Score: UC Davis 11, Cal State Fullerton 5
Location: Fullerton, Calif. (Goodwin Field)
Records: UC Davis 22-24 (11-15 Big West), Cal State Fullerton 21-24 (13-10 Big West)
THE SHORT STORY: Ethan Felix's two home runs and six RBIs powered UC Davis to an 11-5 win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday night at Goodwin Field, clinching the Big West weekend series with a game to spare. With the score knotted at 5-5 entering the ninth,
Elijah McNeal's two-RBI single put the Aggies ahead and Felix capped a six-run rally with a grand slam to right field, his second home run of the game.
Peter Storjohann (4-1) earned the win after 2.1 innings of one-run relief, and
Rowen Barnes worked a clean ninth as four UC Davis pitchers combined to navigate a 12-hit Aggie attack to the finish.
LEADING OFF
- Felix went 2-for-5 with two home runs and six RBIs, including a grand slam to right field in the ninth that broke the game open
- Braydon Wooldridge finished 2-for-5 with a solo home run in the second and a stolen base
- McNeal added the go-ahead two-RBI single in the ninth to plate Tyler Howard and Zach Story for a 7-5 Aggie lead
- Storjohann (4-1) earned the win after 2.1 innings of relief, allowing one run on one hit with two strikeouts on 26 pitches
- Jack Pezzolo turned in 5.0 innings for the start, allowing four runs on six hits with five strikeouts on 86 pitches
- Story scored a team-high three runs, reaching base all night, collecting a pair of walks and three hit by pitches
- Lee and Wright each finished 2-for-5, with Wright adding a double
HOW IT HAPPENED
- UC Davis struck first in the top of the first on Howard's RBI single up the middle to score Story, but Cal State Fullerton answered in the bottom half on a Contreras sacrifice fly that scored Miller to tie it 1-1.
- Wooldridge put the Aggies back ahead 2-1 with a solo home run to right field in the second.
- Cal State Fullerton answered with three in the bottom of the second on a Burdick RBI single and a Miller two-RBI single to take a 4-2 lead.
- UC Davis cut the lead to 4-3 in the third when Mault reached on a third base error to score Story.
- Felix put the Aggies in front 5-4 with a two-run home run to left field in the sixth that scored Murphy.
- Cal State Fullerton tied the game 5-5 in the bottom of the eighth on Kirchner's solo home run to right.
- For the second straight night, with the score tied late, UC Davis broke through.
- The Aggies erupted for six in the top of the ninth: McNeal singled to left center for two RBIs to put the Aggies up 7-5, and Felix followed with a grand slam to right field to plate Murphy, McNeal and Mault for an 11-5 lead.
- Barnes worked a scoreless ninth around one hit to close it out and secure UC Davis's second series win in three years over the Titans.
UP NEXT
UC Davis closes the road weekend Sunday in the series finale at Cal State Fullerton, with first pitch set for 1 p.m. at Goodwin Field.
