Teams: UC Davis vs. San Jose State
Records: Aggies, 9-24; Spartans, 26-15
Where: Dobbins Stadium
When: Tuesday at 2 p.m.
Who to watch: You’ll be seeing a lot of Spencer Brann.
The rookie catcher out of Hollister, Calif. played for the Colorado Rockies scout team before transitioning into an Aggie career.
As a freshman, Brann has already made his presence known.
Last weekend in UC Davis’ narrow, 10th-inning, 3-2 victory over UC Irvine, Brann knocked in the game-winning RBI.
Did you know? In UC Davis’ four contests this year with San Jose State, the Aggies have outscored the Spartans 21-20.
Preview: Last time UC Davis faced San Jose State was during spring break, when the Aggies conquered the Spartans in a dominant 9-1 victory.
Going into the spring break stretch of games, UC Davis’ glaring weakness was its offense, said coach Rex Peters.
Fortunately, in the win over the Spartans, the Aggies found ways to get guys on base and score runs.
The team had 15 hits, while five different Aggies had at least one RBI.
Leading off for UC Davis was junior center fielder Brett Morgan, who went 3-for-6 with three RBI.
Junior starting pitcher Anthony Kupbens went five innings, surrendering just one run on four hits and striking out four.
The Aggies’ bullpen demonstrated control on the mound as well, as David Popkins and Tom Briner sealed the deal with four scoreless innings of relief.
After a rocky season has eliminated them from the postseason picture, the Aggies will now look to build consistency for next season, focusing on the underclassmen.
“With us not having a great season, and [we’re] going into the second half of the season, there’s no playoff opportunity for us,” Peters said. “We have to start looking at the younger guys.”
After a single game against San Jose State, UC Davis will remain at home for a three-game series against Cal State Northridge. After the weekend, the Aggies will once again face the Spartans at home for the sixth and final meeting between the teams.
– Grace Sprague
