UNLV roundup: Softball team hits four homers, wins twice

Justine Federe belted two of UNLV’s four home runs, and Samantha Diaz and Lauren Tycksen each had five of the Rebels’ 21 hits as they won two games Saturday in the Chanticleer Showdown in Conway, South Carolina.

Federe totaled six RBIs as UNLV (14-3) notched an 8-3 victory over Radford (5-9) and coasted to a 10-1 rout over host Coastal Carolina (14-4), which entered with a 0.99 ERA.

The Rebels are off to the second-best 17-game start in their 35-year history, behind only the 15-2 start by the 1995 team.

Against the Highlanders, Charlie Masterson (4-0) allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks and struck out six over 5 1/3 innings.

Federe went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer and a stolen base and totaled three RBIs, Diaz went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, Tycksen went 2-for-4 with a stolen base, and Lauryn Baker had an RBI double.

Talia Douglas went 3-for-4 with a steal Brooke Bond 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs for Radford, which was outhit 10-8 in its seventh straight loss.

Against the Chanticleers, freshman Jenny Bressler (8-1) allowed one run on two hits and three walks and struck out five in five innings.

Diaz went 3-for-3 with a two-run homer, Tycksen went 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI, Federe hit a three-run homer and scored twice, Mia Trejo hit a two-run homer, and Barker had a double and an RBI.

Alexis Alvino homered for Coastal Carolina’s lone run.

MEN’S SWIMMING AND DIVING

At Houston, freshman Tazman Abramowicz placed first in platform diving while becoming the first Rebel to be selected Western Athletic Conference diver of the year, highlighting UNLV’s fifth-place finish in the seven-team WAC Championships.

Abramowicz had a score of 315.95 and qualified for the NCAA Diving Zones, and Jesse Cawley was third (286.30) in the event.

Ivan Zukov, named the meet’s top freshman, was third in the 200-yard breaststroke in 1 minute, 58.42 seconds, and Michal Cukanow was second in the 200 butterfly (1:46.58).

Hayden Cornellison was third (1:46.07) and Hayden Hemmens fourth (1:46.12) in the 200 backstroke, and Hemmens teamed with Richard Szilagyi, Bryan Chavez and Sean Gage to place fourth in the 400 freestyle relay (2:57.81).

Grand Canyon won the team title with 688.5 points, followed by California Baptist (618.5), Wyoming (604), Air Force (593), UNLV (493.5), Cal State Bakersfield (330.5) and Seattle (148).

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

At Boise, Idaho, Rachel Bowers had 13 points and nine rebounds to lead Boise State to a 53-38 victory over the Lady Rebels.

Riley Lupfer scored 10 points for the Broncos (23-4, 14-2 Mountain West), who improved to 13-1 at home. They led 11-10 after one quarter, 27-19 at halftime and 35-27 entering the fourth quarter.

Nikki Wheatley scored a team-high seven points for UNLV (11-17, 9-8), which had won two straight. The Lady Rebels shot 26.1 percent while holding Boise State to 26.3 percent.

The Broncos, though, made six 3-pointers while UNLV shot 0-for-7 from beyond the arc.

Top Lady Rebels scorer Katie Powell exited with an ankle injury 2:24 into the second quarter, with UNLV trailing 15-12.

Rodjanae Wade had a game-high 12 rebounds for the Lady Rebels, who matched Boise State with 39 rebounds.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

At Tucson, Ariz., Aiwen Zhu and En-Pei Huang each won in singles and teamed for a doubles victory for the Rebels (8-3) in their 4-3 loss to Brigham Young (5-3) that halted UNLV’s seven-match win streak.

Zhu, ranked 84th nationally, won 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 at No. 1 singles and teamed with Huang in the nation’s No. 42 doubles pairing for a 6-4 victory. Huang won 7-5, 6-1 at No. 4 singles.

Anna Bogoslavets teamed with Samantha Li for a 6-1 triumph at No. 3 doubles.

BASEBALL

At Fresno, Calif., the Rebels (5-5, 1-0 Mountain West) trailed 1-0 in the first inning against Fresno State (5-2, 0-1) when rain prompted the game to be rescheduled as part of a doubleheader Sunday, starting at 11 a.m.