HENDERSON, Nev. (April 26, 2019) – It was an up-and-down day for the College of Southern Nevada softball team Friday.
 
The Lady Coyotes, one of the hottest programs in the Scenic West Athletic Conference, returned home to the heat of Southern Nevada for a four-game series with USU Eastern and hopes of extending their momentum. Instead, CSN earned a 9-3 win in game one before surrendering a 10-8 loss in game two. The day's results leave Southern Nevada's overall record at 16-25 and 14-16 in the Scenic West Athletic Conference.
 
The Coyotes will host the Eagles in a doubleheader on Saturday to close out the series. The CSN Athletic Department will also honor the program's sophomores before the start of the day's first game at 12:00 p.m.
 
Southern Nevada 9, USU Eastern 3: A strong finish helped the Coyotes continue their hot streak in the Scenic West.
 
Trailing early, CSN used three big innings to power to the victory. Trailing 1-0 in the third inning, Breanna Alvarez hit an RBI double that gave CSN a 2-1 lead. Bailey Pepper also hit an RBI double in the inning to build CSN's advantage to 4-1. 
 
After a USU Eastern two-run home run that cut CSN's lead to 4-3, Southern Nevada scored five unanswered runs in the game. In the fifth inning, Kayla Bello hit a solo home run and Pepper hit a two-run single in the sixth inning to finish the win.
 
Sabrina Saldate finished the game going 3-of-3 at the plate with a pair of RBI's, helping the Coyotes score their first runs on a single in the third inning. Pepper went 2-of-4 at the plate with three RBI's. Breanna Alvarez improved to 6-6 in the pitching circle, surrendering three runs in five innings of work.
 
USU Eastern 10, Southern Nevada 8: A big inning allowed USU Eastern to send the game to extra innings and to an eventual Eagles victory.
 
USU Eastern then scored two runs in the eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie. The Eagles took an early 4-0 lead before CSN responded with seven unanswered runs to claim a 7-4 advantage after the fourth inning. Key plays in the Southern Nevada rally included an Avery Rayos two-run triple in the fourth inning. Trailing 8-7 in the sixth inning, Alexis Vigil hit an RBI triple that tied the game. Vigil was thrown out trying to claim an inside-the-park home run that would've given CSN a late lead.
 
Rayos had a monster game, going 4-of-4 while scoring three runs. Kayla Bello started the game in the pitching circle for CSN, with Karen Hernandez taking the loss in relief.