Kyle Mihaylo is a hero.
He doesn’t wear a cape or fight crime. He can’t fly or read minds. What he can do, however, is rake.
In his last four games, the senior out of Aliso Viejo, Calif. has recorded six hits, six RBI, five runs and hit his fifth home run of the year.
“He had some big hits for us,” said coach Rex Peters. “Our offense was great over the weekend.”
All in all, UC Davis won three of four last week thanks to a much-improved offensive attack.
Wednesday – UC Davis 6, No. 15 California 5
UC Davis took a five-game losing streak into a home contest against a vaunted California squad that was ranked 15th in the nation.
The Aggies turned things around in walk-off fashion as Mihaylo delivered his first hit and his first RBI of the game in the bottom of the ninth to defeat the Golden Bears.
“We weren’t playing well,” Peters said, “but we always seem to play well against Cal. They bring out the best in us.”
That is quite the understatement as, with the win, UC Davis swept the season series from Cal by a combined score of 14-5.
Aside from dropping the Golden Bears from 15th to 22nd in the country, the win shows how resilient the Aggie baseball team can be.
“We just scratched back,” Peters said. “Our team put us in a position to win and Kyle came up with the big hit.”
Friday – UC Davis 9, Cal State Northridge 7
On the heels of a thrilling victory over Cal, UC Davis looked to carry their momentum into a Big West Conference weekend series.
After scoring eight runs in the first five innings, the Aggies nearly let this one slip away but eventually held on to beat the Matadors by a score of 9-7.
“It was a typical Northridge slugfest,” Peters said. “In the Big West, no lead is safe. We made it tough for them to come back by getting an early lead and we were able to hold on.”
With the victory, pitcher Dayne Quist’s record moves to 6-3 on the season. The sophomore out of Santa Cruz, Calif. allowed nine hits, five earned runs and two walks while striking out eight over six innings. However, the Aggies believe that his numbers are not reflective of his overall performance.
“He pitched better than the numbers indicate,” Peters said. “He was spotting his pitches well and gave us a chance to win.”
Saturday – Cal State Northridge 11, UC Davis 1
Despite winning two straight games against tough opponents, UC Davis stumbled on Saturday.
“We just didn’t make the right adjustments,” Peters said.
The Aggies struggled to get into a rhythm against the Matadors as UC Davis’ one-through-six hitters combined to go 2-for-20 from the dish.
The Aggie funk spread to the mound as starter Sean Watson allowed four earned runs in 4.2 innings pitched while reliever Scott Heinig gave up seven runs in 3.1 innings.
Sunday – UC Davis 16, Cal State Northridge 0
This game was the exact opposite of Saturday’s contest.
For starters, the UC Davis pitching was magnificent as Scott Lyman threw eight shutout innings while allowing only three hits, one walk striking out six.
“Lyman has his best outing of the year,” Peters said. “When his command is on, he’s tough to hit.”
Not to be outdone, the Aggie sluggers turned up the heat as Eric Johnson, Paul Politi and Mihaylo combined to go 11-for-18 with 11 runs and seven RBI.
“We made no mistakes,” Peters said. “We just played flawlessly.”
MARK LING can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
