Box Score

DAVIS, Calif. -- Junior left-hander Orlando Razo gave up just one run and struck out six over eight innings of work and senior Cameron Olson slugged his fourth home run of the season to help UC Davis out to an early lead, but visiting CSUN rallied with three runs during a wild ninth inning to escape with a 4-2 victory in game two of a Big West Conference series on Saturday afternoon at Dobbins Stadium.

The Aggies fell to 7-13 overall and 1-1 in league play with the defeat, while the Matadors improved to 13-14 overall and 1-1 in the Big West.

UC Davis held a 2-1 lead in the ninth, turning the ball over to its closer, Zach Stone (2-1), to try and nail down the win. CSUN, however had different plans, getting a double off the bat of Dylan Alexander with one out and another two batters later by Michael Russo that snuck under the glove of a diving Alex Aguiar, allowing the tying run to score.

A fielder's choice left runners on the corners with two outs for Justin Toerner when controversy ensued. Toerner's chopper over the mound was fielded behind the second base bag and thrown on to first where the umpire called the head-first sliding Toerner out, as the Aggies made their way to the dugout after the apparent third out of the inning.

However, following a conference between the three officials, the call was reversed, ruling that Toerner safe after it was determined that the throw pulled Cameron Olson's foot off the bag, allowing both William Colantano, who was at third when the play happened, and Alvaro Rubalcaba to score, the latter coming all the way around from first when there was no one manning the plate, UC Davis having run off the field after the apparent third out.

The Aggies had one last chance in the ninth, but a double play after a lead-off walk in the home half of the ninth quickly put two outs on the board. UC Davis started from scratch once again, drawing a walk and getting an infield single by Ryan Hooper to put a pair on for the Aggies, but closer Conner O'Neil (2-2) inducing a game-ending fly ball to center to close it out and nail down the win.

UC Davis jumped on the board first with a pair of runs in the first inning as Caleb Van Blake tripled to the corner in right and scored when Ryan Anderson's fly ball to right was deep enough to score him for the 1-0 lead. That brought Olson to the plate, who launched a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right for his team-best fourth home run of the season to make it 2-0.

The long ball was the 13th of Olson's career, moving him into sole possession of third place on the school's career list during the Division I Era, just one back of the mark shared by David Popkins (2009-12) and Kyle Mihaylo (2008-10).

CSUN cut the deficit in half with an RBI single in the fourth off the bat of Nolan Bumstead to make it 2-1, setting the stage for Saturday's finish.

Razo took a no-decision, scattering seven hits and stranding six Matadors on the base paths for the game. His counterpart, Samuel Myers, also took a no-decision for CSUN, allowing two runs on three hits and striking out three, retiring eight straight at one point and holding the Aggies to without a hit over his final six innings of work.

UC Davis and CSUN meet in the series finale on Sunday (April 2) at 1 p.m. at Dobbins Stadium.

CSUN 4, UC Davis 2 (Apr 01, 2017 at Davis, Calif.)
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CSUN................ 000 100 003 - 4 9 0 (13-14, 1-1 BIG WEST)
UC Davis............ 200 000 000 - 2 4 1 (7-13, 1-1 BIG WEST)
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Pitchers: CSUN - Myers, Samuel; O'Neil, Conner(8) and Alexander, Dylan; Weiss, Albee. UC Davis - Razo, Orlando; Stone, Zach (9) and Diaz, Ignacio.
Win - O'Neil, Conner (2-2) Loss - Stone, Zach (2-1) T-2:55 A-214
HR UCD - Olson, Cameron (4).
Weather: 70 deg., sunny, wind: N10 mph