Team: Syracuse; Notre Dame; UNLV; LIU Brooklyn; Oregon; UC Davis
Records: Aggies 4-8; Syracuse 2-3; Notre Dame 6-1; UNLV 2-7; LIU Brooklyn 2-7; Oregon 9-1
Where: Cathedral City, Calif.
When: Friday, Feb. 21; Saturday, Feb. 22; Sunday, Feb. 23
Who to Watch:
The Aggies traveled south for Valentine’s weekend to take part in the Stacy Winsburg Memorial Tournament in Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 14 to 17. Starting the long weekend off right, UC Davis came out with a first-game victory versus Western Kentucky.
Several players established their dominance with both their bats and arms. Sophomore Kelly Zboralske tagged a two-run home run, her second of the season, in the 2-0 win over Western Kentucky
On the other side of the field, freshman Dana Cruse hurled a near perfect game, throwing a full, seven-inning shutout. Cruse gave up two hits and two walks with three strikeouts, pitching an excellent first game for the Aggies in the long weekend tournament. Cruse holds a current earned-run average of 2.90, the second-lowest on the team. As a freshman, she is expected to continue to do good things for the team not only this year but in her four years of wearing Aggie Blue.
Unfortunately, UC Davis was unable to hold out in their second game of the day versus No. 13 UCLA on Feb. 13. In a game that remained scoreless until the fifth inning, the Bruins finally broke the drought. UCLA ended up coming away with the 6-0 win over the Aggies. However, with plenty of softball to play throughout the weekend, UC Davis still looked to come away with multiple wins.
In their first matchup on Feb. 15, UC Davis took on Western Kentucky again, with less satisfying results than in their first head to head meeting. Kentucky took the win in a close game, 9-8. However, the Aggies were not out of it as they fought back and won their second game of the day versus Robert Morris, 2-1. Another young player for the team, sophomore Chapa Marissa, started the game versus Robert Morris, throwing five innings with four hits, one run, one walk and one strikeout before fellow sophomore Leah Munden came in to shut it out. Munden threw two innings with no hits, and two strikeouts, recording her first win of the season.
In the final game of the tournament, the Aggies had the opportunity for redemption, taking on UCLA once again. To the athletes’ dismay, they were unable to come away with the victory, as the Bruins took the victory, 5-1.
Preview:
Although the Aggies were unable to come away with a tournament trophy this past weekend, there is still plenty of softball to be had in the coming weeks. UC Davis first takes on Stanford in their annual home matchup on Feb. 18. The Aggies have defeated Stanford the past two seasons in this mid-week classic and look to do so once again.
A victory versus the Cardinals would give the team some momentum coming into another long weekend of softball, as the Aggies will travel to Cathedral City, Calif. to take part in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic.
The athletes will face an excellent set of competition, opening up the tournament versus Syracuse, followed by games against Notre Dame, UNLV, LIU Brooklyn and University of Oregon.
Conference play does not commence until the beginning of April; however, these tournaments are key in getting the Aggies ready for league. Victories in these games will boost confidence levels, as the team has the opportunity to bring home several tournament trophies back to Davis.
— Sloan Boettcher
