Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Feb. 16, 2010
Box Score
DAVIS, Calif. - Freshman center fielder Megan Guzman delivered a game-winning single in the eighth inning of the opener while junior lefty Alex Holmes earned a pair of victories to highlight two UC Davis comebacks in a 4-3, 7-3 sweep of Sacramento State during a home-opening collegiate softball doubleheader at La Rue Field Tuesday afternoon.
The Aggies improve to 5-2 for the season. The Hornets dip to 2-4.
Holmes fired 4.1 innings of scoreless relief for starter Dana Waldusky in the first game, then fanned eight in her six-inning complete game in the nightcap. Holmes and senior Michelle Espiritu each went 2-for-4 in the opener, while junior third baseman Jessica Gonzalez finished 2-for-2 with three RBI in Game 2.
Sac State designated player Desiree Beltran combined for 3-for-4 hitting on the day, including a three-run blast to left to give her team a short-lived lead in the second game.
"We're definitely battling this year," said Aggie head coach Karen Yoder. "I'm extremely excited how this team brings that presence of just `never say die' and continues to battle. It's a nice a feeling. We have good team chemistry right now."
UC Davis rallied back from 3-0 deficits in each end of the doubleheader. Hornet center fielder Kelli Frye doubled down the left foul line to lead off the third, then scored on Erin Jones' shot through the middle to open the scoring at 1-0. Then in the fourth, Jessica Abelia's RBI double and Alyssa Nakken's rap down the third-base line extended the Hornet edge to three.
However, the Aggies assembled a three-run sixth, rapping out four hits and capitalizing on two Sac State errors to equalize the score. Holmes, Espiritu, freshman Elizabeth Santana and senior Sarah Axelson had four straight singles in the frame. UC Davis threatened to end matters in the seventh, but Hornet reliever Shelby Voelz got her team out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam.
In the eighth, Guzman's infield single drove home sophomore Kelly Harman, who had reached on a Hornet miscue in the bottom of the eighth.
During Tuesday's nightcap, Beltran's homer sent the Hornets to a 3-0 edge in the third. This time, the Aggies forged a more prompt comeback, stringing together key hits and again taking advantage of a pair of Sac State errors to put up four unearned runs in the bottom half of the inning. Gonzalez applied the key touch of that rally when her two-run single scored Harman and left fielder Marissa Araujo.
With darkness looming, UC Davis tacked on four more runs in the fifth inning to seal the win. Araujo and Gonzalez ripped back-to-back singles to right to push the Aggie lead to four. Despite two more Hornet errors, it was a solid defensive effort that ended the surge: on an Espiritu single to left, Sac State freshman Kelly Shepard threw a strike from left field to catcher Marissa Navarro, who applied the tag on Gonzalez at the plate.
The Hornets crafted a sixth-inning effort in the twilight as freshman Lauren Blair walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Holmes then fanned Marissa Navarro and Shepard in order. Shorstop Jessica Abelia kept her team's hopes alive with a two-out single, but Blair got caught in a rundown between third and home. Aggie catcher Rachel Miller fielded Guzman's throw on a hop, then fired over to Gonzalez to get Blair sliding back to third.
With the sweep, the Aggies pick up 3 1/3 points to cut into Sac State's lead in the Causeway Cup standings. The Hornets hold a 42.5 to 37.5 lead in the annual competition, now in its fifth year.
UC Davis returns to action at UCLA's Stacey Winsberg Memorial Tournament on Saturday. The Aggies will face Portland State at 11 a.m., then the host Bruins at 4 p.m. that afternoon.
| Sacramento State | 001 | 200 | 00 | - | 3 | 8 | 4 |
| UC Davis | 000 | 003 | 01 | - | 4 | 8 | 1 |
Megan Schaefer, Shelby Voelz (6) and Marissa Navarro. Dana Waldusky, Alex Holmes (4) and Rachel Miller. Win - Holmes, 3-0. Loss - Voelz, 1-2. Save - none. Hitters: Alyssa Nakken, 1x3, RBI; Erin Jones, 1x2, RBI; Desiree Beltran, 2x3; Jenice Bartee, 1x4; Jessica Abelia, 2x4, 2B, RBI; Kelli Frye, 1x3, 2B. UC Davis: Alex Holmes, 2x4, SB; Michelle Espiritu, 2x4; Elizabeth Santana, 1x3, RBI; Sarah Axelson, 1x3, RBI; Megan Guzman, 1x3, RBI.
GAME 2
| Sacramento State (2-4) | 003 | 000 | - | 3 | 6 | 4 |
| UC Davis | 004 | 03x | - | 7 | 7 | 0 |
Jacquelyn Serrano and Marissa Navarro. Alex Holmes and Rachel Miller. Win - Holmes, 4-0. Loss - Serrano, 0-1. Save - none. Hitters - SAC: Alyssa Nakken, 3x3, 2B; Kelli Frye, 1-2; Desiree Beltran, 1x2, HR, 3 RBI; Jessica Abelia, 1x2. UC Davis: Michelle Espiritu, 1x4, SB; Rachel Miller, 1x3; Kelly Harman, 2x2, RBI; Marissa Araujo, 1x2; Jessica Gonzalez, 2x2, 3 RBI.
