SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The UC Davis softball team opened the 2023 campaign with a 2-1 victory over Causeway rival Sacramento State Thursday afternoon at Shea Stadium. The game marked the first contest of the season and the co-hosted NorCal Kickoff.
The UC Davis Aggies set the tone by taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning and never surrendered the advantage on the way to the victory.
Junior Kenedi Brown (1-0) got the win for the Ags. The right-hander went seven innings, giving up one run on three hits, allowing three walks and striking out six.
Offensively, the Aggies were led by junior Leah Polson, who went 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI. Junior Anna Dethlefson began the season like she left off from 2022, going 1-for-3 with a double. Junior Libbie McMahan also chipped in for UC Davis, putting together one hit in three trips to the plate, while adding an RBI.
The Aggies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the top of the first inning. UC Davis got an RBI single from McMahan, scoring Dethlefson from second base.
The Aggies then held the Hornets scoreless before expanding their lead in the third inning. UC Davis scored once on an RBI single off the bat of Polson, which brought the Aggies lead to 2-0.
Sacramento State put one run on the scoreboard before the game was over, but Brown shut the door, striking out three in the final frame to thwart any Hornet threat.
UC Davis will return home to host the La Rue portion of the NorCal Kickoff. A total of eight games will be played in Davis this weekend. The action starts tomorrow when Pacific faces Seattle at 9:30 a.m. The Ags will play back-to-back, beginning at Noon. Follow all the NorCal Kickoff action in Davis at the Tournament Central page.
GAME NOTES
» Brown struck out six Hornets hitters.
» UC Davis took a 1-0 lead in the top half of the first and didn't surrender that lead for the remainder of the game.
» The Aggies out-hit the Hornets at a 4-3 clip.
» UC Davis went 2-for-4 (.500) with runners in scoring position.
» UC Davis pitchers limited Sacramento State to just 1-for-5 (.200) with runners in scoring position.
» UC Davis pitchers faced 27 Sacramento State hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and seven fly balls while striking out six.
» Polson led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-3 with an RBI.
