DAVIS, Calif. - Senior center fielder Marissa Jauregui doubled and scored her team's only run and second-year freshman Taylor Fitzgerald pitched 2.2 innings of scoreless relief, but UC Davis lost its series finale and Senior Day game by a 5-1 final in Big West Conference softball action at La Rue Field Sunday afternoon.
The Aggies slip to 17-23 for the season and 11-10 in league play. The Mustangs improve to 12-20 overall with a 6-15 ledger in Big West games.
Jauregui was one of four UC Davis players with hits, along with second baseman Sommer Kisling, shortstop Isabella Leon and third baseman Libbie McMahan. Jauregui doubled to lead off the bottom of the fifth, advanced to third on an Anna Dethlefson flyout to right field, then opted to challenge the arm of her counterpart, Noellah Ramos, then Leah Polson lofted a short fly to center. She slid safely under the tag of catcher Kai Barrett, putting the Aggies on the board.
However, that proved to be the lone run in the contest for UC Davis, which had already allowed five runs in the top half of that inning. Designated player Lily Amos launched a three-run homer in the fifth, driving in her sister Maddie and pinch runner Ellie Yamashita to cap a long battle with Aggie starter Kenedi Brown.
Fitzgerald fanned four Mustangs and allowed just two hits in her 2.2 innings of relief work. The Rocklin native entered the contest with just 32 strikeouts on the year, but managed punchouts against Cal Poly's Hailey Martin and Noellah Ramos, who entered the game with just 17 strikeouts in almost 200 combined at-bats before Sunday.
As the season home finale for UC Davis, the contest provided a stage to honor seniors Jauregui, Leon and catcher Katie Steffen-Brune. Jauregui and Leon are fifth-year students who had their 2020 seasons halted, and opted to return for a final season this spring. Steffen-Brune is officially a redshirt sophomore, but she will achieve her goal of graduating in four years this spring.
UC Davis finishes its 2021 season with a road trip to Hawai'i. The Aggies and Rainbow Wahine open the series with a single game on Thursday night. Game time is 6 p.m. local, 9 p.m. Pacific.
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.
