Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. - Alexis Carney, and the Aggie faithful in attendance at La Rue Field, will remember Wednesday's non-conference home game against Stanford for years to come after the sophomore designated player finished 3-for-4, scored twice and hit her first collegiate home run - a game-winning shot that broke a 4-4 tie - to help the Aggies defeat the Cardinal, 7-4.

UC Davis will enter this weekend's tournament, at UCLA, with a 7-10 overall record; Stanford falls to 12-11 with the loss.

With Wednesday's result, UC Davis has now split its season series against the Cardinal for the second time in the last three years, and defeated its Pac-12 foe for the third time in the last four.

"I am excited to see the way this team compete and work hard, especially with the way things ended the last time we faced Stanford, and trust their bats. Everyone on this teams believes they can produce, and they will if they keep attacking the ball at the plate and continue to play solid defense," said head coach Erin Thorpe.

Trailing 4-3 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, Brianna Warner started the Aggies' game-winning rally with her leadoff single. After she stole second, Krista Bava's hard-hit chopper through the middle of the infield allowed Warner to tie the game at four apiece.

Christa Castello, the very next batter, soon joined Bava on base by earning the only walk against Stanford reliever Hayley Snyder.

Within the first minute after Cardinal head coach Rachel Hanson summoned Haley Snyder back to the circle - she started the game for Stanford before being pulled in the bottom of the fifth - Carney drove in UC Davis' final three runs when her line drive flew over the fence in left field.

"I'm speechless," said Carney regarding her game-winning at-bat."All I wanted to do was move the runners over. I knew immediately that ball was going to leave the field once I saw the backspin."

When she last left the circle in the top of the sixth, her team was down by one; when she returned in the following frame, Aggie reliever Leah Munden now pitched with a three-run cushion. By forcing Erin Ashby to hit a groundout to Ashley Lotoszynski at second, Leah White to strikeout swinging and Cassandra Roulund to hit a pop fly to Warner in right, the Aggies avenged their result earned against the Cardinal on Feb. 18.

When these teams first met a few weeks ago, UC Davis held a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning before Stanford rallied by scoring the game-winning run in their final set of swings.

On Wednesday, the Aggies flipped the script to enjoy a thrilling result of their own; this time, it was Stanford that held the lead heading into the bottom of the sixth before UC Davis drove in its game-winning run.

Munden entered the game in the top of the fifth and threw three innings of shutout softball to collect her fifth win of the year (out of the seven earned by UC Davis this season).

"Whether we are up, or trailing by eight runs, I just try to focus on what I can control," said Munden. "When you are behind, and then take the lead that quickly, it energizes me and the team. It's a great feeling to know that the team has your back."

A home run duel took place throughout the early portion of the game, starting with Lotoszynski's solo blast to left field, which tied the game at 1-1 after two innings.

When Stanford returned to the batter's box in the top of the third, it was Kayla Bonstrom's turn to go yard when she hit a three-run shot to right. That swing gave Stanford the lead once again, by a 4-1 margin.

As was the case in the bottom of the second, UC Davis scored its lone run of the third with two outs already recorded. Initially reaching base on a leadoff walk, Warner scored on a single to center from Carney.

Once Warner touched the dish, the Aggies pulled within two at 4-2. Were it not for a highlight-quality play from Cardinal third baseman Hanna Winter, the Aggies would have taken the lead that inning.

Following Carney's single, Amy Nunez singled to right and Kelly Zboralske walked to load the bases. Christina Guidry turned on a pitch and hit a rocket that bounced down the line at third. Called fair by the umpire since the ball bounced over the bag before entering foul territory, Guidry would have easily driven in another two Aggies had the ball not ended in Winter's glove.

Since the bases were loaded, Winter set herself a few feet behind the bag and off the line - far enough to knock down any ground ball to her left, yet close enough to protect the left field line to her right. When Guidry's shot bounced over third base, Winters fully extended herself and scooped the ball into her glove before hitting the dirt, then reached out to record the final out of the inning, unassisted, at third.

In her next at-bat two innings later, no Cardinal player could stop Guidry's single to center - a hit that allowed Carney to score and slice UC Davis' deficit to one run with two innings remaining.

Starting with its Friday doubleheader against Illinois (12 p.m.) and Providence (7 p.m.), UC Davis will compete at the Stacy Winsberg Memorial tournament this weekend. Also included on the Aggies' slate are games against Illinois (12 p.m.) and 15/13 UCLA (5 p.m.) on Saturday, before ending the event with another game against the host Bruins on Sunday (12:30 p.m.). Live stats links for all five games, and a live audio link for Sunday's tournament finale (UCLA feed) are available at ucdavisaggies.com.

UC Davis 7, Stanford 4

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Stanford............ 103 000 0 - 4 6 1 (12-11)
UC Davis............ 011 014 X - 7 10 0 (7-10)

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Pitchers: Stanford - Snyder, H.; Sorenson, K.(6) and Plaza, J.. UC Davis - Vela, Justine;

Cruse, Dana(3); Munden, Leah(5) and Robertson, Katie.

Win- Munden, Leah(5-2) Loss- Sorenson, K.(1-1) T-2:07 A-142

HR STAN - Bonstrom, K..

HR UCD - Carney, Alexis; Lotoszynski, A..

Weather: 64 degrees, sunny

Vela, J. faced 2 batters in the 3rd.

Sorenson, K. faced 3 batters in the 6th.