SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -- Despite picking up seven hits in the ballgame and out-hitting UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis was unable to push across more runs, as they fell to UCSB by the score of 4-3 on Saturday, April 20.
Senior Chris Brown took his fourth loss for UC Davis, which dropped his record to 2-4. Freshman Rodney Boone earned the win for UC Santa Barbara, improving to 5-0 on the season. The Aggies defeat puts their 2019 record at 11-21, 3-9 in the Big West. With the victory, UC Santa Barbara improves to 30-5 this year, 8-1 in conference play.
UC Davis used Brown and four other pitchers to complete the ballgame. Brown threw the game's first five innings, giving up four runs, all of them earned, on five hits while walking two and striking out one. The other four hurlers combined to allow no runs on one hit, walk two, and fan four.
The five UC Davis pitchers worked their way through the UC Santa Barbara lineup facing 33 hitters, retiring 13 via flyout. Aggies pitchers did an excellent job avoiding dangerous situations in the contest, allowing only four UC Santa Barbara at-bats with runners in scoring position.
As far as hitting was concerned, UC Davis was led by senior Cameron Briggs, who went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sophomore Spencer Gedestad put together a standout performance at the plate as well, going 1-for-3 with an RBI while finding his way aboard once via walk. Junior Cooper Morrison also contributed for the Aggies, going 1-for-4 with a double. Sophomore Jason Willow led the attack for the UC Santa Barbara lineup, going 1-for-2 with a home run and an RBI on the day.
All told, UC Davis pushed across their three runs off of seven hits, one of which went for extra bases. The Aggies supplemented their attack by drawing four walks from UC Santa Barbara pitchers. When they did swing the bat, UC Davis was clutch at the dish. The Aggies went 3-for-7 with runners in scoring position, with Gedestad accounting for one of those hits.
The Aggies are back in action on Monday (Apr. 22) as they welcome the San Francisco Dons for a 2:30 p.m. meeting at Phil Swimley Field.
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, 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
Established during the 2017-18 academic year, 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.
