DAVIS, Calif. — First-place Cal State Fullerton and second-place UC Davis ended the day in the exact same position as they started it, as the top two teams in the Big West Conference battled to a doubleheader split on Saturday at La Rue Field with the Titans taking game one, 9-1, in five innings, before the Aggies rallied for a nine-inning, 2-1, victory in the nightcap.
The split moved UC Davis to 36-9 overall and 10-4 in conference play, ending a 12-game losing streak against Cal State Fullerton with the game two victory, winning for the first time in the series since 2015. The Titans, meanwhile, moved to 31-16 overall and 11-3 in league play, maintaining their one-game advantage in the standings.
A six-run third inning was the key in breaking open game one as Fullerton cruised to the five-inning victory, but the Aggies muscled up and clamped down in game two, blanking the Titans for the final seven innings en route to the victory.
After giving up a run in the second UC Davis took advantage of an error with two outs to tie the game as heads-up baserunning by
Alyse Rojas, who singled to lead-off the home half of the third, scored all the way from second base.
Isabella Leon's ground ball to the right side was booted by the infield allowing Rojas to make the turn around third and try for the plate.
The Fullerton infielder recovered in time to throw a strike to the plate, but Rojas eluded the tag, touching the plate to tie the game.
From there on, it was a battle between sophomore left-hander
Brooke Yanez (23-4) and the 1-2 punch of the Titans' Sophie Frost and Dani Martinez (13-6), who blanked one another for the next five-and-a-half innings before the Aggies broke through with the winning run in the ninth.
Sophomore
Riley Siegel got the rally started with a one-out single through the left side before
Alexis Villalobos came in to run. Freshman
Megan Bower then followed with a single up the middle and Villalobos was able to slide in safely at third.
That brought up Yanez to hit for freshman
Sommer Kisling, and the sophomore came through, lining a 1-1 pitch through the hole on the left side, scoring Villalobos for the winning run.
Yanez, who retired the final 10 batters she faced and stranded seven Fullerton baserunners — including the bases loaded in the fifth, earned her 23rd win of the season, allowing only three hits and striking out four over the final 7.2 innings of work.
The 23 victories ties her for fifth on the all-time single-season wins list with six other Aggie greats and extends her Division I program single-season mark. Yanez's 23 wins are the most since Susan Churchwell won the same number in 2003 and Amy Rosson finished 29-8 that same season.
Alyse Rojas finished 2-for-4 with a run scored in the night cap, while six other batters finished with a hit.
In the opener, Siegel finished 2-for-2, including her third home run of the season to break up the shutout in the third inning, but Fullerton sent 11 batters to the plate as part of a six-run third and banged out 10 hits en route to the 9-1 win.
Siegel's home run gave the Aggies 29 home runs for the year, setting a new Division I program single-season standard, besting the 2008 squad which slugged 28 home runs. This year's total is now the most since UC Davis hit 35 home runs in 2007 and are tied for the fifth-most in a season according to records that date back to 1982.
Marissa Jauregui (a single in the first) and
Maddie Rojas (a single in the fourth) added hits in the opener for UC Davis, helping extend their hitting streaks to five games apiece.
Maddie Rojas also reached base safely for the ninth and 10th consecutive games, ranking tied for second on the team this season in that category and, currently, the longest active such streak by an Aggie.
The two teams reconvene at La Rue Field on Sunday (April 28) at Noon for the final game of the series. UC Davis will honor its six departing seniors as part of "Senior Day" festivities following the game.
Cal State Fullerton 9, UC Davis 1 (Apr 27, 2019 at Davis, Calif.) (Game 1)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cal State Fullerton. 006 21 - 9 10 0 (31-15, 11-2 BIG WEST)
UC Davis............ 001 00 - 1 4 2 (35-9, 9-4 BIG WEST)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Cal State Fullerton - Martinez, Dani and Valenzuela, Julia. UC Davis - Yanez, Brooke; Cadona, Sara (3); Mendoza, Frankie (5) and Siegel, Riley.
Win - Martinez, Dani (13-5) Loss - Yanez, Brooke (22-4) T-1:48 A-0
HR UCD - Siegel, Riley (3).
Weather: 76*, warm, wind: SSW 6mph
UC Davis 2, Cal State Fullerton 1 (Apr 27, 2019 at Davis, Calif.) (Game 2)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Cal State Fullerton. 010 000 000 - 1 7 2 (31-16, 11-3 BIG WEST)
UC Davis............ 001 000 001 - 2 9 0 (36-9, 10-4 BIG WEST)
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Pitchers: Cal State Fullerton - Frost, Sophie; Martinez, Dani (6) and Valenzuela, Julia. UC Davis - Kibby, Katie; Yanez, Brooke (2) and Siegel, Riley.
Win - Yanez, Brooke (23-4) Loss - Martinez, Dani (13-6) T-2:31 A-297
Weather: sunny & warm
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.
