FRESNO, Calif, -- It was exactly the pitchers' duel that was expected between Nevada's Katie Holverson and Fresno State's Morgan Melloh.
But a scoreless tie into the ninth inning went sour for Holverson and No. 25 Nevada, however, as the Wolf Pack fell 1-0 to Fresno State in extra innings Friday evening in the first of a three-game series between the teams.
Nevada fell to 29-13 overall and 9-3 in WAC play. The Pack is still a half-game clear of second place Fresno State (27-17, 8-5) in the WAC standings.
Fresno State scored the lone run of the night in the ninth as Alexis Lujan singled down the third-base line just off the glove of Sam Bias. The ball got bobbled by the wall down the left-field line and Lujan went into second base on the single and an error. The pinch-runner, Kaylan Pollard moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Michelle Moses's ground ball over Bias's head at third.
Holverson went 8.1 innings and was saddled with the loss as she fell to 18-7 on the year, her first loss since March 1. She allowed just four hits while walking three and striking out three. The lone run was unearned.
Melloh went the distance for Fresno State, striking out 14 with four walks and three hits.
Brittany Puzey's 20-game hitting streak was snapped for the Pack, as was Holverson's stretch of 12 straight wins overall and 17 straight WAC wins (since 2007).
The teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday. First pitch is at 1 p.m.
The games will be carried live on Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM.
