San Francisco, Calif. — Nick Iverson collected a team-high, two extra base hits on the hilltop, but the Aggies ultimately fell to the San Francisco Dons, 5-3 Tuesday afternoon.
Zach Romero who has settled into the Tuesday starter role, excelled for the Aggies staff today. Starting the ballgame and throwing two scoreless innings, Romero was unscathed this afternoon as he didn't surrender a hit in his appearance, and recorded two strikeouts in the process.
Another pitcher who left his imprint on the game was Nathan Peng. The senior entered the ballgame with runners on first and third in the eighth inning with no outs, and silenced the Don faithful. Making maybe the best defensive play of the season by an Aggie pitcher after tagging out a runner trying to score on a wild pitch, Peng would also add two strikeouts to give the Aggies a fighting chance in the ninth.
Iverson's two extra base hits, both were opposite field doubles as he shined on the day, going 2-for-4. Serving as the catalyst for the Aggies today, Iverson has been swinging the bat well as of late. He has six hits in his last eight games, raising his batting average 12-points in the process, and bringing his season double total to nine on the year.
Another guy who used the two-bagger to create some offense for the Aggies was Damian Stone who would end up going 2-for-5 on the day with an RBI. A constant presence for UC Davis from the leadoff position, Stone and his team-high on base percentage, paired with his near-.300 batting average has been as consistent as they come.
Joey Wright and Mark Wolbert would provide the other two Aggie RBIs today with Wolbert jumpstarting the scoring for UC Davis, first putting runs on the board in the top half of the fourth, while Wright would collect a sacrifice fly the next inning to keep the Aggies within striking distance.
Wolbert's RBI swing in the fourth would be his lone hit in four trips to the plate. The sophomore from Petaluma has hits in his last two games as he hopes to continue this trend by ending the season on a high note to fuel the Aggie attack.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Aggies were trailing 2-0 in the fourth inning when they first put runs on the board. UC Davis got on the board thanks to Wolbert's RBI double.
The Aggies deficit grew to 3-1 before their offense got back on the scoreboard, cutting into that deficit in the fifth inning. Iverson came across to score the lone run of the inning for UC Davis off the bat of a Wright sacrifice fly, which brought the score to 3-2 in favor of the Dons.
UC Davis held the Dons off the board before rallying to tie it up at three in the seventh. The Aggies notched a run on Stone's two-out RBI double which brought home freshman, Ethan Kang. San Francisco then scored two times over the remaining two innings to break the tie and grab the narrow 5-3 win.
GAME NOTES
» UC Davis' power output was led by Iverson, who compiled two extra base hits in the ballgame.
» The Aggies out-hit the Dons at a 10-8 clip.
» UC Davis went 3-for-10 (.300) with runners in scoring position.
» UC Davis pitchers faced 33 San Francisco hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and eight fly balls while striking out four.
» Stone led the Aggies at the plate, going 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI.
» San Francisco was led offensively by senior Harris Williams Iii, who went 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBI.
» Senior Jesse Barron led the Dons pitching staff, throwing three shutout innings.
UP NEXT
UC Davis will now get ready to host UC Irvine this weekend at Dobbins Stadium for the final home stand of the season. The final home series will serve as a senior sendoff for the trio of Nathan Peng, Nate Freeman, and James Williams III with a Senior Day celebration planned prior to the Sunday game against the Anteaters.
