DAVIS, Calif. — Junior cognitive science major Isabella Leon finished 3-for-4 with a pair of walks and one of three UC Davis home runs on the day, while Brooke Yanez, Katie Kibby, and Sara Cadona each turned in solid performances in the circle, helping the Aggies to a doubleheader sweep of UTEP to open the 2019 Aggie Invitational on a cold and blustery Thursday afternoon at La Rue Field.

UC Davis improved to 8-2 overall on the season, winning the opener by a score of 4-1 before clamping down to clinch the nightcap by the score of 2-1. The Aggies have now won three straight overall and improved to 5-0 at home with the wins.

The Miners fell to 2-9 overall with the sweep, held to a combined eight hits in the two games.

Tournament play continues on Friday morning at 9 a.m., as UTEP takes on Idaho State, while UC Davis faces SeattleU in its only contest of the day at 3:15 p.m. A complete schedule is available online at https://ucdavisaggies.com/sports/2019/1/2/sports-w-softbl-spec-rel-19-aggie-invitational.aspx.

GAME 1: UC DAVIS 4, UTEP 1
Sophomore left-hander Brooke Yanez tied a career high with 15 strikeouts in the circle while also finishing 2-for-3 at the plate with her second home run of the season, helping lead the Aggies to a 4-1 win in the opener.

The reigning Big West Conference Pitcher of the Week, Yanez (5-1) went the distance for the fourth time this season, scattering four hits while allowing only an unearned run in the sixth. The 15 strikeouts bested her previous season high of 14 set against BYU back on Feb. 15, and matched her career high set against Utah State last year.

Yanez struck out the side in each of the first three innings, allowing only an infield single in that stretch and stranding four UTEP runners on base — two of those in scoring position. The Ventura, Calif., native also struck out a pair in the fourth and fifth innings, and one each in the sixth and seventh, stranding eight runners overall — four in scoring position.

Julia Wright (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing four runs (two earned) on five hits and striking out one, over six innings of work.

Sophomore Alyse Rojas scampered home with an unearned run in the first, reaching on an error and working her way around before scoring on a double steal attempt with one out for the 1-0 lead. The Aggies then loaded the bases with one out in the third before a sacrifice fly by freshman Megan Bower led to a pair of runs.

Bower's deep fly ball to center allowed Marisa Given to score from third, but a throwing error trying to erase Meghan Bradbury advancing to second sailed away from the defense, allowing Isabella Leon to also come home, making it 3-0.

A bases-loaded throwing error in the sixth led to the Miners' only run of the game, but Yanez quickly got the run back in the home half, launching her second home run of the season over the wall in right with two outs for the final 4-1 tally.

Alyse Rojas, Leon, and Marissa Jauregui, also added hits for the Aggies.

GAME 2: UC DAVIS 2, UTEP 1
Back-to-back home runs by Isabella Leon — her second — and Meghan Bradbury — her third — with two outs in the first inning were more than enough for the duo of Katie Kibby and Sara Cadona, who combined to limit UTEP to just four hits on the day en route to the 2-1 victory.

Kibby (2-1) picked up her second win of the year, allowing a run on three hits and striking out four over five innings of work, before giving way to Cadona, who allowed a single hit over two innings of relief, including stranding the tying run at third in the seventh, en route to her first save of the season.

Kira McKechnie (1-3) suffered the loss, allowing two runs on eight hits and striking out five, stranding eight Aggie baserunners on the day — five of those in scoring position.

After the Miners left a runner at third in the top half of the first, UC Davis wasted little time in taking the lead for good with the back-to-back blasts in the home half. WIth two outs, Leon launched a 2-2 pitch over the wall in left for the 1-0 advantage, which was almost immediately followed by Bradbury, who buried a 2-2 pitch over the centerfield fence for the 2-0 lead.

That was more than enough for Kibby, who twice retired five straight hitters around a second inning walk before UTEP cut the deficit in half in the fifth. A one-out single by Bryanna Molina and a hit batter put two on for Pate Cathey, who popped up for the second out.

Kasey Flores then lined a single into left centerfield to score Molina, but Alyse Rojas came up firing, catching Flores trying to take the extra base to end the inning, limiting the damage.

Cadona then came on to start the sixth, getting three pop-ups to retire the side in order, then worked around trouble in the seventh, allowing a lead-off single before getting a pair of fly balls and a strikeout to end the game.

Leon finished 2-for-2 with a walk, extending her hitting streak to four games and reaching base safely for the sixth consecutive contest, while six other Aggies collected hits on the day.

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. 5-ranked public university in the nation according to the Wall Street Journal and Times Higher Education, 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 plant and animal programs.

AGGIE EVO
Launched in 2017-18, the Aggie EVO System is UC Davis Athletics' investment in the primary mission of preparing student-athletes for a successful "launch" after graduation. Thanks to a collaboration of alumni, university resources, corporate partners, coaches and Student-Athlete Outcomes staff, all Aggies are guided over four years to acquire the skills, knowledge, opportunities and tools to better know and navigate the "World of Work" after graduating from UC Davis. Follow the Aggie EVO system on Twitter and Instagram at @AggieEVO.