Sara Parsons becomes a different hitter with the bases loaded.
The Nevada outfielder drilled a grand slam Saturday in the fourth inning to propel the Wolf Pack softball team to a convincing 9-1 victory in five innings over Portland State in Las Vegas.
It was Parsons' second grand slam this weekend in Las Vegas. She cleared the bases for a quick 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Friday in a game the Pack would eventually lose 9-6.
The victory over Portland State ended a three-game losing streak for the Pack and lifted the team to 4-5 on the season.
Parsons is hitting just .222 (8-for-27) this season and all eight of her RBI have come on her two grand slam swings of the bat.
Karlyn Jones went five inning to pick up the victory, her second in four decisions. Jones, who has a 4.52 ERA this year, allowed three hits and a run while striking out five. Portland State fell to 4-6.
The Wolf Pack also lost to Long Beach State, 8-1, on Saturday. The only Pack run came on a home run by Ashley Butera (her first).
Megan Sweet and Erin Jones had RBI singles in the third as the Wolf Pack took a 2-1 lead against Portland State. The Pack then scored seven runs in the fourth thanks to Parsons slam to help end the game in five innings.
Sweet now has 12 walks this season and has struck out just twice. The rest of the Pack team has fanned 47 times and walked just 14 times combined.
Karley Hopkins, who is hitting .563 this year, had two hits, scored twice and drove in two runs against Portland State. Erin Jones had two hits and is now hitting .464 with a team-high 10 RBI.
The Wolf Pack will play Hawaii today in Las Vegas.
