Teams: UC Davis vs. San Francisco
Records: Aggies, 1-3; Dons, 0-4
Where: Benedetti Diamond – San Francisco; Dobbins Stadium; Benedetti Diamond
When: Friday at 2 p.m.; Saturday at 1 p.m.; Sunday at 1 p.m.
Who to watch: A David Popkins 3-RBI triple was nearly enough for an Aggie win on Tuesday.
Despite the 5-4 loss to San Jose State, the junior left fielder led UC Davis with a 2-for-3 performance at the plate.
The San Diego native received All-Big West Conference First Team accolades after the 2010 campaign for a number of reasons.
For one, he led the Aggies with a .388 batting average, registering 73 hits and 43 RBI.
Additionally, he made 16 appearances on the mound where he struck out 18 batters in 29 and two-thirds innings.
Did you know? Daniel Descalso, former UC Davis standout, was called up to the St. Louis Cardinals’ active roster on Sept. 18, becoming the second player in UC Davis history to advance to the majors.
Preview: Entering the top of the seventh and down 3-1 to the Spartans, the Aggies shook things up.
Senior pinch hitter Brett Morgan doubled down the left field line and advanced to third on a wild pitch. San Jose State righty Jason Kafka walked two straight to load the bases.
Two outs later, Popkins came through with a bases-clearing triple to give the Aggies the 4-3 lead.
The San Jose State offense was quick to counter, though, scoring once in the bottom of the seventh and again in the bottom of the eighth.
The Aggies looked to the top of the lineup for some ninth-inning action and were fortunate enough that Popkins asserted power at the plate again.
After a two-out single through the right side, sophomore Seth Batty pinch ran for Popkins, making his way to third on a wild pitch and a passed ball.
With a full count and two outs, however, UC Davis would leave Batty on base and fall to San Jose State by a 5-4 score.
Joe Biagini suffered the loss, giving up the winning San Jose State RBI double in the eighth inning.
UC Davis will head into this weekend’s series to face 0-4 San Francisco.
The Dons kicked off their season with three hard losses at the den of the top-ranked UCLA Bruins.
Coach Rex Peters is optimistic at this point, approaching the young season one game at a time.
“San Jose State is a pretty good ball club, and San Francisco always plays us tough,” Peters said. “After about 10 games, we can take a look at where we are and see what kinds of adjustments we need to make.”
– Grace Sprague
