Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -- Freshman left-hander Robert Garcia struck out five over six innings of work, while senior Tanner Bily finished with three hits to help power a 12-hit UC Davis attack, lifting the host Aggies to a 9-4 non-conference victory over visiting Pacific on Friday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.

The win improved UC Davis to 10-25 overall on the season, clinching its sixth consecutive win in the series overall -- its longest in the history of the series according to records that date back to 1960, and the longest for either team since the Tigers won six straight from 2009-10 when both were members of the Big West Conference.

Pacific, which finished with 11 hits of its own -- including six doubles and a home run, fell to 17-22 overall on the year with the loss.

Garcia (3-2) improved to 3-1 as a starter this season, throwing six innings for the sixth consecutive start, allowing four runs on eight hits while striking out five without walking a man. Sophomore Matt Blais came on in relief to start the seventh and quieted the Tigers' bats, allowing just three hits and striking out a pair over the final three innings to earn his first save of the year.

Will Lydon (2-8) suffered the loss for Pacific, allowing nine runs on 11 hits and walking two in 6.1 innings of work. Jordon Gonzalez and Shelby Lackey combined to hold the Aggies to just one hit the rest of the way out of the bullpen.

Mark Cardinalli's RBI single in the first, after Bily led-off the inning with a single, produced UC Davis' first run of the day before the Aggies put up four runs in the third to build a 5-0 advantage. Bily's RBI double after back-to-back singles by Justin Allen and Brad Pluschkell drove home the first two runs, while Cardinalli followed with an RBI single to right two batters later, and Cameron Olson added an RBI groundout to extend the lead.

The Tigers began to chip away scoring four times in the middle innings off Garcia to make it a one-run game. After a Nate Verlin double to lead-off the fifth, Lucas Halstead launched his second home run of the season that bounced off the top off the wall in right to break up the shutout, and a double by Kevin Sandri made it 5-3, scoring J.J. Wagner, who doubled earlier in the inning.

Pacific tacked on another run in the sixth thanks to another extra-base hit to start the frame. Danny Mayer laced a double inside the bag down the left field line, and moved to third on a groundout for Verlin, who beat out an infield single on a diving stop at first base, enough to score Mayer to make it 5-4.

After both teams went in order in their next respective half innings, the Aggies broke the game open with another big inning, scoring four times in the seventh to put the game out of reach. UC Davis loaded the bases on a pair of singles and an intentional walk to bring up Olson, who sent a 1-0 offering from Lydon off the wall in right field for his team-best 10th double of the season, scoring two runs and a 7-4 lead.

With two runners in scoring position after a pitching change, freshman Logan Denholm rapped an RBI single to right, leaving runners at the corners. A balk against Gonzalez would bring home UC Davis' final run of the day as Olson came home to score for the final 9-4 advantage.

Bily tied a season-high with his three-hits, extending his team-best hitting streak to seven games in the process and reaching base safely for the 10th consecutive game. Cardinalli, who finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI, picked up his eighth multi-hit game of the year while Olson, who was 2-for-4 with three RBI, notched his seventh of the season. Sophomore Brad Pluschkell was the fourth Aggie with multiple hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a pair of runs scored for his fifth multi-hit performance of the year.

Bily, Cardinalli, and Olson, also notched their fourth multi-RBI contests of the season, tying them with teammate Ryan Anderson for the team lead in that category.

Mayer, Verlin, and Wagner, each had two hits to lead Pacific, which finished with eight of its nine starters collecting at least one hit on the day.

Game two of the series will be played on Saturday night (April 30) at Klein Family Field in Stockton, Calif. First-pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

UC Davis 9, Pacific 4 (Apr 29, 2016 at Davis, Calif.)
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Pacific............. 000 031 000 - 4 11 0 (17-22)
UC Davis............ 104 000 40X - 9 12 0 (10-25)
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Pitchers: Pacific - LYDON, Will; GONZALEZ, Jordon(7); LACKEY, Shelby(8) and YAKEL, JP. UC Davis - Garcia, Robert; Blais, Matt (7) and Denholm, Logan.
Win - Garcia, Robert (3-2) Save - Blais, Matt (1) Loss - LYDON, Will (2-8) T-2:34 A-114
HR PACIFIC - HALSTEAD, Lucas (2).
Weather: mid-70s, few clouds