Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Feb. 7, 2009
Final Stats
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - Stellar pitching, a pair of home runs and a key defensive play helped lead UC Davis to wins over Liberty and Fordham Saturday as the Aggies opened their season at the Cathedral City Kickoff. UC Davis defeated Liberty 5-0 before getting past Fordham, 2-1. The day turned into a marathon for UC Davis as rain created delays and a reshuffled schedule.
Alex Holmes struck out 11 against Liberty, and Jessica Hancock fanned 10 against Fordham. Holmes also homered while Rachel Miller provided all of the offense against the Rams with a two-run blast. In addition, Jenny Corbett gunned down Fordham's Sarah Campbell at the plate during a seventh inning rally.
Against Liberty (0-4), UC Davis scored in each of the first three innings to lead 4-0 heading into the fourth. It was a quick start for the Aggies in the first as Julie Stauder led off with a walk and stole second. Belinda Paine followed with a run-scoring single to make it 1-0. In the second, Holmes led off with a home run to put the Aggies up 2-0. Emde added a two-run double in the third, and Harman delivered an RBI-single in the seventh to account for the fifth run.
Meanwhile, Holmes was dominant in the circle. The sophomore went six innings and allowed just two hits. She struck out 11 with no walks. Nicole Kociemba pitched a hitless seventh with a strikeout.
In all, UC Davis outhit Liberty, 10-4. Paine, Miller, Holmes and Emde all collected two hits each.
Paine had two of the Aggies' four hits against Fordham (2-2). Her second was a single leading off the fourth which set the table for Miller, who homered to left with one out to put UC Davis on top, 2-0.
It would stay that way into the seventh. Hancock gave up a one-out infield single in the first and kept the one-hitter into the final frame. Four of the first five Rams singled in the top of the seventh, but Fordham would come away with just one run. With one out, Campbell tried to score on the fourth single of the inning by Beckah Wiggins. However, Corbett's throw to the play was in time to secure the second out of the inning. Hancock then forced a groundout with runners at second and third to end the game.
For the day, Paine went 4-for-6 while Miller finished 3-for-7. In the circle, Holmes, Hancock and Kociemba combined for 22 strikeouts in 14 innings of work while giving up just seven hits. The Aggie staff also walked just three.
UC Davis was originally scheduled to face Southern Illinois and Fordham on Saturday, but the weather forced the cancellation of the SIU game. The Aggies are scheduled to face James Madison and Illinois Sunday to close out play at the tournament.
