Davis, Calif. — Junior Jack Gallagher clobbered a grand-slam in the bottom of the sixth inning in route to a stellar outing at the plate Friday, in which he hit two home runs to help power the UC Davis Aggies over the UC Riverside Highlanders 13-11 at Phil Swimley Field in Dobbins Stadium.
The Aggies improve to 13-20 on the year and 4-9 in Big West action. The win also signifies the Aggies first conference win since, April 1 at CSU Bakersfield. The Aggies will look to make it two in a row tomorrow, as UC Davis hosts UC Riverside again for game two of the three-game series at 1:00 P.M. PT.
Junior
Danny Carrion (2-3) picked up the victory out of the bullpen for the Aggies and the win gives Carrion his second straight. After earning his first of the season last Sunday at UCLA, Carrion has used his last two apprearances of no-run baseball to improve his season ERA to a team-low 2.55 ERA. The right-hander went 1.2 shutout innings today while giving up just one hit, allowing one walk and striking out one.
The Aggies called on seven different arms today, and saw three of those contribute with appearances that produced no earned runs. Among that crop was the aforementioned Carrion,
Nathan Peng, and
Kaden Riccomini. In addition,
Kaden Hogan closed the door for the Aggies yet again, moving his save total for the year to five, which ranks third in the Big West.
Gallagher went 2-for-4 at the plate, supplementing his two home runs with six RBIs. Launching his eighth and ninth home runs of the season, Gallagher enjoyed every bit of the hot weather at Dobbins stadium today and moves into fourth among Big West leaders for home runs this year with nine to his name. His six RBIs today puts his season total at 27 on the year, tied for first among Aggie teammates with James Williams III.
Junior Alex Gouveia put on a show all over the diamond today and added to Gallagher's awesome power-hitting performance by going 3-for-5 with a home run and four RBI. The Big West doubles king, at every turn it seemed like Gouveia was at the forefront of the Aggie charge today, finishing the game with a game-high three runs scored. While being an offensive catalyst, Gouveia made his impact felt on the defensive side as well with a diving play in the top of the eighth.
The four and five batter duo of Williams III and
Nick Leehey also paced the the Aggies, as each finished going 2-for-4 with an RBI a piece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies got on the board immediately, starting their scoring with one run in the bottom of the first inning. Gouveia put UC Davis on the board with a two-out solo home run off senior Cruz Barrios.
The Highlanders failed to push any runs across before the Aggies offense got back to their scoring ways the next inning. The UC Davis offense exploded for four runs, highlighted by a two-run home run off the bat of Gallagher, which brought the Aggies lead to 5-0.
UC Davis' lead had disappeared by the time the fifth inning arrived and turned into a 6-5 UC Riverside advantage, when the Aggies tied up the game at six. The Aggies scored with the help of an RBI single off the bat of Leehey.
The game remained tied until the very next inning, when UC Davis exploded on offense. The Aggies scored a whopping seven runs in the inning, highlighted by a grand slam off the bat of Gallagher and a two-run single from Gouveia, bringing the UC Davis advantage to 13-6. UC Riverside put five runs on the scoreboard before the game was over, but the Aggies still held on for the 13-11 win.
GAME NOTES
» The Aggies got two home runs off the bat of Gallagher.
» Gouveia had three base knocks in the game for UC Davis.
» The Aggies power output was led by Gallagher, who had two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» Gallagher and Gouveia drove in at least four runs for UC Davis.
» Every UC Davis starter reached base safely in the win.
» UC Davis' highest scoring inning was the sixth, when it pushed seven runs across.
» Four Aggies had multiple hits in the ballgame.
» UC Davis hitters hit three home runs in the ballgame.
» The Aggies out-hit the Highlanders at a 13-11 clip.
» UC Davis went 5-for-12 (.417) with runners in scoring position.
» The Aggies got two hits in four at-bats with the bases loaded.
» UC Davis pitchers faced 47 UC Riverside hitters in the game, allowing nine ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out six.
» The Aggies drew eight walks from UC Riverside pitching.
» Gallagher led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI.
» UC Riverside was led offensively by sophomore Jacob Badawi, who went 4-for-5 with a double and five RBI.
» Freshman Cameron Tracy led the Highlanders pitching staff, throwing 2.2 shutout innings.
