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LA JOLLA, Calif. – Three lead changes and three tied scores took place throughout the first seven innings of Sunday's series finale at Triton Ballpark, but it was a two-run rally with two outs in the bottom of the eighth that allowed UC San Diego to end the weekend with a 6-4 victory.
UC Davis will return home for Friday's 2:30 p.m. series opener against Cal Poly with a 13-36 overall and 7-25 Big West record. The Tritons will continue their season at 18-26 and 15-17.
The Aggies opened Sunday's thrilling battle by scoring the first run of the game in the top of the second, which began with a leadoff single from
Jake Brandel. After stealing second, he turned the corner at third and raced home moments later when
Michael Campagna smacked a single of his own to left field.
After UCSD tied the game in its half of that inning,
Jalen Smith's solo home run to right in the third helped the Aggies regain their one-run advantage, which remained at 2-1 until the bottom of the fifth when the Tritons hit a two-run shot of their own to take their first lead of the day.
That cushion only lasted two outs because UC Davis took full advantage of two UCSD errors to tie the score once again at three when it returned to the plate for its next set of swings. Reaching base on the first of those two miscues, Brandel completed his trip around the diamond on consecutive singles from
Kyler Arenado and
Conner Longrie.
As quickly as the Aggies pulled even, the Tritons retook the lead in the bottom of the sixth on a sacrifice fly to center, which allowed Jackson Kritsch to score after initially taking first when he was hit by a pitch.
UC Davis seemed unaffected by the action that took place in the sixth because Campagna's leadoff walk in the top of the seventh eventually tied the score at 4-4. Advancing to second on Smith's sacrifice bunt, Gedestad's single drove in his teammate, which fired up the Aggie dugout in the process.
Another clutch performance took place in the bottom of the seventh for UC Davis: With Tritons on second and third and only one out recorded before entering the game,
Zach Carrell struckout Marc Filia swinging, and helped the Aggies escape a precarious situation by forcing Kritsch to end the inning with a fly ball to center.
Unfortunately for UC Davis, the decisive plays of the game took place in the bottom of the eighth inning when the Tritons drove in two runs, with two outs, on a double and single that took place on consecutive at bats to break a 4-4 tie for good.
However, a heads-up play by
Cooper Morrison in center prevented UCSD from scoring a potential third run as he ended the inning by nailing Ryan McNally at third base.
Morrison's play kept the Aggies within striking distance heading into the top of the ninth, and created an opportunity for them to tie the score with two outs, Smith at first after drawing a four-pitch walk, and the tying run at the plate. But a grounder to second followed Smith's free pass, which ended UC Davis' potential comeback.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Centrally located between San Francisco and Lake Tahoe, over 700 student-athletes across 25 teams enjoy an unrivaled undergraduate experience at the fifth-ranked public school in the country.
Ranked annually in the nation's top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility, UC Davis and its innovative Aggie EVO System helps student-athletes develop passions, connect with a comprehensive network of alums and industry leaders, gain real-world experience and thrive as a young professional following a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school.
