Feb. 20, 2010
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
DAVIS, Calif. - UC Davis rebounded from a 7-1 loss in the first of two games Saturday to defeat Utah 6-1 and win the season-opening series at Dobbins Baseball Complex in Davis, Calif. The Aggies move to 2-1 overall while the Utes drop to 1-2.
"I thought our pitching was good all weekend. Strikes were consistent and we manned the zone and didn't walk many," said head coach Rex Peters. "All our guys did a pretty good job of commanding the strike zone and that's one thing we really struggled with last year. I was happy with the way we pitched."
In the first game, errors proved costly for UC Davis as the Aggies recorded five, three of which came in the ninth inning.
In the seventh inning, Utah jumped to a 4-1 lead after two errors by left fielder Scott Lyman allowed three Utah runs. The Utes then picked up their fourth run of the inning after Tyler Yagi stole third base, then crossed home plate after Michael Beltran grounded out to Aggie shortstop Justin Schafer.
The ninth inning read much the same after Mark Moorman was hit by a pitch, then advanced to third off a single by Cooper Blanc and a fielding error by Kyle Mihaylo in right field. The Aggies were able to turn a double play, but Moorman scored to give Utah a 5-1 advantage. After back-to-back singles, freshman pitcher Sean Watson tried to pick off Beltran at second base, but threw the pitch past Scott Heylman and into center field, allowing Beltran to advance to third. Beltran would score off a single by C.J. Cron and the Utes would pick up two additional scores before the Aggies could close the inning.
Utah's Andrew Wilding earned the win with three strike outs, one run and four hits in 6.0 innings. Stephen Streich earned the save as he pitched 3.0 innings, giving up only one hit to UC Davis.
Anthony Kupbens picked up the loss, despite striking out four in his 6.1 innings on the mound.
Offensively, UC Davis was led by Scott Lyman who went 2-for-4. David Popkins and Alex Dreyfuss both went 1-for-3.
The Aggies rebounded to put on an offensive show in the second game of the doubleheader. UC Davis got on the board quickly after a double by Paul Politi brought two runs across to give the Aggies the 2-0 advantage. In the third inning, the Aggies picked up another run when Schafer scored from first base off a double to center field by Lyman. UC Davis then brought the score to 5-0 before earning their sixth and final run in the fourth inning. Afte a Utah pitching change, freshman Seth Batty crossed home plate off a single to left field by first baseman Eric Johnson.
"Utah's a decent club," said Peters. "They're a good opponent and they'll fair pretty well in their conference. Anytime you can win a series against anybody at this level, it's a good weekend."
Utah's only run of the second game came in the ninth inning when pinch runner Josh Reed scored off a sacrifice fly by Moorman.
Matthew Lewis earned his first win of the year. He struck out five and gave up only one run in 3.2 innings after he replaced Lyman who left the game due to cramping in his calf.
Schafer hit a perfect 4-for-4 and scored two runs to lead the Aggie offense.
Rick Anton received the loss and gave up six runs and eight hits in 3.1 innings. Brock Duke provided 3.2 innings of relief for Utah and struck out four UC Davis batters while giving up two hits.
The Aggies return to action Tuesday for a midweek contest at Cal. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. at Evans Diamond.
Utah 000 000 403 - 7 10 0
UC Davis 000 001 000 - 1 5 5
Andrew Wilding, Stephen Streich (7) and Jo Jo Sharrar, C.J. Cron (7). Anthony Kupbens, Scott Heinig (7), Sean Watson (7) and Alex Dreyfuss. Win - Wilding, 1-0. Loss - Kupbens, 0-1. Save - Streich (1). Hitters: Utah - Tyler Yagi, 2x5, RBI; Michael Beltran, 1x5; Nick Kuroczko, 1x5; C.J. Cron, 2x5, RBI; Nik Gumeson, 1x4; Jo Jo Sharrar, 2x2; Cooper Blanc, 1x3. UC Davis - Scott Heylman, 1x4, 2B; Scott Lyman, 2x4, 2B; David Popkins, 1x3; Alex Dreyfuss, 1x3.
Game Two
Utah 000 000 001 - 1 7 0
UC Davis 203 100 00X - 6 10 2
Rick Anton, Brock Duke (4), Zach Adams (8) and Devin Walker. Scott Lyman, Matthew Lewis (4), Nathan Slater (7), Tom Briner (9) and Scott Kalush and Alex Dreyfuss (9). Win - Lewis, 1-0. Loss - Anton, 0-1. Save - None. Hitters: Utah - Tyler Yagi, 3x4, 2SB; Michael Beltran, 1x4, 2SB; C.J. Cron, 1x4; Devin Walkere, 1x4, 2B; Gavin Green, 1x1. UC Davis - Scott Heylman, 2x5; Seth Batty, 1x3; Justin Schafer, 4x4; Scott Lyman, 1x1, RBI, 2B; Eric Johnson, 1x3; Paul Politi, 1x4, 2RBI, 2B.
