GAME ONE
Score: UC Davis 15, UC Riverside 7
Winning Pitcher: Maia Scholtens (2-1)
Losing Pitcher: Bree Barner (0-9)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Amy S. Harrison Softball Field)
Records: UC Davis 22-21 (11-8), UC Riverside 5-31 (3-18)
GAME TWO
Score: UC Davis 3, UC Riverside 0
Winning Pitcher: Ashley Sawai (10-4)
Losing Pitcher: Emory Chang (5-11)
Location: Riverside, Calif. (Amy S. Harrison Softball Field)
Records: UC Davis 23-21 (12-8), UC Riverside 5-32 (3-19)
The short story: Sydney Polli had a big day at the dish, tying a school record with five hits in game one to help UC Davis softball open its day with an explosive offensive performance, and after
Ashley Sawai's complete game shutout in the second game the Aggies broke out the brooms to complete a doubleheader sweep over UC Riverside.
LEADING OFF
- Polli went 6-for-8 over the two games, hitting a pair of doubles with one home run and five RBIs
- Polli was a perfect 5-for-5 in the first game, tying a school record for most hits in a single game, scoring two runs, hitting a home run and knocking in five runs
- Claire Shelton was a force, going 4-for-7 with one home run and three runs scored over both games
- In the opening game, Shelton was a perfect 4-for-4 with one home run, three runs scored and one RBI
- Keira Brady added a three-hit day over the two games, going 3-for-7 with four runs scored and two stolen bases
- Sawai was nearly unhittable, going the complete seven in the second game without giving up a run, while striking out five and allowing no walks
- Olivia McFarland added a home run in the first game, the first of her career, and she scored a pair of runs and hit a double
- The 15 runs scored by the Aggies in the first game were the most scored by an Aggie side since 2019 and the 20 hits in that same game are the most recorded by the Aggies since 2011
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)
- The Aggies opened the scoring with runs in the second and third innings when Naomi Kalanetra scored Shelton on a sacrifice fly in the second and Polli smashed a home run down the left field line just inside the foul pole in the third to make it 2-0
- UC Riverside scored two in the third to tie things and then took a short-lived lead when they hit a two-run home run in that same third inning to go up 4-2
- UC Davis had a quick response to the Riverside offensive output, retaking the lead in the fourth thanks to Shelton's home run to center field and Polli's two-run double to left center that scored Gia Felice and Keira Brady that put the Aggies back in front
- Maia Scholtens had taken the circle in the third and thanks to her strong four innings of work the Aggies maintained that lead throughout the remainder of the game
- Taking advantage of the strong outing by Scholtens, the Aggie offense continued to add to their lead using McFarland's home run in the fifth to kick start a four run fifth and a six run seventh innings
- Although UC Riverside would score three runs in the bottom the seventh, the Aggies had built out a big enough lead to lock things down and secure a win in the opening game of the doubleheader
HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)
- The second game was more of a pitching duel, in contrast to the first game and both Sawai and UC Riverside's Emory Cheng kept the game scoreless for the opening five frames
- But in the sixth the Aggies would get to Cheng, scoring three runs to take a 3-0 lead that would eventually lead them to the win
- Rylee Reeves got the Aggies on the board with a single to right field and after McFarland walked in a run, Marley Panziera hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Kaylin Phillips and gave the Aggies all the offense they needed in the second game
- Sawai locked things down in the sixth and seventh, using an Aggie around the horn double play to end any threat in the sixth and when the Aggies caught a Riverside runner in-between first and second the final out was recorded in the Saturday Big West sweep at UC Riverside
TICKETS: General admission for all games runs $13 while youth (3-13), UC Davis staff members and fans Seniors (65+) can get in the door for $10. Group outings (minimum of 10) can get their tickets at $10 a piece. With the $80 Flexbook, fans receive 10 general admission ticket vouchers that can be redeemed for any of the four home meets during the season in any combination desired. Fans can secure their spot at La Rue Field by
hitting the link, by calling the Aggie Ticket Office at (530) 752-2471 or by emailing the Aggie Ticket Office at
aggietickets@ucdavis.edu.
ABOUT UC DAVIS ATHLETICS: UC Davis, ranked No. 2 among public universities by the Wall Street Journal in the value of a college degree, is home to 40,000 undergraduate students and 12,000 employees. Ranked top in the United States in agriculture and forestry as well as No. 1 in veterinary medicine, UC Davis is located in a true California college town nestled between world-class destinations such as the San Francisco Bay Area, Napa Valley and Lake Tahoe. Over 650 Aggie student-athletes compete in 25 Division I varsity sports, with 16 sports transitioning to the Mountain West Conference beginning in 2026–27.
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