Los Angeles, Calif. — History was captured Sunday afternoon as the UC Davis Baseball Team defeated the No. 19 ranked UCLA Bruins by a score of 6-3. Senior James Williams III racked up three hits to help lead the Aggies to their first win against a ranked opponent this season.
The win for UC Davis comes as the first ever win against a ranked opponent in the Tommy Nicholson era, and gives UC Davis their second ever victory against UCLA in school history. Playing the Bruins for just the second weekend ever with the inaugural series taking place in 2009, UC Davis already has two wins to their name against their Power-5 UC foe. While the Aggies trail the all-time series 4-2, having two wins against a perennial powerhouse program like UCLA is always something to celebrate in its own right.
The victory is the first one over a ranked opponent since 2019 for UC Davis, when the Aggies took down No. 2 ranked Stanford while Coach Nicholson was apart of the Cardinal staff.
Maybe the most quality win for UC Davis Baseball in recent memory, strong bullpen efforts and timely hitting fueled the Aggies all day in their series salvaging victory.
With UCLA striking first in the third inning, the Aggies proved their resiliency by responding with three runs in the top half of the fourth, and then another pair of runs in the top of the fifth. A team that is not accustomed to walking the opposition, UC Davis capitalized with their timely hitting by making UCLA pay for their inability to pound the strike zone in those innings. In just the fourth and fifth innings alone, UC Davis drew four walks, and had one batter reach on a hit-by-pitch. With the middle innings of the game being the most important part for the Aggie offense, much of the same could be said for the pitching as the bullpen duo of Danny Carrion and Kaden Hogan thrived from the middle half of the game till the final out.
Carrion recorded his first win of the year and boy was it a big one. Entering out of the bullpen for UC Davis (12-19), The right-hander went 1.2 shutout innings without giving up a hit, no walks and striking out one. Picking up an inning ending double-play in the bottom of the fourth with Bruin runners on first and second, the dynamic reliever proved yet again his ability to thrive in high leverage situations.
Giving way to Kaden Hogan, the Aggies leaned heavily on the two-way player from Reno who was in complete control, going four innings, surrendering only two runs, both earned, on three hits, walking one and striking out three to close the door for UC Davis.
In addition to his three hits, Williams had a triple and two RBI to lead the Aggies. Damian Stone produced with some power today and finished his day at the dish by going 1-for-4 with a home run, a walk and an RBI. Stone also contributed today with his ability to patrol center field. His sliding play in the bottom of the third saved what could have been two early Bruin runs.
Freshman Leighton Helfrick also chipped in for UC Davis, putting together two hits in four trips to the plate while adding two RBI. The freshman's potential is becoming more and more apparent as the year progresses and he has produced two of his biggest games this year against a pair of Pac-12 opponents.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies were trailing 1-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. UC Davis scored three runs in the frame, highlighted by a two-run single off the bat of Helfrick.
The Bruins failed to push any runs across before the Aggies offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. UC Davis brought home a pair, with one run driven in by Williams' single, which brought the score to 5-1 in favor of the Aggies.
UC Davis kept UCLA without a run before building their lead to 6-1 in the seventh inning. The Aggies added a run on Stone's leadoff home run off freshman Michael Barnett. UCLA put two runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but UC Davis still held on for the 6-3 win.
GAME NOTES
» Williams had three base hits in the game for UC Davis.
» UC Davis' highest scoring inning was the fourth, when it pushed three runs across.
» The Aggies out-hit the Bruins at an 8-7 clip.
» UC Davis pitchers faced 38 UCLA hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and 11 fly balls while striking out six.
» The Aggies drew five walks from UCLA pitching.
» Williams led the Aggies at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a triple and two RBI.
» UCLA was led offensively by sophomore Jack Holman, who went 1-for-3 with a home run and an RBI.
» Freshman Cody Delvecchio led the Bruins pitching staff, throwing two shutout innings.
UP NEXT
After multiple weekends on the road, UC Davis will enjoy a full week of games in the friendly confines of Dobbins Stadium. First with Saint Mary's on Tuesday for a midweek game at 2:30 P.M. and then will transition their focus back to Big West play as they host the Highlanders from UC Riverside over the weekend.
