Softball Falls to Nevada, Steals Win Against Loyola Marymount on Opening Day

Friday, February 7

Los Angeles, Calif.

2:00 PM

Army West Point

0-1

Nevada

1-0

Nevada

Army West Point

Caitlyn Newburn Introduced in Starting Lineups

Softball Falls to Nevada, Steals Win Against Loyola Marymount on Opening Day

February 07, 2025 | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Army West Point Softball (1-1), splits its first two games on the season on Friday, seeing a 1-4 loss to the Nevada Wolf Pack (0-1) and taking a 6-5 win over the Loyola Marymount Lions (1-1).

The day was highlighted by three Black Knights finishing the day with two hits, Caitlyn Newburn, Leila Hurst and Sienna Tepley.

Caitlyn Newburn finished the day with a team-best .333 hitting percentage with two hits, two RBIs, a double and a home run.

Leila Hurst completed Friday hitting .286, with one run, one double and two RBIs alongside her two hits. Sienna Tepley also finished hitting .286 in her first two games of collegiate career, earning a run and one RBI.

Relief pitcher Katelyn Flanders finished the day with a 0.00 ERA and .86 WHIP, only allowing two hits and earning three strikeouts in 2.1 innings of action. Flanders also earned her first save of the season in Army's win over LMU.

GAME 1

The first game of the day started fast, with neither team earning a hit until the second inning. The Wolf Pack bats got hot first, earning two hits in the second, but Army was able to put out Nevada to prevent any runs.

Nevada gained hits on starting pitcher Amanda Eaglin in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but the Black Knights defense kept the Wolf Pack at bay, causing Nevada to leave seven hitters left on base.

Sam Rodgers would get her career hit and the first hit for Army singling up the middle, but Army was held scoreless, causing both teams to be knotted at 0-0 at the end of the fifth inning.

The first score of the morning came after a triple was hit by Nevada, then followed by a single, giving Nevada a 1-0 lead. After the run was scored, Army's defense fought off a double and caused Nevada to leave two on base.

Army saw its first score of the season in the bottom of the sixth. It all started with Taylor Brown reaching base on a fielding error. Right behind her in the batting order was Caitlyn Newburn, who doubled to left field for her first hit of the season, allowing Brown to run home, giving Army a 1-0 lead. The next batter would strike out, with Army having a narrow lead heading into the final inning.

The Wolf Pack came back swinging in the top of the seventh, scoring on a lead-off home run to even the score at 1-1. Nevada would hit two singles back-to-back, then Katelyn Flanders came in to relieve Amanda Eaglin. The next batter would single to right field, bringing in both runners on base, and stretching Nevada's lead to 4-1. Flanders and Black Knights would retire the next two batters, sending the game to the bottom of the seventh.

The Black Knights tried to make their way back into the game, but they lined out, grounded out and struck out swinging in consecutive at-bats, causing them to fall to Nevada, with Amanda Eaglin taking the loss.

GAME 2

In their matchup, the Black Knights and Lions held each other scoreless for the first two innings, with Army going three-and-out in both innings.

The scoring started for Army in the third inning, where they finished with four hits and three runs.

Tayten Moore earned the first hit of the game with a bunt allowing her to advance to first base. Maaika Dones singled to second, with Moore advancing along with her.

Then, Sienna Tepley saw her first career hit and RBI in her collegiate career singling to the shortstop, bringing in Tayten Moore. That was followed by a base clearing double from Leila Hurst, giving Army a 3-0 lead. The next two batters would ground out, ending the inning.

Army's hot bats continued in the top of the fourth inning, with Caitlyn Newburn hitting a lead-off home run on the first pitch, extending the lead to 4-0.

The Black Knights, led by starting pitcher Breanna Izzo, went on to hold the Lions scoreless through the bottom of the fourth. In the first four innings, Izzo and her team only allowed two hits.

Army continued to score in the top of the fifth inning, adding two more runs to gain a 6-0 lead. Sienna Tepley and Leila Hurst both singled and then Ashton White got her first hit of the season singling to center field. Tepley tried to earn a run but was tagged at home plate.

Taylor Brown would get her first hit and RBI of the year singling to center field, allowing Hurst to make it home. Then, during the next at-bat, Taylor Brown was caught stealing, serving as a distraction for Ashton White to run home and give Army its largest lead at 6-0.

LMU would strike back quickly, scoring three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and two runs in the sixth inning to cut Army's lead to a one-run game at 6-5. Katelyn Flanders would then serve as relief for the second time of the day, earning a strikeout and causing a flyout to stop the scoring and leaving the tying run on base.

The Black Knights went three-and-out in the top of the seventh, leaving it up to Flanders and the defense to secure the win. Katelyn Flanders retired the first batter via a strikeout looking, before allowing a single to put the tying run back on base. Then, Flanders earned her fourth strikeout of the day then forced LMU's last batter to pop up to shortstop, giving Army its first win of the 2025 season.

NEXT UP

The Black Knights remain in California, heading just east of Los Angeles to Riverside for a doubleheader against UC Riverside on Saturday. The first against Highlanders is scheduled for a 2 p.m. ET first pitch, with the second game slated for a 4 p.m. ET first pitch.