April 9, 2006
Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis defeated UC Riverside, 3-1, Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series at La Rue Field. Lindsay Tognetti pitched a complete-game victory and struck out 10 for the Aggies while Belinda Paine went 2-for-3 with an RBI. The win improves UC Davis to 12-23 on the year and 3-3 against future Big West Conference teams.
Unlike Saturday's doubleheader, Sunday's game was a pitcher's duel throughout as both starting pitchers went the distance. Tognetti, who improved her record to 5-8, retired the first seven Highlanders she faced before UC Riverside (21-13) broke out on top in the third. With the bases loaded and one out, Veronica Yee came home on a wild pitch to make it 1-0.
The Aggies would rally in the fourth for three runs despite the fact the ball made it out of the infield just once. The tying run came home on a throwing error. With one out, an infield single by Paine drove in Sarah O'Neill with the go-ahead run. Megan De La Hoya followed with another infield single to drive in Deanna Menapace to make it 3-1.
Tognetti allowed just one base runner over the next two innings before the Highlanders threatened in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded and one out, Tognetti closed the door by striking out Yee and Jessica Black to end the game.
"Lindsay had an excellent outing," said UC Davis head coach Karen Matteson-Yoder. "She battled for us pitch-by-pitch and inning-by-inning."
UC Davis had three of the five total hits in the game. Paine had two of those, including a lead-off triple in the third inning.
The win improved UC Davis to 5-3 at home. After playing their first four games at home, the Aggies played 27 of their next 28 games on the road before the three-game series against UCR. The stretch also included several delays and postponements due to the weather. The Aggies are now in the midst of a 10-game homestand.
"After we lost the first game of the series on Saturday to UC Riverside, I challenged the team to be more focused on each pitch and not come out flat like did in the loss," added Matteson-Yoder. "It's certainly a plus to not be affected by the weather as well as to be home after being on the road as much as we were."
UC Davis is next in action April 12 when it hosts San Jose State in a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. The contests were originally scheduled for April 5 but were postponed due to rain.
