Event: UC Davis at Sacramento State, vs. Cal State Northridge
Records: Aggies, 13-12; Hornets, 8-14; Matadors, 12-18
Where: Shea Stadium – Sacramento; La Rue Field
When: Wednesday at 2 p.m.; Saturday at noon, 2 p.m., Sunday at noon
Who to watch: Last weekend, coach Karen Yoder shuffled the order to give Elizabeth Santana a chance to hit third.
Santana hadn’t hit in the third slot since Feb. 25 when she went 1-for-4. But Yoder may want to use Santana in the same slot against the Hornets and Matadors.
Last weekend, the sophomore from Fontana, Calif. went a perfect 4-for-4 with a homerun and drove in four runs to power UC Davis to a 6-0 victory.
“[Santana] did a great job at capitalizing on her pitch,” Yoder said. “That’s what we stress.”
Santana is tied for first on the team in RBI (11) and runs (10) and is second on the team in hits (24) and total bases (32).
Did you know? No Aggie on the current roster has experience beating the Hornets on the road. The last time UC Davis took a victory over Sacramento State at Shea Stadium was on April 10, 2007.
Preview: Last season, UC Davis lost its first conference game but went 15-5 over their next 20 league matches en route to a Big West Conference title.
They hope last years’ successes will translate to much of the same in this campaign. Last season, the Aggies took two of three from the Matadors.
Cal State Northridge looks to get back in the win column after dropping four straight and six of its last eight. The Matadors can do this with power hitting from Jaci Carlsen and freshman Madeline Sale.
But before the Aggies take on Cal State Northridge, they have to deal with the Hornets.
UC Davis trails in the all-time series 57-32, and has a hard time winning on the road, posting only a 7-11 record this season away from La Rue Field.
The Hornets are a modest 6-7 in the month of March and are led by infielder Emily McCormick and pitcher Taylor Stroud. McCormick boasts a team-leading 21 hits and 12 RBI while Stroud is dominant in the pitcher’s circle with a 2.77 ERA. She has gone the distance in seven of her eight starts, and has played a big role in the team’s March wins.
– Matt Wang
