UC Davis Athletics

GAME ONE
Score:  UC Davis 3, Long Beach State 1 (12 inn.)
Winning Pitcher: Caroline Grimes (11-10)
Losing Pitcher: Kate Barnett (1-2)
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (LBSU Softball Complex)
Records: UC Davis 18-17 (7-6), Long Beach State 21-14 (9-4)
 
GAME TWO
Score:  UC Davis 9, Long Beach State 1
Winning Pitcher: Ashley Sawai (7-4)
Losing Pitcher: Pricilla Ramirez (2-1)
Location: Long Beach, Calif. (LBSU Softball Complex)
Records: UC Davis 19-17 (8-6), Long Beach State 21-15 (9-5)
 
The short story: UC Davis softball outlasted Long Beach State in a long night of softball where the Aggies took a 12-inning nail bitter behind Caroline Grimes to start the day before locking up a win in the second game to sweep The Beach in a commanding pair of Big West victories.
 
LEADING OFF

• The 12-inning game was the second-straight year the Aggies have played a 12-inning game having battled Cal State Fullerton for 12 frames during the 2025 season
• Grimes threw 152 pitches going all 12 innings during the marathon first game, marking the third-most innings pitched by anyone in the nation this season and the most by anyone in the Big West
• Over the 12 innings, Grimes struck out five, allowed just one earned run, walked two and gave up just four hits
• Ashley Sawai added her own complete game to the mix, going all seven frames in the second game where she struck out five, walked just one and allowed one earned run
• Gia Felice slashed .545/.545/.636 over the two games going 6-for-11 with one double and four runs scored
• Syndey Polli was a force over the two games, going 4-for-8 with one double, two RBIs, and two runs scored 

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• Both sides were kept quiet over the opening seven frames of what would be a three-plus hour game
• But the Aggies would score first, getting a run when Alyssa Dethlefson smacked an RBI single up the middle in the third inning that scored Felice from second to give UC Davis a 1-0 lead
• Long Beach State tied things in the sixth on a solo home run to left center, the only time The Beach would get to Grimes over the long game
• From there it was straight zeros, and thanks to a pair of great defensive plays in left from Claire Shelton over the extra innings, coupled with Grimes being lights out meant the Aggies were in position to come out of the race in the lead
• Shelton led off the 12th with a single up the middle, and after Vanessa Calvillo (pinch runner) reached second Felice broke the tie when she hit a Baltimore Chop to second base that was muffed allowing for Calvillo to scamper home
• Dethlefson would knock home her second run of the game with an infield single that scored Felice to make it 3-1 giving the Aggies a chance to finally end things
• Grimes locked in during the 12th, sitting down The Beach in order and on the final play Rylee Reeves made a great diving play deep in the hole at second to cap off a well-earned UC Davis doubleheader opening win

 HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• After the long first game, both sides took the field again and much like the first game the Aggies scored first when Kaylin Phillips drew a bases loaded walk in the first inning to quickly put the Aggies up 1-0
• It stayed that way until the fourth when Reeves made her impact on the game from the dish, taking a 1-1 pitch over the left center field wall to record her first home run of the season and give UC Davis a 2-0 lead
• Long Beach State would get one back in the fourth, but that would be the one mark on Sawai over her seven innings of work and in the sixth the Aggies would give Sawai a cushion to work with
• In the top of the sixth the Aggies would score three runs on hits from Kayla Macias, Phillips and Shelton pushing the Aggies ahead 5-1
• And in the top of the seventh, Polli's two-RBI double, along with RBI base hits by Macias and Phillips padded the Aggie lead making it 9-1
• Sawai then put the finishing touches on the Aggie sweep, securing the UC Davis 9-1 victory in the day's second game 

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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