The Aggies continue to struggle as they faced off against Cal State Bakersfield over the weekend. They lost the first two games to the Roadrunners and have lost three straight games.
UC Davis currently has a record of 6-9 and has dropped eight of its last 10 games after starting the season 4-1.
Tuesday — UC Davis 0, Sacramento State 14
Sacramento State jumped out early as it scored nine runs in the first three innings in Dobbins Stadium. The Hornets improved to 7-5 with the win.
Junior Alex Sachs started the game for the Aggies and pitched into the third until he was relieved. He struggled against the bats of the Hornets, giving up nine hits and seven runs.
In the ninth inning, the Hornets added five more runs, capped off by freshman Nathan Lukes’ two-run home run.
The starter for Sacramento State, junior Hunter Greenwood, allowed just one hit in five innings of work and struck out one. Three pitchers relieved him to complete the game as the Aggie batters could only muster up five hits against the pitching staff.
Coach Matt Vaughn believes that right now is a good time in the season to make a surge to get over the .500 mark.
“We need to have a good effort on Friday and continue to get better playing the game. We are hovering around .500 and have to find a way to put together consistent efforts,” he said.
Friday — UC Davis 0, CSU Bakersfield 11
The runs came in bunches for the Roadrunners on Friday, too many for the Aggies to handle. They scored five runs in the third and fifth innings to accumulate most of their runs.
Junior Harry Stanwyck started the game for the Aggies and pitched four innings and allowed five runs, three earned, on six hits. Freshman reliever Spencer Henderson pitched an inning and allowed five runs, a walk and struck out one.
Bakersfield State accumulated 15 hits and senior Dylan Christensen had five of them. In the third inning, he hit an RBI-double down the left field line. He later capped off his day by hitting a three-run homer in the fifth inning to finish with four RBI.
Senior Jeff McKenzie threw an impressive complete game and his ERA now sits at 1.93. On 119 pitches, he allowed three walks and struck out four.
Junior Nick Lynch had two hits and so did junior Steven Patterson. The Aggies finished with eight hits on the day, but struggled to get hits in key scoring situations.
Saturday — UC Davis 5, CSU Bakersfield 12
The Roadrunners started the scoring in the first inning, but the Aggies answered right back with two runs of their own.
In the bottom half of the first, Patterson singled in a run and senior Paul Politi scored on an error, giving UC Davis a 2-1 advantage.
However, in the third inning, the Roadrunners scored five runs and took control of the game. Junior Cael Brockmeyer had four hits on the day, which included a two-run home run to left field in the third. Christensen added a sacrifice fly and the Roadrunners added two more RBI singles to cap off the inning.
Sophomore Tino Lipson drove in a run on an RBI single in the fourth. Senior Mike Mazzara drove in two runs in the seventh inning on a double.
Sophomore Spencer Koopmans pitched two innings to start the game for the Aggies and allowed three runs. Sophomore Robert Parucha and freshman Zach Williams pitched in relief and both allowed four runs.
Brockmeyer homered again in the seventh to leadoff the inning, as the Roadrunners added two more runs in the frame on three hits.
Senior Scott Brattvet started the game for CSU Bakersfield and pitched well. He pitched six and one-third innings and allowed five runs on nine hits. He walked four batters and did not strike out anyone.
The Aggies’ offense, which has struggled as of late, generated 10 hits, with Politi and Patterson each having two.
UC Davis will finish playing on Sunday against Cal State Bakersfield before returning to action against Nevada at home on Tuesday.
LUKE BAE can be reached at sports@theaggie.org.
