Teams: UC Davis vs. Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies, 21-30 (5-13); Matadors, 27-20 (7-11)
Where: LaRue Field
When: Saturday at noon and 2 p.m.; Sunday at noon
Who to watch: The UC Davis pitching staff doesn’t have the second-best ERA in the Big West Conference for no reason.
Freshman catcher Rachel Miller has been a mainstay behind the plate this season, starting in all of the Aggies‘ 51 games.
The Costa Mesa, Calif. native has thrown out 12 potential base-stealers while committing only five errors. She’s ranked second on the squad in doubles (eight) and first on the team in sacrifice hits (seven).
Did you know: This season marks the third consecutive year that the Aggies have finished off their schedule against the Matadors.
UC Davis took the first contest of the three-game set by claiming a 2-0 win behind the arm of senior Jessica Hancock. Cal State Northridge won the remaining two games to take the series.
Preview: The Aggies had a rough month of April after starting it off so well.
UC Davis swept Pacific and claimed a victory over Nevada to start the month off 4-0. The Aggies then lost 11 of their next 12 to finish the month, including three-game sweeps by Cal State Fullerton and Cal Poly as well as a doubleheader loss to Oregon State.
May hasn’t treated UC Davis too nicely so far, either. The Aggies were swept at the hands of UC Santa Barbara last weekend.
The Aggies hope to prevent the same thing from happening again this weekend. History isn’t on their side, though. UC Davis has a 2-10 record against Cal State Northridge since joining the Big West in 2005.
The Matadors are led offensively by junior Jaclyn Rymer. She’s hitting .328 to go along with a .444 on base percentage.
With only nine home runs on the season as a team, Cal State Northridge is not likely to hurt the Aggies with the long ball. The Matadors, though, are ranked first in the conference in sacrifice bunts (53) and stolen bases (52). They’ve only grounded into one double play.
– Max Rosenblum
