DAVIS, Calif. -
Jalen Smith hit a towering seventh inning home run and
Jake Spillane went 6 1/3 innings against the California Baptist Lancers but the Aggies were undone late, falling 5-4 on Saturday afternoon.
Patient bats saw the Aggies (3-6) strike out just five times on the day while taking an early lead against Cal Baptist (5-4).
Cooper Morrison hit a one-out single in the first, moved to second on a ground ball and later to third on a passed ball.
Jake Brandel and
Ben Griffin followed with walks to load the bases for
Colton Evans, who poked a single to left and scored Morrison for an early 1-0 lead.
Smith, who went 2-5 with two runs and two RBIs, got going in the second, singling up the middle and stealing second ahead of a walk by Morrison. Mike Campagna hit a bouncing ground ball past second base to score Smith and push the Aggies' lead to 2-0.
Spillane allowed just two baserunners through three innings before the Lancers got on the board with a shot to right center field by Chad Castillo but Spillane rebounded to pitch clean fifth and sixth innings before running into trouble in the top of the seventh.
Cal Baptist got one-out singles from John Glenn and Harrison Spohn to put two on before Spillane gave way to
Tim Wieser. Wieser walked Michael Carpentier to load the bases but struck out the Lancers' Ulysses Caballero on a 3-2 pitch and got a ground ball to second out of Nick Plaia to escape the inning with UC Davis still leading 2-1.
Spillane finished with a final line of five strikeouts and just one earned run on five hits in 6 1/3 innings.
In the bottom half of the inning,
Kyler Arenado walked to set up Smith's shot to left field and give UC Davis a 4-1 advantage.
Cal Baptist began to chip away in the top of the eighth though.
Chad Minato walked against
Nathan Peng to lead off the inning and Damon Keith hit a one-out double to put runners at second and third. A wild pitch by Peng allowed Minato to score but Peng bounced back to strike out Glenn swinging to end the inning.
The Lancers went on to tie the game in the top of the ninth, loading the bases against Peng to bring
Brett Erwin out of the bullpen. Chad Castillo hit a first pitch single to left field that scored two to knot the score at 4-4 and send the afternoon to extra innings.
UC Davis went down in order in the bottom half of the ninth, setting up Glenn's 10th inning home run to right field for the final 5-4 margin.
Though they threatened in the bottom of the eighth, reaching on an error and pinch runner
Daniel Carrion stealing second, the Aggies were set down in order in the ninth and 10th and were held to just one hit over the final four innings.
Smith led the UC Davis bats with his second homer of the season with Morrison also collecting two hits along with one each for Campagna, Evans and
Nick Iverson.
The Aggies will return to Dobbins Stadium with a chance to take the third game of this series on Sunday at 1 p.m.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, are enrolled in 71 of more than 100 academic programs at the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
