Feb. 22, 2006
Fresno State 8, UC Davis 0 (Game 1)
Fresno State 11, UC Davis 7 (Game 2)
FRESNO, Calif. - On an evening that featured two distinctly different types of games, the UC Davis softball team was swept Wednesday night in a doubleheader at Fresno State. The Aggies dropped the first game, 8-0, in five innings before falling, 11-7, in a slugfest in game two. The Bulldogs entered the night ranked no. 23 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Collegiate Top-25 poll and are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top-25 poll.
In game one, neither team scored in the first inning before Fresno State exploded for four runs in the second. The big hit in the inning was a two-run double by Haley Perkins. After scoring two more in the third, Fresno State (6-5) completed its scoring in the fourth with a one-out, two-run homer by Nichole Willis to make it 8-0.
UC Davis (4-7) was outhit, 7-2. Megan De La Hoya and Christina Grimm each had singles in the game.
Game two was nothing like game one for the Aggies, who banged out a run on three hits in the top of the first. Ashley Johnson provided the timely hit, a two-out single that drove home Julie Stauder, to make it 1-0.
In the bottom of the first, Fresno State came right back with two runs to take a 2-1 lead before UC Davis scored four more runs in the second. Roxanne Hannan started it all with a lead-off single. After she stole second, Deanna Menapace reached on a fielder's choice. A single by Belinda Paine and a walk by De La Hoya loaded the bases with one out.
Stauder followed with a bases-clearing triple to put the Aggies up 4-2. Nikki Sheldon then singled up the middle to drive home Stauder and give the Aggies a 5-2 lead.
Things looked as if they had settled down over the next inning as both teams combined for just one base runner in the bottom of the second and top of the third. That didn't last, though, as Fresno State scored eight runs in the bottom of the third after sending 12 batters to the plate. The end result was a 10-5 lead for the Bulldogs that lasted into the fifth.
In the top of the fifth, Johnson led off with a single and, with one out, came home on a two-run homer by Lindsay Tognetti. The home run and RBIs were her first of the season as the Aggies pulled to within 10-7. That's as close as UC Davis would get as Fresno State tacked on one more run in the fifth.
Stauder, Johnson and Nelson each had multiple-hit nights. Stauder went 3-for-3 in the second game and 3-for-5 on the night. Johnson and Nelson each added two hits. The 11 hits for the Aggies in the second game tied a season-high set against UTEP on Feb. 17 and marked the third time so far UC Davis has collected 10 hits or more in a game.
UC Davis is next in action Saturday when it plays a doubleheader at Sacramento State.
