Teams: UC Davis at St. Mary’s
Records: Aggies, 6-23; Gaels, 19-13
Where: Louis Guisto Field – Moraga, Calif.
When: Today at 3 p.m.
Who to watch: Reliever Scott Lyman got credit for the save on Saturday, but left fielder Kyle Mihaylo’s glove stole the show.
Holding a 9-8 advantage over visiting UC Santa Barbara with two outs in the top of the ninth, Mihaylo made a diving catch with the bases loaded to seal the deal for the Aggies.
Mihaylo will look to turn his play in the field into success at the plate. After hitting .284 with an impressive .516 slugging percentage in 2008, the Aliso Viejo, Calif. native is hitting .187 while slugging .320 through 75 at bat this year.
Did you know? UC Davis has just six wins to its credit this season. It’s come up big in the right games, though.
The Aggies knocked off defending national champion Fresno State, three ranked teams (No. 10 Pepperdine, No. 11 UCLA and No. 21 San Diego State) and rival Sacramento State before showing UCSB the door on Saturday to earn their first Big West Conference win of the season.
Preview: The Aggies held off a late push by the Gauchos on Saturday to bring their five-game Big West losing streak to start the season to a close.
Down three heading into the final frame, UCSB rallied to score twice and load the bases before Mihaylo made his game-winning play in the field.
Designated hitter Jared Thompson and outfielder Tony Bongiovanni did the brunt of the work offensively for UC Davis, each driving in a pair of runs.
St. Mary’s, meanwhile, enters play today coming off a 21-2 drubbing at the hands of Pepperdine. The Gaels were swept by the Waves in the three-game set, falling by a combined score of 35-9.
Pitching woes have been common for both the Aggies and Gaels, as the teams hold staff earned run averages of 6.76 and 5.09, respectively.
– Adam Loberstein
