DAVIS, Calif. - Two UC Santa Barbara pitchers combined on a six-hitter Sunday afternoon to help lift the visiting Gauchos to a 5-1 finale win over host UC Davis at Swimley Field.

Junior Cameron Briggs paced the Aggie offense finishing 2-for-3 with singles in the second and fourth.

The Aggies fell to 12-22 on the season and 5-7 in Big West play, while the Gauchos improved to 18-17-1 overall with a 4-5 league record.

Junior Chris Brown (2-4) suffered the loss for the Aggies after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits, striking out two, and walking one over 5.1 innings, while freshman right-hander Brett Erwin entered in the sixth in relief of Brown and provided UC Davis with 3.2 innings of scoreless, hitless relief while striking out three.

Stevie Ledesma (4-2) earned the win for the Gauchos, allowing one run on six hits, walking three, and striking out four over 7.2 innings of work-including 6.2 shutout innings-before Shea Barry took over in the eighth and capped off the afternoon with 1.1 innings of scoreless, hitless relief.

UC Davis had its chances on the day, leaving nine runners on base-four of those in scoring position-but could not muster much against the Gaucho pitching staff, which held the Aggies scoreless through eight consecutive innings after allowing one run on two hits in the first.

Matching pace with games one and two, the Gauchos were first to score on Sunday afternoon, after back-to-back singles and a 2-RBI double by Thomas Rowan gave UC Santa Barbara a 2-0 advantage heading into the home half of the first.

Freshman Tanner Murray and senior Brad Pluschkell led-off the inning with back-to-back singles, before UC Davis loaded the bases when Caleb Van Blake drew a walk. Senior Ryan Hooper drove in the Aggies' only run of the game, reaching on a fielder's choice, to make it a one-run ball game in the bottom of the first.

But a homer off the bat of Armani Smith-his fourth notched this season-allowed UC Santa Barbara to reclaim its two-run lead in the second. Smith led the Gaucho offense finishing 2-for-4 with one run and and pair of RBI on the afternoon.

Rowan's double in the first and Smith's homer in the second were the only two extra-base hits recorded by either squad.

Following an error that prolonged the inning, Smith singled to drive in the fourth run of the game in the sixth, before the Gauchos tacked on another thanks to an RBI from Tevin Mitchell to cap off the scoring for UC Santa Barbara, which had three players finish with multiple hits on the day.

The Aggies are set to resume action on Tuesday with a mid-week clash against San Francisco at 2:30 p.m. at Dobbins Stadium before making their way south to face Big West foe Long Beach State on Apr. 27-29.


UC Santa Barbara 5, UC Davis 1 (04/22/18 at Davis, Calif.)
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UC Santa Barbara.... 210 002 000 - 5 8 1 (18-17-1, 4-5 BWC)
UC Davis............ 100 000 000 - 1 6 1 (12-22, 5-7 BWC)
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Pitchers: UC Santa Barbara - Ledesma, Stevie; Barry, Shea(8) and Rowan, Thomas. UC Davis -
Brown, Chris; Erwin, Brett(6) and Denholm, Logan.
Win-Ledesma, Stevie(4-2) Loss-Brown, Chris(2-4) T-2:18 A-372
HR UCSB - Smith, Armani (4).
Weather: Sunny, 79 degrees, NNW 8mph


ABOUT UC DAVIS
Providing a small-town community feel while providing a world-class academic experience, UC Davis is home to more than 37,000 students and centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley. The No. 6-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal, and among the top 10 public universities nationwide according to U.S. News and World Report, UC Davis offers nearly 100 graduate programs and more than 100 academic majors across four colleges and six professional schools, ranking among the world and nation's best in numerous disciplines, including veterinary science, agriculture, and animal science programs.

DON'T MISS OUT!
Season tickets for UC Davis softball and baseball are now on sale by contacting the Athletics Ticket Office at (530) 752-AGS1 or by visiting us online at UCDavisAggies.com.

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