for power and also lays down drag bunts and keeps rallies going.”

Francesca Foti (.333, 15 RBIs), a senior from Liberty High School, belted a three-run homer in Saturday’s victory.

The Rebels will play three games at San Jose State on Tuesday and Wednesday before returning home Friday to face Utah State in the opener of a three-game series at Eller Media Stadium.

WOMEN’S TENNIS STILL STREAKING

UNLV freshman Aiwen Zhu was named the Mountain West Women’s Tennis Player of the Week for the second time this season and the No. 64-ranked Rebels (18-0) extended their school-record win streak to 18 matches with a 4-3 win over Hawaii on Saturday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

Zhu, who upset a ranked player from Oklahoma en route to the weekly award, also won the league’s honor on Feb. 3. Zhu and fellow China native Carol Zi Yang are ranked No. 76 in the nation in doubles and Yang is ranked No. 69 in singles.

UNLV will host San Jose State on Friday at the Fertitta Tennis Complex.

SWIMMER EARNS ALL-AMERICA HONORS

UNLV senior Dillon Virva set a school and Western Athletic Conference record in the 50-yard freestyle, winning the B final in 19.07 seconds to place ninth at the NCAA Men’s Swimming and Diving Championships in Atlanta and earn honorable mention All-America honors.

Virva’s top-10 effort is the highest individual finish for a UNLV swimmer at the NCAA Championships since 2000, when Jacint Simon took fifth in the 200 free.

Virva also tied for 33rd in the 100 free with a personal-best time of 43.50 seconds.

MEN’S GOLFER EARNS WEEKLY HONOR

UNLV senior AJ McInerney was named the Mountain West Men’s Golfer of the Week for the second time this season after tying for third place at the Airstream Adventures Northwest Classic in Canby, Oregon. The Coronado High School product fired a 5-under-par 211 (71-71-69) to lead the Rebels to their second team title of the year with an eight-stroke victory over Oregon.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33