By MATT DEARMAN

Sports Writer

Tech's softball team dropped two disappointing games to the University of Nevada on Saturday in Reno to close out a nine-game road trip.

The losses dropped Tech to 25-33 on the year (8-11 WAC) and extended their losing streak to six games. Nevada improved to 37-27 (12-10 WAC) and jumped ahead of Tech for the third place position in the conference.

"[The series with Nevada] was a rough one," Tech head coach Sarah Dawson said. "It was disappointing because those games could very well keep us from finishing in the top three, which has been the team's goal all along."

In the first game, Tech struck first when sophomore Bridget Broadnax blasted a two-out home run in the first inning to give the Techsters a two-run lead.

Nevada responded with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning and added three more in the second inning to go on top 5-2.

Tech slowly scratched back by producing runs in the third, fourth and seventh innings to tie the game and send it into extra innings.

In the eighth inning, the Techsters were not able to capitalize on their base runners as they left three runners stranded in the inning.

Nevada won the game in the bottom of the eighth inning when Brittany Lorenzen walked, advanced to second on a passed ball and then scored on a one-out double by Candice Rainwater.

Brittany Stanley led Tech's offense in the game with three hits and two runs, followed by Broadnax, Amber Miles, Mary Cohn and Aimee Coleman with two hits each.

Tech's ace Marla Pinkston (15-18) picked up the loss despite allowing only 1 run (unearned) in six and 1/3 innings after relieving starter Kristin Blodgette in the second inning.

In the second game, Nevada compiled 14 hits en route to an overpowering 7-3 victory. Tech, who hit the ball well in the first game, could not produce offensively in the contest as the Wolf Pack led 7-0 after six innings.

In the seventh inning, Jen LaRussa put the Techsters on the board with a three-run blast to cut the lead down to four. LaRussa's home run would not be enough, however, as Tech would remain scoreless for the rest of the game.

Prior to the meeting with Nevada, the Techsters traveled to Fresno, Calif., to compete in a double header with conference leader and 14th-nationally ranked Fresno State (46-17, 19-3 WAC).

In the first game, Tech took the lead when Miles singled in the third inning and then scored on an RBI single by Broadnax three batters later.

The Techsters remained on top until the fifth inning when the Bulldogs broke into the scoring column on an RBI groundout by All-American Jamie Southern.

Fresno broke the game open from that point, scoring four runs in the sixth inning, including a three-run home run by WAC Player of the Year candidate Christina Clark, to win the game by a score of 5-1.

Miles and Broadnax led Tech's offense in the game with two hits each.

Pinkston received the loss for the Techsters, giving up eight hits and five runs in six innings.

In the second meeting with Fresno State, the Techsters out-hit Fresno eight to five but were unable to convert any of the hits into runs as Tech stranded six runners in the game.

Fresno capitalized on Tech's failure to execute and produced runs in the first and third innings to take home the 2-0 win.

Blodgette (3-6) picked up the loss for Tech by allowing two runs on three hits and two walks in four innings of work. Lindsey Meadows came in to relieve Blodgette in fifth inning and allowed no runs and two hits in two innings of work.

LaRussa led the Techsters offensively with two hits.

Miles recorded one hit in the second game against Fresno. The hit was the 64th of the year for Miles, breaking the Tech single-season hit record of 63 set by Faith Holman in 1986.

"Amber has done an incredible job all year long," Dawson said. "I don't think we necessarily expected Amber to fill the role that she has, but the team needed Amber to do what she did."

Before the double header at Fresno, the Techsters traveled to San Diego State University and lost to the Aztecs 6-0.

The Aztecs (35-22) took a two-run lead in the second inning and then added three runs in the fourth and one in the fifth to lock up the victory.

Tech could not produce offensively in the contest and recorded only five hits, led by Miles with two. Pinkston was credited with the loss after allowing two runs on seven hits and one walk in three innings from the mound.

The Techsters host Texas-El Paso tonight in a double header at the Lady Techster Softball Complex.