April 22, 2006
Cal Poly 1, UC Davis 0 (Game 1)
Cal Poly 10, UC Davis 9 (Game 2)
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - UC Davis suffered a pair of one-run losses to Cal Poly in a softball doubleheader Saturday evening in San Luis Obispo. The host Mustangs edged the Aggies, 1-0, in eight innings in game one. In the second game, UC Davis overcame a six-run deficit only to see Cal Poly score the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh. Belinda Paine, Nikki Sheldon and Julie Stauder each collected three hits on the day while Lindsay Tognetti took a hard-luck loss in the first game despite not allowing an earned run in a complete-game effort.
The first game featured a combined seven hits with UC Davis (13-29) gathering four. Tognetti threw a three-hitter, allowing one unearned run with eight strikeouts and three walks. With the game scoreless in the bottom of the eighth, Lisa Modglin led off with a triple and scored on a throwing error on the same play to end the game.
Scoring opportunities throughout the game were scarce. Each team was retired in order three times, and neither team advanced a runner past second until the sixth inning. Both had a chance to score in the sixth but left runners on second and third.
There were plenty of opportunities to score in the second game as each team collected 11 hits. The Mustangs drew first blood in the second inning when a wild pitch and a single by Kristen Pocock made it 2-0. In the third, the Aggies took advantage of two Mustang errors that led directly to three runs, giving the visitors a 3-2 lead.
The UC Davis lead would not last long as Cal Poly (21-19) tied it in the third and scored six runs in the fourth. Modglin posted a two-run single to give Cal Poly a 5-3 lead. Later in the inning, Chelsea Green singled in two more runs to make it 7-3. A two-run homer by Melissa Pura capped off the inning for the Mustangs. The score remained 9-3 until Julie Stauder scored on a bases loaded walk in the sixth to pull UC Davis within 9-4.
A dramatic seventh inning began with a lead-off single by Paine. After a one-out single by Stauder, Roxanne Hannan and Ashley Johnson belted consecutive doubles that drove in three runs, collectively, to cut the Cal Poly lead to 9-7. Another run scored on an error before Sarah O'Neill doubled to drive in Natalie Moss with the tying run. In all, the Aggies scored five runs on six hits in the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh, Pocock doubled with one out and later came home on a two-out fielding error to give the Mustangs another one-run victory.
The two teams conclude their three-game series Sunday with a single game at 12 p.m.
