Teams: UC Davis vs. No. 11 Stanford
Records: Aggies 19-21; Cardinal 32-10
Where: La Rue Field
When: Today at 3 p.m.
Who to watch: Junior Rachel Miller had a solid series over the weekend.
The Costa Mesa, Calif. native went 2-for-5 over the three-game series, tallying three RBI and one run. Miller’s round-tripper on Saturday helped the Aggies avoid the mercy rule in the fifth inning.
Did you know? Today’s game will mark the Aggies’ final non-league game of the regular season.
Following its match with Stanford, UC Davis will close its season with series against Big West Conference opponents UC Riverside, Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara.
Preview: The Aggies will be looking to salvage a victory from this season’s series with Stanford when they take the diamond today.
UC Davis lost its previous two contests to the Cardinal by scores of 5-3 and 4-3, respectively.
Head coach Karen Yoder believes it could be a different story this time around.
“We’ve had them on the ropes two times this year, and I feel like we’re a much better team now than when we played them last time,” she said. “I’m excited for the opportunity and I think the girls are too, especially since we get to play them at home.”
For the Aggies to get a victory, they will need to be at the top of their game both at the plate and in the field.
Both of the Cardinal’s top pitchers have ERAs under two, and have tallied over 15 wins apiece.
Making things more difficult for the Aggies is Stanford’s offense. The Cardinal has four players batting over .300, including junior Ashley Hansen, who is hitting .489. Hansen has led the nation in batting average for much of the year.
One of the keys for the Aggies may be stopping the Cardinal from crossing home early on. Stanford is 24-1 in games when it scores in the first inning, and 25-2 when it posts the first run.
Despite the daunting task ahead, according to Yoder, what the Aggies need prior to today’s game has more to do with relaxing off the field than practicing on it.
“We need rest, plain and simple,” she said. “It’s not a matter of taking more and more batting practice or ground balls at this point, it’s just rest.”
– Trevor Cramer
