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DAVIS, Calif. – UC Davis scored four of the last five runs in Friday's Big West series opener at Phil Swimley Field, took full advantage of Nate Freeman's four innings of no-hit baseball when he entered in the top of the fifth, and ultimately faced an opportunity to erase an early deficit and tie the game in bottom of the eighth with two outs.
 
Even though CSUN escaped that dangerous situation by forcing a ground out, UC Davis threatened again in the ninth when Jake Brandel reached base on an error and was joined by Colton Evans moments later when he singled to left. But CSUN withstood another Aggie scoring opportunity by snaring a hard-hit line drive to second, which ended the game and allowed it to record a 10-6 win.
 
This series will continue with Saturday's 12 p.m. doubleheader, a video stream and live stats are available for both games.
 
A five-run fourth inning turned CSUN's (14-15, 14-15 BWC) early 4-2 lead into a  9-2 score, but UC Davis remained poised and successfully cut into that deficit one inning at a time as the afternoon progressed.  
 
The Aggies' comeback began In their half of the fourth when Spencer Gedestad's single to left kick-started his team's rally once he scored on Kyler Arenado's sacrifice fly. Following a scoreless fifth, UC Davis (11-31, 5-20 BWC) recorded another pair of runs, which further trimmed its deficit with a third of the game still left to play.

After Brandel was hit by a pitch to start the fifth, Colton Evans and Gedestad smacked back-to-back singles, with the latter allowing Brandel to score. Two batters later, Evans touched the plate when Michael Campagna turned on a 0-1 pitch and drilled a single to the left field corner.
 
The Aggies continued their comeback in the eighth when Nick Iverson's double down the left field line allowed Arenado to score, which pulled them within three runs since CSUN led 9-6 at that point of the game, until it scored the final run of the day when the Matadors returned to the plate in in their half of the ninth.
 
Campagna, Evans and Gedestad each finished with two hits and scored a run for the Aggies; Freeman struck out six batters throughout Friday's appearance.
 
 

 
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.