UC Davis-Kentucky Box Score | UC Davis-Liberty Box Score

CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - A two-run first inning was all the offense UC Davis needed to earn its first victory at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic, but the Aggies tacked on another run in the sixth when Alexis Carney hit a leadoff home run to help the Aggies defeat Liberty, 3-0. That game immediately followed their tournament opener against No. 22/23 Kentucky -- softball's first nationally ranked opponent of the season.

In that matchup against the Wildcats, Christa Castello's single through the middle of the infield scored Brianna Warner, who hit a double to left center earlier in the frame to place herself in scoring position. Unfortunately, UK escaped UC Davis' seventh-inning rally and held on to earn a 3-1 win.

The Aggies will enter the second day of action in Palm Springs with a 3-2 overall record; Kentucky improved to 5-3 and Liberty fell to 5-2 after facing UC Davis.

Against the Flames, Warner opened the game by immediately placing herself in scoring position on a single to Liberty's shortstop, who committed a throwing error in attempt to nab the Aggies' speedy centerfielder at first. After advancing to third on Taylor Peters' single, she scored her team's first run on a successful double steal.

With Peters on second and Warner in the dugout after swiping home, Castello's double to left allowed her teammate to score the final run of the inning.

From the moment she entered the circle, until the final out was recorded, Katelyn Kibby kept the Flames' batters off-guard the entire afternoon to notch her second complete-game shutout victory in as many appearances this year.

Throughout her 16 innings pitched, the freshman right-hander allowed only nine combined hits.

In the Aggies' tournament opener, Warner and Castello each hit 2-for-4, with the latter driving in her team's run during its seventh-inning comeback.

Whereas UC Davis took an early lead vs. Liberty, Kentucky jumped out to a 2-0 lead after plating its first runs of the weekend in the bottom of the second. After scoring again in the following frame, Aggie pitchers buckled down and only allowed three hits for the rest of the game.

During Sara Cadona's three innings in the circle, she only allowed one run and two hits to keep UC Davis within striking distance the entire morning.

Making her first appearance as an Aggie was Francesca Mendoza; even though UK placed a runner in scoring position with one out, the newcomer calmly escaped the jam by forcing back-to-back groundouts.

UC Davis' schedule during the second day of action at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic will feature two matchups against nationally ranked teams when the Aggies square off against RV/RV Illinois at 9:30 a.m. and No. 6/5 UCLA at 3 p.m.

At the time of release, both games are expected to take place as scheduled. Visit UCDavisAggies.com throughout the day for the latest information on the status of Saturday's contests.

For a nominal fee, video streams of Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic games are available online courtesy of FloSoftball.



Kentucky 4, UC Davis 1 (02/17/17 at Cathedral City, Calif.)
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UC Davis............. 000 000 1 - 1 6 0 (2-2)
Kentucky............ 021 010 X - 4 8 1 (5-3)
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Pitchers: UC Davis - Reynolds, Andrea; Cadona, Sara(3); Mendoza, Francesca(6) and Carney, Alexis
. Kentucky - Rethlake, E; Spellman, L(5) and Schaper, J.
Win-Rethlake, E(1-0) Loss-Reynolds, Andrea(1-1) T-1:54 A-200
Weather: 58 degrees, windy
Reynolds, A. faced 1 batter in the 3rd.


UC Davis 3, Liberty 0 (02/17/17 at Cathedral City, Calif.)
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UC Davis............ 200 001 0 - 3 8 0 (3-2)
Liberty............... 000 000 0 - 0 7 2 (5-2)
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Pitchers: UC Davis - Kibby, Katelyn and McInnes, Taiya. Liberty - CASSADY, C. and TAYLOR, A.;
HARRIS, K..
Win-Kibby, Katelyn(2-0) Loss-CASSADY, C.(2-1) T- A-117
HR UCD - Carney, Alexis.