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DAVIS, Calif. – Isaiah Verrett wasted no time in making an immediate impact in the back-half of Saturday's Big West Conference doubleheader at Phil Swimley Field: After entering the game in the top of the 10th, his two-run walk-off home run, the first in his UC Davis career, lifted the Aggies to a 6-4 victory.
Verrett's swing capped his team's come-from-behind effort, which started in the bottom of the ninth with UC Davis trailing 4-3.
With one out already recorded,
J.D. Mico and
Jalen Smith each hit singles to right field; the latter allowed Mico to advance from first to third. On the next Aggie at bat,
Cooper Morrison drove in the game-tying run with a single to right field of his own.
After the Highlanders were retired in order in the top of the 10th,
Kyler Arenado reached base after drawing a two-out walk. Moments later, Verrett provided the perfect ending to the day by launching one over the left field fence.
Nathan Peng picked up his second win of the year and allowed only one hit throughout his three innings pitched.
After dropping the first game of Saturday's twinbill, UC Davis (6-19, 1-10 BWC) responded by scoring two runs in the first inning, and another the following frame in the second game.
Initially reaching on a game-opening fielding error by UC Riverside (6-12, 4-7 BWC), Smith advanced to second on Morrison's single to left, and took third on a ground ball hit by
Conner Longrie.
On the second pitch of the next at bat, Highlander starter Kyle Anderson threw a wild pitch, which allowed Smith to score. Moments later,
Omar Plascencia's single up the middle quickly doubled his team's lead to a 2-0 margin.
That lead grew to three runs when Smith's grounder to short allowed Arenado, who initially reached base on a leadoff walk, to score.
UC Riverside eventually tied the game at 3-3 after scoring a pair in the fifth, and added another in the sixth. Following two innings of shutout baseball, the Highlanders were able to take a one-run lead entering the Aggies' final set of swings.
Three consecutive singles to right field, ending with Morrison's game-tying hit, ultimately set the stage for Verrett's 10th-inning heroics.
Kaden Riccomini shined throughout his seven-inning appearance in the first game of the afternoon, and struckout a career-high six batters to keep the Aggies close to UCR for a majority of the game.
With the Aggies trailing 2-1, it was a pair of Highlander runs scored in each of the final two innings that allowed them to take that matchup by a 6-2 score.
UC Davis will return to Phil Swimley Field for Sunday's 1 p.m. series finale seeking a sweep of its weekend series versus UC Riverside. In addition to a
video stream,
live stats are also available for this holiday matchup.
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.
