Teams: UC Davis vs. Pacific
Records: Aggies, 16-16 (1-2); Tigers, 15-18 (0-3)
Where: LaRue Field
When: Saturday at noon, 2 p.m.; Sunday at noon
Who to watch: During the Aggies‘ most recent road swing, junior Marissa Araujo emerged as a premier hitter for UC Davis.
The Indio, Calif. native hit .368 while driving in four runs, scoring three times and hitting a home run.
Araujo has boosted her average to .274 on the season, good for third on the team. Her .479 slugging percentage is a club-best.
Did you know: While UC Davis‘ pitching staff has been stellar this season, the Aggies are still waiting on the offense to catch fire.
UC Davis has a team batting average of .247, third lowest in the Big West Conference. They’ve scored the least amount of runs in the league.
If the Aggies are able to put the ball in play this weekend, they may have some success as Pacific has committed more errors (52) than any Big West team.
Preview: After dropping four of six in its recent road trip, UC Davis returns to LaRue Field for its first home Big West action of the year.
The Aggies began the week by exploding for nine runs in a shutout victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Monday. Haunted by errors, they then lost two tough games to No. 23 Fresno State, including one in extra innings.
UC Davis ended the weekend with its first Big West series against Long Beach State.
The 49ers won the first of Saturday’s twin bill by a 2-0 margin. The Aggies returned the favor in the second game of the doubleheader, winning by the same score.
The last contest of the weekend was the most dramatic, as it took nine innings for Long Beach State to score the deciding run and take the series with a 4-3 win.
Pacific is most recently off of a series with Cal State Northridge. It was swept by the Matadors.
The Tigers are led offensively by sophomore Nicole Matson, who has a .402/.667/.480 vital line. The Castaic, Calif. native also leads her team with 11 doubles and 28 RBI.
– Max Rosenblum
