Feb. 29, 2008

UC Davis 7, St. John's 3
Purdue 9, UC Davis 0

FULLERTON, Calif. - UC Davis opened up the Worth Invitational Friday morning with a 7-3 win over St. John's. Alex Holmes hit a two-run homer, and Sarah O'Neil added a solo shot as the Aggies outhit the Red Storm, 10-4. In its second game of the day, UC Davis was defeated by Purdue, 9-0. The three-day tournament is being hosted by Cal State Fullerton.

Against St. John's, UC Davis (10-8) started the scoring in the top of the second inning after Ashley Johnson singled with one out. After a groundout by Holmes, O'Neill singled to drive in Johnson to make it 1-0. O'Neill then stole second and came around to score on an RBI-single by Sarah Axelson.

The lead remained 2-0 until the fourth when UC Davis scored four more runs. Julie Stauder led off with a single and quickly came around to score on a double by Deanna Menapace. With one out, Holmes homered to center field to give UC Davis a 5-0 lead. Later in the inning, O'Neill scored on an illegal pitch.

In the sixth, the Aggies took a 7-0 lead when O'Neill hit a one-out home run to center. The Red Storm (2-11) scored one run in the sixth and two more in the seventh.

The home runs were the first of the year for both Holmes and O'Neill. In the circle, Holmes threw a four-hit complete game. She allowed two earned runs and struck out four to improve to 4-4 on the year.

The next game against Purdue was a pitchers' duel through the first three innings as the teams combined for just one hit. The Aggies' Jessica Hancock was matching the Boilermakers' Dana Alcocer pitch-for-pitch until the Purdue bats exploded for six of their seven hits and all nine runs over the next two innings.

Purdue scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and six more in the fifth to clinch the victory. The big blow was a grand slam by Beth Cinadr in the fifth to make it 7-0. Candace Curtis ended the game two batters later with a two-run homer. The five-inning victory gave Alcocer a no-hitter. The two Aggies who reached base against her did so due to a fielding error and a walk.

UC Davis is next in action Saturday when it takes on Louisville at 11:15 a.m. and Notre Dame at 6 p.m.