Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -- UC Davis junior right-hander Matt Blais carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Tuesday afternoon and left with a lead before visiting Saint Mary's rallied late, scoring four times in the eighth en route to a 5-2 win over the Aggies at Dobbins Stadium.

The loss dropped UC Davis to 5-10 overall, falling for the second time to the Gaels this season. Saint Mary's improved to 11-5 overall on the year, held to just three hits through seven before striking for its big inning.

Blais took a no-decision after stymying the Saint Mary's bats, holding the visitors to without a hit until Joey Fiske led off the sixth inning with a solid single to center. Blais had walked four and hit a batter to that point, but worked away from trouble in each instance, getting an inning-ending double play in the second, leaving one on in the fourth, and stranding a runner in scoring position in the fifth.

UC Davis, meanwhile, jumped out to the early lead with a pair of runs in the third, sending eight batters to the plate in the frame. Three straight singles to lead off the inning by Ryan Hooper, Alex Aguiar, and Jacob Thomas, off starter Johnny York loaded the bases for Mason Novak and Ryan Anderson, who kept the hit parade going with RBI singles for the two-run advantage.

A pair of ground balls got the Gaels out of the jam, and York, along with two relievers, buckled down from that point, holding the Aggies to just four base runners -- and two hits -- the rest of the way.

Saint Mary's pulled a run back in the sixth following its first hit of the day as Fiske stole both second and third after his single and scored when the throw down to third sailed into left field, allowing him to cross the plate to make it 2-1.

The Gaels went quietly in the seventh before erupting in the eighth, scoring four times on an RBI single by Edward Haus, a bases-loaded walk, and a two-run single by Logan Steinberg, to complete the comeback.

Blake Peters (0-2) suffered the loss for the Aggies, charged with the four runs on three hits while facing only five batters. Conner Loeprich (2-0) earned the win in relief, getting the last out of the seventh following a double by Aguiar, before turning it over to closer Kevin Milam, who picked up his seventh save of the year by allowing one hit and striking out two over the final two innings.

Aguiar and Ignacio Diaz each finished with a pair of hits to lead UC Davis, which out-hit Saint Mary's, 9-7, for the game. It was the fifth multi-hit game of the year for Diaz, which ranks tied for second on the team, while Aguiar collected his third.

With hits on Tuesday, Novak, Diaz, and Anderson, each extended their hitting streaks to five games -- the longest active streaks for the Aggies -- while Thomas reached base safely for the sixth consecutive game, which is tied for the second-longest such streak this year.

UC Davis now breaks for final exams and will not return to the diamond until a three-game spring break trip to Omaha, Neb., to take on Creighton on March 26-28. The Aggies then open Big West Conference play later that week, hosting CSUN in a three-game series from March 31-April 2 at Dobbins Stadium.

Saint Mary's 5, UC Davis 2 (Mar 14, 2017 at Davis, Calif.)
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Saint Mary's........ 000 001 040 - 5 7 2 (11-5)
UC Davis............ 002 000 000 - 2 9 2 (5-10)
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Pitchers: Saint Mary's - YORK, Johnny; LOEPRICH, Conner(7); MILAM, Kevin(8) and THORESON, Jackson. UC Davis - Blais, Matt; Brown, Chris (6); Loar, Connor (6); Peters, Blake (8); Stone, Zach (8) and Diaz, Ignacio.
Win - LOEPRICH, Conner (2-0) Save - MILAM, Kevin (7) Loss - Peters, Blake (0-2) T-2:49 A-90
Weather: 75 degrees, wind 1 NNE
Blais faced 2 batters in the 6th.