DAVIS, Calif. -- Freshman third baseman
Leah Polson launched a line drive to the right-center gap, scoring senior center fielder
Marissa Jauregui and representing the walk-off hit in a 13-inning, 2-1 victory against Pacific in the nightcap of a Capital Classic women's softball doubleheader at La Rue Field Saturday. The Aggies won the earlier contest by a 7-6 final, highlighted by a grand slam by senior shortstop
Isabella Leon.
UC Davis improves to 4-9 overall, having picked up its first doubleheader sweep of the year. The Tigers fall to 4-6 for the season.
Polson and right fielder
Megan Bower each finished the day with a pair of doubles: Polson on 3-for-7 hitting, Bower with a 5-for-11 performance. Bower also rapped out her first triple since her freshman year in the second game. Leon continues her strong return to action with four hits Saturday, including the homer in Game 1. Anna Dethelfson assumed catching duties in the nightcap, responding with a 2-for-4 day
Freshman
Kenedi Brown went the distance in the 13-inning Game 2, scattering 10 hits and fanning 11 Tigers against just one walk. She also picked up the save in the opener.
Leon's grand slam erased what had been a 4-1 Pacific lead by the middle of the fourth.
Bella Pahulu led off the inning with a hit by pitch, then
Sarah Nakahara and Polson walked to load the bases. Tiger reliever Amiyah Aponte replaced starter Bethany Hammer, and promptly walked
Sommer Kisling to bring in Pahulu. Aponte fell behind quickly on Leon, who then launched a 3-1 pitch over the left-field fence to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 6-4 UC Davis lead.
The Tigers gained back a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings. Marissa Fabian, who entered in her fourth as a pinch hitter for left fielder Valeria Torres-Colon, launched a solo blast to dead center as the equalizer in the sixth. However, in the bottom half of that frame, Bower sent a double down the left-field line, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Jauregui punched a single through the middle to bring home Bower for the go-ahead.
In the seventh, Brown entered in relief of
Sarah Reineman, who had in turn relieved starter
Taylor Fitzgerald in the fourth. With two runners on, Brown coaxed a fly out by Pacific shortstop Madison Kahwaty, then got third baseman Jessica Mabrey swinging to close out the win. Brown's save is her second of the year, while Reineman picked up her first collegiate victory.
Game 2 saw a pitcher's duel between Brown and Tiger starter Myka Sutherlin. Center fielder Carly Luchetti put Pacific on the board with a solo shot in the fourth. UC Davis tied the game in the sixth, thanks to Bower's leadoff triple. Freshman first baseman
Sarah Starks brought Bower home with an RBI single on the next at-bat. UC Davis eventually loaded the bases in the sixth, but Sutherlin retired Aggie left fielder
Sarah Nakahara to end the rally.
Neither team managed a run from the seventh through 12th innings, although not for lack of opportunities. Even without the tiebreaker rule in effect, UC Davis reached at least one runner in every frame, stranding 11 during that stretch. Lucchetti and Sutherlin made over-the-shoulder catches in deep center to rob Jauregui and Bower of extra-base hits in the 11th and 13th, respectively. On the Aggie side, shortstop
Libbie McMahan initiated a key double play to end a thread in the top of the 13th.
With two out in the 13th, Jauregui won her battle with Pacific reliever Avery Croxall to draw a walk. One batter later, Polson drilled the first pitch toward the La Rue Field scoreboard. The ball split the outfielders Sutherlin and Lucchetti, and head coach
Erin Thorpe waved Jauregui home for the game-winning run.
Leon and Polson each had three hits in Game 2. Combined with her Thursday shutout at Sacramento State, Brown now has an 0.44 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 20.2 innings during the Capital Classic. The annual "tournament," which features daily doubleheaders, ends on Sunday with a twinbill against Santa Clara at La Rue Field. Game times are 11:30 a.m. and 2 p.m.
ABOUT UC DAVIS:
With the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, more than 700 student-athletes represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation on one of 25 intercollegiate athletics teams.
UC Davis, a national leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, is centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, and the Napa Valley; and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
Ranked annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, 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.
